Top Dinosaur Museums in the U.S., Dinosaur Attractions and Jurassic Park Filming Locations

Do you have dinosaur lovers in your family, Jurassic Park and Jurassic World movies fans? Then this is the article for you! Here I have gathered all the information about our favorite dinosaur attractions and best dinosaur museums in the U.S. that we visited as well as must see Jurassic Park filming locations within the country. At the end of this article you will find a suggested road trip map for dinosaur fans in California.

DINOSAUR MUSEUMS IN THE U.S.

Some of the dinosaur attractions listed below are stand alone museums and others are fantastic exhibitions within a bigger museum.

#1 Dinosaur Museum in the U.S. – Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm, St. George, Utah

Dinosaur Discovery Site is a must see attraction and  it is one of the best dinosaur museums for kids. It features real dinosaur tracks (hundreds of them!), bones, and fossils. It is amazing how many tracks have been preserved and what they can tell you about the life of dinosaurs. There are running tracks, sitting tracks and even baby tracks (very cute!). Young paleontologists can participate in a site-wide scavenger hunt to discover prehistoric life and get a prize at the end.

One room in the museum is devoted to a very unique exhibit: origami dinosaurs. One of the museum employee’s hobby is making origami and he is quite a pro. His creations are amazing to look at but in addition to just observing, you can try creating an origami creature yourself. Instructions are provided.

After exploring the museum, kids can run off steam at a dinosaur themed playground.

St. George, Utah is easy to visit from Las Vegas, which is only about 1 hour and 15 minutes drive away. For more things to do with family in Las Vegas, please check out my article 10 Best Road Trips from Las Vegas.

#2 Dinosaur Museum in the U.S. – Natural History Museum of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah

Utah probably has the biggest amount of dinosaur attractions compared to any other U.S. states. We have not visited them all but they are on our travel wish list. Natural History Museum of Utah has a huge hall devoted to dinosaurs exhibition.

This exhibition, which is called “Past Worlds”, has lots of complete dinosaur skeletons on display and our favorite part was not just observing them but listening to the sounds that various dinosaurs made.

Kids can also participate in a dinosaur dig on site as well as watch museum staff and volunteers working at the paleontology preparation lab as they prepare specimens for research and display at the museum.

#3 Dinosaur Museum in the U.S. – Dinosaur World, Plant City, Florida

Dinosaur World near Tampa is a smaller dinosaur attraction compared to other places on the list but kids have a blast here. There are no actual dinosaur skeletons at Dinosaur World. The museum’s exhibition consists of life size human-made dinosaurs, static and animated. The latter are a the biggest hit because they move and make sounds. There is also a dinosaur dig with lots of sand (not a problem in Florida) and multiple hidden “bones” and excavation tools.

Our favorite gig in this dinosaur museum is the actual fossil dig where kids can search for REAL fossils and then keep 3 of their best finds to take home!

Vacationing in Tampa, Florida? For more information check out Things to Do in Tampa with Kids.

Pro tip: Dinosaur World attractions are also located in Kentucky and Texas where they offer similar activities.

#4 Dinosaur Museum in the U.S. – Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois

Filed Museum is one of the most prominent natural history museums in the country. It has huge exhibition dedicated to dinosaurs located in Griffin Halls of Evolving Planet and Elizabeth Morse Genius Hall of Dinosaurs. Many exhibits here are similar to other great natural history museums in the world. But there are 2 exhibits that are unique to Filed that you absolutely should not miss:

Sue the T. Rex – it is the largest and most complete T. Rex fossil in the world.

Maximo the Titanosaur – the biggest dinosaur that has been discovered to date. And the best part? You can touch the cast!

Pro tip: Field Museum tickets are a bit on the expensive side. If you intend to visit other top attractions in Chicago, get a City Pass and save 50% on the price of tickets:

Here are my my additional tips for visiting the Windy City: Chicago Family Vacation – Perspective of a Local.

#5 Dinosaur Museum in the U.S. – Smithsonian National Museum on Natural History, Washington D.C.

David H. Koch Hall of Fossils – Deep Time exhibit is a must see for dinosaur fans if you are in Washington D.C. area. There are about 700 fossils on display here and though not all of them are dinosaur fossils, all are very interesting to see and learn about. Some of them are touchable too!

I visited the Smithsonian for the first time 8 years ago and back then it was just a collections skeletons. In the recent years the exhibition underwent complete renovation and it re-opened in 2019 with a totally new conceptual approach. It is a story of our planet from the past to the future. The exhibits are not static anymore, they are “dynamic” and they tell a compelling story.

