Several species of North American mammals in the Panorama exhibit.

Biodiversity Institute & Natural History Museum

We study past and present life on Earth to educate, engage and inspire.

Natural History Museum

Museum Hours & Admission

Tuesday-Saturday: 9am-5pm
Sunday: 12pm-4pm
Closed on Mondays

Admission is a suggested contribution of $7 per adult and $4 per child. KU students and members are free. All proceeds support the museum.

Location & Contact Info

Dyche Hall
1345 Jayhawk Blvd
Lawrence, KS 66045

Phone: 785-864-4450
Email: [email protected]

Membership

Support the KU Natural History Museum with a Museum Membership and enjoy benefits at the museum and at 300+ institutions around the country!

Panorama Newsletter

Keep up with the latest news, events, and more by subscribing to the Panorama Newsletter, a monthly email from the KU Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum.

Natural History Museum

The KU Natural History Museum is home to four floors of public exhibits including the historic Panorama, live snakes and insects, vertebrate and invertebrate fossils, flora and fauna of the Great Plains and more.
A child holds his arms up imitating the Pteranodon on display.

Biodiversity Institute

The KU Biodiversity Institute is an internationally recognized center for research and graduate student education in evolutionary biology, systematics and biodiversity informatics, with curated collections of over 11 million plant, animal and fossil specimens and 2 million cultural artifacts.
A graduate student examines a specimen in the herpetology collection.

Upcoming Events

Help Fund our Future

The KU Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum relies on your support to fund its programs, research, exhibits and more.

Education & Outreach

Group of students sitting at a table and getting feedback from the instructor on the geology activity they just completed.

K-12 School Programs

Students looking at a wet specimen in a jar.

KU Student & Faculty Programs

News

Collage with photo of the sky, graphic elements, and photos of K. Christopher Beard, Jianming Qiu, and Michael S. Wolfe. Text reads: 2026 AAAS Fellows

Three KU professors in paleontology, medicinal chemistry and microbiology named AAAS fellows

Three University of Kansas professors — K. Christopher Beard, Jianming Qiu and Michael S. Wolfe — have been elected as 2025 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) fellows, a distinct honor within the scientific community.
Ric Steele Jr., Committee Chair, presents EBB PhD student Ben Wiens with KU’s Graduate Student Distinguished Service Award.

Wiens’ receives Distinguished Service Award

Congratulations to EBB PhD student, Ben Wiens, who was awarded KU’s Graduate Student Distinguished Service Award. The Graduate Student Award for Distinguished Service was established in 1983 and is presented annually to a graduate student who has demonstrated a genuine commitment to serving the University of Kansas while maintaining a high level of academic achievement.
Kelly Pfeiler points to a plant fossil specimen on a table while explaining it to a young museum visitor.

KU Natural History Museum announces spring programming

The KU Natural History Museum has a full lineup of science-themed public events this spring for both youth and adults. Programs will cover a range of topics, including STEM activities related to legendary scientists and their discoveries, as well as public presentations on digitizing natural history collections and paleontology fieldwork in Turkey.
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KU Biodiversity Institute names Christina Lutz lead preparator and lab manager in vertebrate paleontology

The KU Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum at the University of Kansas has named Christina Lutz as the vertebrate paleontology lead preparator and lab manager. In her role, Lutz will support the research and educational mission of the Vertebrate Paleontology division by preparing fossil material collected from the field and creating high-quality molds and casts of vertebrate fossils for use in research, teaching and public exhibits.