List of museums in Montana

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Museums in Montana.
Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman

This list of museums in Montana encompasses museums which are defined for this context as institutions (including nonprofit organizations, government entities, and private businesses) that collect and care for objects of cultural, artistic, scientific, or historical interest and make their collections or related exhibits available for public viewing. Museums that exist only in cyberspace (i.e., virtual museums) are not included.

The six areas referred to in the "Region" column are explained in a separate section below.

Montana has an unusual number of paleontology museums and museums with paleontology sections, much of them filled with discoveries from within the state. These museums are listed again in a separate table below with more specific information.

This list is a sortable table. Click on the small boxes next to any heading title to reorder the list (in alphabetical order or reverse alphabetical order) by that category.

Name Town/City Region Type Summary
American Computer Museum Bozeman South central Computer History of computing and communications
Bair Family Museum Martinsdale North central Historic house website, ranch home of Charles M. Bair family, features antiques, Native American and Western art, ranching display
Beaverhead County Museum Dillon Southwest Multiple website, natural, physical and human history of Beaverhead County, includes fossils, military artifacts, textiles, household items, miniature railroad, mining and farming equipment, a general store, schoolroom and railroad pocket watch exhibit
Big Horn County Historical Museum Hardin Southeast Open air website, includes over 25 historic buildings, farm equipment, horse-drawn wagons and antique vehicles
Blaine County Museum Chinook Northeast History website, local history, culture, Native Americans, dinosaurs and fossils
Broadwater County Museum Townsend Southwest History website, local history
Canton Church Historic Site Townsend Southwest History 1870s Catholic Church, first built in the area
Carbon County Historical Society Museum Red Lodge South central History website, local history, Native Americans, cowboys, rodeo, mining, ranching and homesteading
Carter County Museum Ekalaka Southeast Multiple Local history, Native American, homesteaders, dinosaurs, fossils, geology, natural history
Castle Museum, Montana White Sulphur Springs North central History information, late 19th-century mansion with period furniture, minerals, textiles, historic artifacts, carriages and sleds, a bank, a schoolroom, a stagecoach, fire engines
Central Montana Museum Lewiston North central Multiple information, local history, culture, Native Americans, mining, petroleum, military history, dinosaurs
Children's Museum of Bozeman Bozeman South central Children's web
Children's Museum of Northeast Montana Glasgow Northeast Children's information
C.M. Russell Museum Great Falls North central Art Focus is the artwork of local "cowboy artist" Charles Marion Russell and art about the American Old West
Conrad Mansion Museum Kalispell Northwest Historic house website; 1895 Norman-style mansion built by trading and freighting magnate and Kalispell founder Charles Conrad; has 26 originally furnished rooms, Tiffany-style windows[1]
Conrad Transportation and Historical Museum Conrad North central History / Transportation information, features a period drug store, general store, recreated homestead shack, exhibits about the development of the west through transportation
Copper King Mansion Butte C Historic house Guided tours of the late Victorian mansion
Crazy Mountain Museum Big Timber South central History website, local history
Culbertson Museum Culbertson Northeast History website, local history, historic room and business displays, tractors, horse-drawn equipment, cowboy pioneer and homesteader artifacts
Custer Battlefield Museum Garryowen Southeast History website, Battle of the Little Bighorn, frontiersmen, military life, Plains Indian culture
