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Location
Visitor tip
Take advantage of the knowledgeable staff and volunteer docents who are available throughout the museum to answer questions and provide guided tours. Many are undergraduate students gaining real museum experience, making them enthusiastic guides.
Best time
Visit on Saturday mornings (10am opening) when the museum first opens to have a more peaceful experience, as this is the only day the museum is open to the general public (Saturdays 10am-4pm).
Visitor tip
Explore both floors strategically: African animals are displayed upstairs while North American animals are on the lower floor. Scattered throughout are interactive play-and-learn stations for kids, plus shells and gemstones to discover.
Quick Facts
- Type
- Natural History Museum
- Collection Size
- 40,000+ specimens in 10,000 sq ft
- Hours
- Saturdays 10am-4pm
- Highlights
- Mammals, birds, fossils, minerals, insects, seashells; crafts and scavenger hunts
What visitors say
Fun family stop. Upstairs is African animals and lower floor is North American animals. There are some fun little stations for kids and also scattered shells and gemstones throughout. There is a small gift shop, admission for two adults…
Interesting little place that serves as a great laboratory and real work practice as docents for undergraduate students. It may not reflect the worst of graduate students or research professors. Takes about 20-25 minutes to go through,…
Oakes museum is great! My 8 year old loved it. Wish there were more snakes. A fun time had by all especially on homecoming weekend where they provided snacks and an origami workshop
From 171 Google reviews
Did You Know?
- Houses over 40,000 specimens including African and North American mammals, birds, eggs, fish, seashells, minerals, insects, and fossils
- Located on the campus of Messiah University and serves as a teaching laboratory where undergraduate students gain practical experience as docents
- Only open Saturdays (10am-4pm), making it a limited-access venue that takes approximately 20-25 minutes to tour
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