At the southeast corner of the MSU campus is the Museum of the Rockies (600 W. Kagy Blvd., 406/994-3466, www.museumoftherockies.org, 8 a.m.–8 p.m. daily Memorial Day–Labor Day, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Mon.–Sat., 12:30–5 p.m. Sun. Labor Day–Memorial Day, $8–10 adults, $4–7 students 5–18, free for kids under 5; planetarium admission only, $3).

The collection is eclectic, but most people know the museum for its significant collection of dinosaur bones, including the Tyrannosaurus rex skull excavated in eastern Montana in 1990—the largest dinosaur skull ever found. The dinosaur exhibits are housed in the spacious new Siebel Dinosaur Complex.

It’s a good place to take the kids, and adults may want to prepare by reading Jack Horner’s book Dinosaurs Under the Big Sky before their visit. Horner, the renowned paleontologist in charge of the museum’s impressive paleontology department, was the model for the paleontologist in Jurassic Park.

The museum also offers a sampling of modern art, pioneer history, and astronomy. Almost as popular as the dinosaurs is the museum’s planetarium, where the impressive projection system simulates flying through space. The museum’s extensive photo archive includes many images of and by Native Americans. Many of these photos can be browsed on the museum’s website.