Daly Mansion Hamilton Southwest Historic house website, home of 19th century industrialist Marcus Daly, includes an arboretum and botanical garden
Daniels County Museum & Pioneer Town Scobey Northeast Living history website, includes over 30 historic buildings restored to depict a town in the early 1900s
Darby Pioneer Memorial Museum Darby Northwest History information; collection of pioneer home and work artifacts
Desert John's Saloon Museum Deer Lodge Southwest History website, part of the Powell County Museum, saloon display and Western memorabilia
Dumas Brothel Butte Southwest History Former brothel dating back to 1890
Earth Science Museum Loma North central History, Natural history info
Families First Children's Museum Missoula Northwest Children's web; interactive exhibits for children
Fly Fishing Discovery Center Livingston Park Sports - Fly fishing web
Fort Benton Museums Fort Benton North central Multiple web
Fort Owen State Park Stevensville Southwest Military website, partially restored fort and museum
Fort Peck Interpretive Center & Museum Fort Peck Northeast Natural history information, native fish and game species of Fort Peck Lake, construction of Fort Peck Dam
Frontier Gateway Museum Glendive Southwest History web
Frontier Montana Museum Deer Lodge Southwest History website
Garfield County Museum Jordan History website, local history, culture, dinosaurs and fossils
Gallatin County Historical Society & Pioneer Museum Bozeman South central History web
Glacier County Historical Society Museum Cut Bank Southwest History web
Granite County Museum & Cultural Center Philipsburg Southwest History info, includes the Ghost Town Hall of Fame
Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site Deer Lodge Southwest Open air Tours of the working cattle ranch, 19th-century ranch house, historic bunkhouse, barn with collection of wagons and buggies, granary, draft horse barn, ice house and other outbuildings
Great Plains Dinosaur Museum and Field Station Malta Paleontology information, dinosaurs, fossils
Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center West Yellowstone South central Natural history Exhibits and live bears and wolves
H. Earl Clack Memorial Museum Havre North central History website, local history, culture, dinosaurs, fossils
Heritage Museum, Libby Libby Northwest History web
Historic St. Mary's Mission Stevensville Southwest History Mid 19th century mission complex
Historical Museum at Fort Missoula Missoula Northwest History web
The History Museum Great Falls North central History info
Hockaday Museum of Art Kalispell Northwest Art web
Holt Heritage Museum Lolo Northwest West web
Holter Museum of Art Helena Southwest Art web
Huntley Project Museum of Irrigated Agriculture Osborn Central Agricultural history web
Jefferson Valley Museum Whitehall Southwest History web
Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center Great Falls North central History web
Liberty County Museum Chester North central History info
Livingston Depot Center Livingston South central History web
Mai Wah Museum Butte Southwest Ethnic History of Asian-Americans in the Butte area
Makoshika Dinosaur Museum Glendive Southwest Paleontology Fossils from around the world; late Cretaceous, Jurassic periods; an "Ages of the Sea Cavern"; displays life-sized Allosaurus and Stegosaurus in combat; Pterosaurs, a full-size Tyrannosaurus rex skull; dinosaur sculptures[2]
Makoshika State Park Glendive Southwest Paleontology Montana's largest state park has dinosaur fossil remains, visitor center at the park entrance has exhibits explaining the site's geologic, fossil, and prehistoric significance
Malmstrom Museum Great Falls North central Aviation web
Marcus Daly Historical Society Anaconda Southwest Local history information
Marias Museum of History and Art Shelby North central History / Art info
MBMG Mineral Museum Butte Southwest Geology web
Mehmke Museum Great Falls North central Technology info
Mineral Museum (Butte) at the