If you have visited the museum in the past, you must come back to see this new fantastic exhibition. The only thing that the museum did not change is the entrance fee – it is still FREE of charge.

#6 Dinosaur Museum in the U.S. – Discovery Cube Orange County, Santa Ana, California

Dino Quest exhibit at the Discovery Cube is a unique interactive experience. When you come in you will need to choose one of about half a dozen missions which you will be completing. You will be given a guide to your mission and a sort of a “magic wand” that will help you locate the items on your list. Once you locate an item, you will need to “register” your find with the wand.

It is in essence a scavenger hunt but a very advanced one. Even for me it was challenging and exciting. You can complete 1 mission, or a couple or all of them if you want.

My only grudge with the museum is that when kids complete the missions they do not get any reward, which is rather disappointing because the missions are not easy at all (at the Dinosaur Discovery Site that I described above everybody gets a small prize upon the scavenger hunt completion). Even a sticker would have been a fair enough reward.

So my pro tip is: if you don’t want to see your kids very disappointed, bring a small reward or two for each of your kids, in case they decide to complete more than 1 mission. Nothing fancy: may be a dino tattoo or a small toy or an eraser shaped as dinosaur will do.

Give kids the prize when their complete their missions. It will be well deserved and will make them so happy! Here are a couple of ideas that will make you score with your dinosaur fans:  Dinosaur Toy car, 6 Pack or
Dinosaur Squishy Balls, 6 Pack.

#7 Dinosaur Museum in the U.S. – Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, North Carolina

North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh has 2 educational exhibits devoted to dinosaurs: Prehistoric North Carolina and Terror of the South.

A special feature of this museum is a 3D theater which typically has at least one movie about dinosaurs showing on a daily basis. At the time of this publication there were THREE 3D movies scheduled in the theater. I honestly could not choose which I would like to see more. Our family of dinosaur fans would probably want to see all three. 🙂

For other cool attractions in Raleigh check out my itinerary Things to Do in Raleigh with Kids.

#8 Dinosaur Museum in the U.S. – Rainbow Forest Museum at Petrified Forest National Park, AZ

There is a small but interesting dinosaur exhibit in the Rainbow Forest Museum at the Visitor Center of Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. You can learn about prehistoric past of the Park and see some unique dinosaur skeletons. 

OTHER DINOSAUR ATTRACTIONS WE LOVE

#1 Dinosaur Attraction – Ancient Plant Garden, San Francisco Botanical Garden, San Francisco, California

Ancient Plant Garden at San Francisco Botanical Garden easily transports you to the time of dinosaurs. It features plants that were growing on our planet when the big lizards walked the Earth.

It is a very unique attraction. I have been to many botanical gardens and I have never seen an ancient plants collection. I strongly suggesting visiting San Francisco Botanical Garden to experience the world the dinosaurs lived in.

Pro Tip: If you travel on a budget, here is when you can get into San Francisco Botanical Garden for FREE:

1. Early morning 7.30-9.00 am entry each day;

2. Second Tuesday of every month;

3. Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, New Years Day;

4. Any day if you are a San Francisco resident.

For more great things to do in San Francisco you may find my San Francisco Bay Area family travel ideas very helpful.

#2 Dinosaur Attraction – Dinosaur Tracks, Tuba City, Arizona

A huge number of early Jurassic dinosaur tracks can be found In between HW-89 and Tuba City, AZ off HW 160. They are located roughly 5 miles East of HW-89 when you are driving towards Tuba City.  Typically there is a Navajo Nation representative at the parking lot who will show you the tracks for a small fee. If there is no one there you can find the tracks yourself – they are located right behind the parking lot, on the left side. 

There are very many different tracks here: standing dino, walking dino, mom and a baby dino – it is really fun to find them all!

#3 Dinosaur Attraction – Cabazon Dinosaurs, Cabazon California

Cabazon Dinosaurs is a fun roadside attraction off HW 10 in between Palm Springs and San Bernardino. It is not a paleontology museum but rather a collection of man-made dinosaurs of close to their natural size. T-rex and what looks like an Apatosaurus are the “stars of the show”. You can see them outside the main exhibit for free. And you can also get INSIDE the T-Rex, right into his head, and roar your lungs out! 🙂

Inside the paid exhibit you can see several replicas of smaller dinosaurs. They are set up in a garden-like area with blooming flowers. Kids can also mine for minerals on site. 

