Dakota Dinosaur Museum

The mission of the Dakota Dinosaur Museum is to promote tourism by providing a facility for preservation and display of geological and paleontological specimens for public review and education. This 13,400 sq. ft. museum, a not-for-profit corporation, is governed by a volunteer board of directors. Funding for the building was provided by Dickinson Hospitality Tax Revenues. The museum operates from entrance and gift shop revenue.

Carmen Dolen designed the museum's logo. Artist Dave Thomas of Albuquerque, New Mexico made the Triceratops guarding the door. Dino Lab of Salt Lake City, Utah made the full scale skeletal casts - replicas of real bones, Allosaurus, Albertosaurus, Thescelosaurus, and Stegosaurus. Artist John Fischner of Needville, Texas created the fleshed-out full-scale dinosaur sculptures, Coelophysis, Deinonychus, Dromaeosaurus, Velociraptor, Archaeopteryx, and Compsognathus. Local artists Jack Stewart and Lili Stewart-Wheeler painted the beautiful wall Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops mural and a bison and rhinoceros mural.

The museum exhibits represent a sampling of the paleontological specimens collected, prepared and donated to the museum by Alice and Larry League. Larry and Alice League have been collecting specimens from all over the world for over forty years. The extensive vertebrae fossil collection started in 1984 when League began excavating Oligocene age mammals near Dickinson. In 1987, the quest began for Late Cretaceous age dinosaurs in the Hell Creek Formation of North and South Dakota and Montana. The idea of the Dakota Dinosaur Museum first originated in 1987 when the Leagues' personal collection began to exceed several thousand specimens. Larry and Alice coordinated the efforts for the development, fund raising, construction, exhibit preparation and opening of the museum on May 13, 1994. They continue to serve as Museum Curator and Executive Director.

Dino Gift Shop

To make your museum visit complete, visit the Dino Gift Shop and take home an educational item to extend your museum visit.

Explore Related Categories