University of Wyoming Geological Museum

To get a feel for longtime University of Wyoming Geology Professor Samuel Knight’s contributions to the university and to geology, visit the UW Geological Museum, in the S.H. Knight Geology Building near the northwest corner of the main UW campus in Laramie, Wyo. The big Wyoming Apatosaurus, discovered in 1901 and recovered by Knight in 1956 from the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh, still dominates the space. Other exhibits include “Big Al,” a cast of a nearly complete, juvenile Allosaurus discovered near Shell, Wyo. in 1991.

On the south wall of the museum’s upper gallery is a painting by Knight of how the Centennial Valley west of Laramie might have looked during the Pleistocene. On the opposite wall is a smaller painting, also by Knight, of Eocene mammals.

The museum is free but closed on Mondays. For more information on hours and exhibits visit the museum’s website.