Recently, Cabazon Dinosaurs established a new cute tradition – they are re-painting the two main dinosaurs according to the up-coming holiday and add some holiday-specific decorations too. We v for additional photo opportunities. We visited the place during Christmas break and the T-Rex was “dressed” as Santa. In February the dinos were re-painted in St. Valentine’s appropriate colors with T-Rex wearing a tuxedo. And for Easter the T-Rex became a huge… bunny!! 🙂

#4 Dinosaur Attraction – Dinosaur Caves Park, Pismo Beach, California

Dinosaur Caves Park is a cute dinosaurs themed playground in Pismo Beach that is great for younger travelers. If you are driving on Highway 101 between San Francisco and Los Angeles, this could be a great pit stop to give your tiny dinosaur fans to run off some steam and have a picnic.

JURASSIC PARK FILMING LOCATIONS

As a bonus for all dinosaur fans, big and small, I also created a list of Jurassic World and Jurassic Park filming locations in the U.S.

Fern Canyon, California

Fern Canyon within the boundaries of Redwood National and State Parks in California is probably my most favorite Jurassic Park filming location. It does give you a feeling of being IN the movie. I don’t know how the film crew found this remote hidden attraction but it is indeed unique. Fern Canyon is a fairly narrow canyon. Its tall walls are all covered with ferns. A creek runs at the bottom of the canyon, which can be fuller or dryer depending on the season.

“The Lost World: Jurassic Park” was filmed in this location. I bet visiting Fern canyon felt even more “out of this world” before it was “discovered”, i.e. before all Jurassic Park fans started coming over for a visit. Though truth be told, it is still not as crowded as many other attractions in California.

For more information about visiting amazing Redwood National and State Parks, please, check out my detailed San Francisco to Redwoods National Park Road Trip itinerary.

Garden of Eden, Maui, Hawaii

The Garden of Eden Arboretum is not a Jurassic World or Jurassic Park filming location per say, BUT Jurassic World opening sequence with a helicopter fly-over the ocean and the island was filmed near the Garden of Eden and the view that is seen in that sequence can be best observed from one of the overlooks at the Garden of Eden. When you get to the Arboretum, they will give you the site attractions map. Ask them to point out the Jurassic World overlook, which they will happily do so.

Kauai, Hawaii

Several spots on Kauai island of Hawaii served as Jurassic World and Jurassic Park filming locations. Na Pali Coast  is the rugged coastline representing the fictional Isla Sorna. Kipu Kaii and Pilaa beaches were also used for filming. The former, for the Bowmans dining scene in Jurassic Park: Lost World and the latter, for the final scenes of Jurassic World III. Neither of the beaches are easily accessible though. You best best bet to see a Jurassic Park filming location on Kauai is a boat tour to see Na Pali (the photo below is from kauai.com website)

Oahu, Hawaii

The funnest Jurassic Park filming location experience is, undoubtedly, at Kualoa Ranch on Oahu. Parts of both Jurassic World and Jurassic Park movies were actually filmed here. Check their Hollywood Movie Sites tour for an unforgettable experience. It is our dream to visit Kualoa Ranch so I don’t have my personal photos yet, but here is the official tour trailer form Kualoa Ranch’s website:

DINOSAUR MUSEUMS AND ATTRACTIONS ON OUR WISH LIST

The dinosaur museums in the U.S. and attractions listed above are the ones that we visited ourselves and can definitely recommend. Below is our wish list of dinosaur attractions for kids (and adults) that we have not visited yet but we hear they are totally awesome (and once we have visited, we will add a detailed review):

1. Dinosaur National Monument, Utah
2. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, California
3. Wonders of Dinosaurs, Redono Beach, California
4. Jurassic World/Jurassic Park attractions at Universal Studios in Florida and California
5. UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology, Berkeley, California

ADDITIONAL TIPS FOR VISITING DINOSAUR MUSEUMS AND ATTRACTIONS IN THE U.S.

For my California travel friends, here is a map for a great road trip between San Francisco and Los Angeles showing dinosaur attractions in California that I described in this article (click on the image below to go to the actual Google Map with details:

If you found this information about best dinosaur museums in the U.S. and Jurassic Park filming locations helpful, please do me a little favor and share this information with others, for there’s a good chance that it will help them with their travel plans. 🙂 Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram where I post many more cool photos and videos about our trips than I could include in a blog post and organize some nice giveaways!

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