Montana Tech of The University of Montana

 Butte Southwest Geology web; collection includes 1,300 mineral specimens on display from around the world; The Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology Earthquake Studies Office is in the Museum with operating seismographs on view;
Miracle of America Museum and Pioneer Village Polson Northwest Multiple web
Missoula Art Museum Missoula Northwest Art Culture of the American West with an emphasis on contemporary Montana artists
MonDak Heritage Center Sidney Northeast Art web
Montana Auto Museum Deer Lodge Southwest Transportation - Automobile web
Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame Wolf Point Northeast Hall of fame - Cowboys Proposed museum
Montana Historical Society Museum Helena Southwest History web
Montana Law Enforcement Museum Deer Lodge Southwest Law enforcement Currently closed web
Montana Museum of Art & Culture
at the University of Montana - Missoula		 Missoula Northwest Art / Culture web; collection of 10,000 items includes American Impressionism, ceramics, works by Frederic Remington, Julius Seyler, William Merritt Chase, Joseph Henry Sharp, Alfred Maurer, Honoré Daumier, modernist or contemporary artists Andy Warhol, David Salle and R.B. Kitaj[3]
Montana Natural History Center Missoula Northwest Natural history web
Moss Mansion Billings Southeast Historic house Early 20th century period mansion
Museum at Central School Kalispell Northwest History History of Northwest Montana, Native American artifacts, sculptures, original paintings, and photography, operated by the Northwest Montana Historical Society
Museum of Fine Arts Butte Butte Southwest Art web
Museum of the Northern Great Plains Fort Benton North central History web, info
Museum of the Plains Indian Browning Northwest Ethnic - Native American web
Museum of the Rockies Bozeman South central Multiple Dinosaurs and fossils, natural history, Native American artifacts, area history, living history 1900s house
Museum of the Upper Missouri Fort Benton North central History web, info
Musselshell Valley Historical Museum Roundup Southeast History web
National Museum of Forest Service History Missoula Northwest History web
Ninepipes Museum Charlo Northwest History web
North American Wildlife Museum Coram Northwest Natural history web
O'Fallon Historical Museum Baker Southeast History web
Old Jail Museum Thompson Sanders History web
Old Prison Museum Deer Lodge Southwest History web
Old Trail Museum Choteau North central History / Natural history website, fossils, dinosaurs, Native American artifacts, grizzly bears, local history
Original Governor's Mansion Helena Southwest Historic house Late 19th century Queen Anne style mansion
Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art Great Falls North central Art Collection focuses on contemporary art in many media from artists who live in Montana, the western United States and western Canada
Phillips County Museum Malta Phillips History website, dinosaurs, Native Americans, cowboys, pioneers and outlaws
Piccadilly Transportation Memorabilia Museum Butte Southwest Transportation web
Polson-Flathead Historical Museum Polson Northwest History web
Powder River Historical Museum and Mac's Museum Broadus Southeast History web
Powell County Museum Deer Lodge Southwest History web
Ravalli County Museum Hamilton Northwest Multiple website, local history, art exhibits, native American collection, development of the Rocky Mountain Laboratory, period room displays
Rocky Mountain Museum of Military History Missoula Northwest Military web
Rudyard Historical Society Museums Rudyard North central Multiple website, history in the Depot Museum, paleontology in the Dinosaur Museum, historic automobiles in the Hi-Line Vintage Automobile Museum
Seeley Lake Historical Museum and Visitor Center Seeley Lake North central History info
SpectrUM Discovery Area Missoula Northwest Science Hands-on science activities, operated by the University of Montana
St. Ignatius Mission St. Ignatius Northwest History Late 19th-century church located on the Flathead Indian Reservation, historic Mission and Native American artifacts
Tobacco Valley Historical Village Eureka Open air Northwest Information; buildings, including a school, church, log cabin, general store, fire tower, and railroad depot from the 1880s to 1920s, all furnished with period artifacts
Two Medicine Dinosaur Center Bynum North central Paleontology Includes baby dinosaur bones, Guinness Book of World Records largest, scientifically accurate dinosaur reconstruction, Seismosaurus halli, public, hands-on dinosaur research and education programs
Upper Missouri River Breaks Interpretive Center Fort Benton North central Natural history / History web, info
Upper Musselshell Museum Harlowton North central History website, includes fossils, bones, period room displays, historic schoolroom, historic military, medical, railroad and American West artifacts
Upper Swan Valley Historical Society Museum and Heritage Site Condon Northwest History website
Ursuline Center Heritage Museum Great Falls North central Religious web
Utica Museum Utica North central Local history info; artifacts from the Homestead Era, including dishes, clothes, furniture, tools, and leather goods; pictures of local homesteaders[4]
Valley County Pioneer Museum Glasgow Northeast History web
WaterWorks Art Museum Miles City Southeast Art website, exhibits of regional and national contemporary art, formerly Custer County Art & Heritage Center
Western Heritage Center Billings Southeast History Local history, culture
Winifred Museum Winifred Northeast History info, includes a collection of over 3000 Tonka toys
World Museum of Mining Butte Southwest Industry Mining tools, equipment, photos, re-creation of an 1890s mining town
Wright Zoological Museum Missoula Northwest Natural history Research museum of the University of Montana, not open to the public. 14,500 mammalian, 7,000 avian, and 3,200 fish specimens. The largest collection of its kind in the region.[5]
Yellowstone Art Museum Billings Southeast Art Contemporary art
Yellowstone County Museum Billings Southeast History web
Yellowstone Gateway Museum Livingston South central History / Natural history web
Yellowstone Historic Center West Yellowstone South central History web
Yesterday's Playthings Deer Lodge Southwest Toy web

Museums with paleontology holdings

This list repeats items in the above list, with more information on fossil dinosaur holdings. Each of the museums on the Montana Dinosaur Trail has "unique paleontology displays, interpretation, replicas or actual skeletons of dinosaurs and other fossils" found in Montana", according to the official Montana Dinosaur Trail web page.[2]

