WWCC Natural History Museum

FACT: In 1989 locals began a fund-raising campaign to return Wyoming’s dinosaurs back to where they first roamed.

Dinosaurs thundered across the open space of Wyoming tens of millions of years before human beings. They’re long gone now, but you can see five life-size replicas of these hulking creatures at Western Wyoming Community College in Rock Springs.

Although archaeologists have found fossils of these monsters all over Wyoming, the most prized specimens were taken to the big natural history museums in the east. So in 1989, locals began a fund-raising campaign to return Wyoming’s dinosaurs back to where they first roamed.

In addition to the five dinosaur replicas, the museum displays several wall-mounted fossils of fish, huge leaves and reptiles that have been discovered in the area. You can also see interesting artifacts such as prehistoric pottery, smaller fossils, and items associated with the earliest known humans who lived in the vicinity.

The WWCC Natural History Museum is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Special tours can be arranged by calling 307-382-1666.