Name Town/City Region On
Dinosaur
Trail?		 Education
programs/
Guided
tours?		 Associated
Field
Digs?		 Summary
Blaine County Museum Chinook North central Yes No No Web page; paleontology department of this local museum has a dozen Judith River Formation exhibits including Hadrosaur, Gorgosaurus, and Ankylosaurus fossils from the area; has remains of gigantic marine reptiles Mosasaur and Plesiosaur, along with invertebrates from the ancient ocean that covered the area; a "Look, Touch, and Wonder" room where visitors can handle fossils of sea creatures, plants, and dinosaurs.[2]
Carter County Museum Ekalaka Southeast Yes No No Collection, all collected from the nearby Hell Creek Formation, includes one of the world's five skeletons of Anatotitan copei, complete skulls of the three-horned Triceratops horridus, the dome-headed Pachycephalosaurus wyomingensisi, and Nanotyrannus lancesis (a tiny tryannosaur)[2]
Fort Peck Field Station of Paleontology Fort Peck Northeast Yes Yes No Website; associated with the University of Montana Paleontology Department, a working field station where paleontologists research, prepare, mold and cast fossils[2]
Fort Peck Interpretive Center and Museum Fort Peck Northeast Yes Yes No Collection centerpiece is "Peck's Rex", claimed to be one of the most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons yet found; in the lobby is a life-size replica model of Peck's Rex, and the exhibit hall displays a full-size skeleton cast; also a Cretaceous Sea display and several other dinosaur exhibits[2]
Garfield County Museum Jordan Northeast Yes No Yes Website; dinosaur holdings include Cretaceous fossils from the Hell Creek Formation; a Tyrannosaurus rex skull, full-size Triceratops replica, a Pachycephalosaur skull[2]
Great Plains Dinosaur Museum and Field Station Malta Northeast Yes Yes Yes To open in June 2008; contains fossils and preparation lab; displays include Brachylophosaurus mummy dinosaur recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the "best preserved" dinosaur; Jurassic Stegosaurs; a Sauropod; visitors can view the lab where dinosaur fossils are prepared[2]
H. Earl Clack Memorial Museum Havre North central Yes No No Fossil displays include Judith River Formation dinosaur eggs and embryos believed to be laid by a Lambeosaurus ("duck bill" dinosaur); displays about archeological finds from the nearby Wahkpa Chu'gn buffalo jump site.[2]
Makoshika State Park Glendive Southeast Yes Yes No Montana's largest state park has dinosaur fossil remains, including Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops; visitor center at the park entrance has exhibits explaining the site's geologic, fossil, and prehistoric significance;[6] artifiacts include a Triceratops skull; has a "touchy-feely" table allowing visitors to hold fossils and artifacts prevalent in the park[7]
Makoshika Dinosaur Museum Glendive Southeast Yes Yes Yes Fossils from around the world; late Cretaceous, Jurassic periods; an "Ages of the Sea Cavern"; displays life-sized Allosaurus and Stegosaurus in combat; Pterosaurs, a full-size Tyrannosaurus rex skull; dinosaur sculptures[2]
Museum of the Rockies Bozeman South central Yes Yes No Said to have "one of the largest collections of dinosaur fossils in the world", including the world's largest Tyrannosaurus rex skull, one of the first identified female dinosaurs in the world (an ovulating T. rex); rare fossils; part of Montana State University - Bozeman; state's official repository for both federal and state paleontological collections[2]
Old Trail Museum Choteau North central Yes No No Website; Displays finds from the area's Two Medicine Formation, including a Maiasaura skull, Einosaurus skull as well as nestling, hatchling and teenage Maiasaura skeletons and bones, a Sauronitholestes skeleton cast, dinosaur footprints, marine fossils, bones that can be touched, a preparation lab display, geologic information about the Rocky Mountain Front and Willow Creek Anticline[2]
Phillips County Museum Malta Northeast Yes No No Website; Paleontology section includes fossils from nearby Judith River Formation; 33-foot long skeleton of "Elvis", a Brachylophosaurus, claimed to be "one of the best articulated dinosaur skeletons ever found"; a complete Tyrannosaurus rex skull; 28-foot skeleton of an Albertosaurus[2]
Rudyard Depot Museum Rudyard North central Yes No No Displays include the "Oldest Sorehead", a Gryposaurus found nearby; a duckbill dinosaur and egg nest display[2]
Two Medicine Dinosaur Center Bynum North central Yes Yes Yes Website; baby dinosaur bones; Guinness Book of World Records largest, scientifically accurate dinosaur reconstruction; Seismosaurus halli; public, hands-on dinosaur research and education programs[2]
Upper Musselshell Museum Harlowton South central Yes No No Website; centerpiece is "Ava", a full-size Avaceratops skeleton replica from the Judith River Formation; Hadrosaur tibia and fibula, a cast of a Gypsonictops jaw; dinosaur leg bone and hip bone fossils; other fossilized ancient sea creatures[2]

Regions

The six regions referred to in the above lists are based on those used by the Montana tourism authority[8] and the Montana Association of Museums.[9] The regions used here have the same boundaries but are renamed here:

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Web page titled "Conrad Mansion National Historic Site" at Visit Montana state government website, retrieved May 12, 2008
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 Montana Dinosaur Trail Web page, retrieved May 11, 2008
  3. ↑ Web page titled "Montana Museum of ARt & Culture" at Visit Montana state government website, retrieved May 12, 2008
  4. ↑ Web page titled "Utica Museum" at the Visit Montana website, retrieved May 11, 2008
  5. ↑ Philip L. Wright Zoological Museum and Montana Comparative Skeletal Collection | The University of Montana | Missoula, MT | Collections
  6. ↑ Montana state parks Web page on Makoshika, retrieved May 11, 2008
  7. ↑ Friends of Makoshika State Park Website, retrieved May 11, 2008
  8. ↑ Museums web page of the Visit Montana state website], retrieved May 11, 2008
  9. ↑ Home page of the Montana Association of Museums, retrieved May 11, 2008

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Museums in Montana.