T. rex Week

Step into the Morian Hall of Paleontology for a dynamic journey through prehistoric life. This isn’t your typical museum exhibit; here, ancient creatures are brought to life in action-packed scenes of survival. Embark on a “prehistoric safari” that spans from our tree-climbing ancestors to mammoth-hunting humans.

While you’re there, say hi to our three T. rexes: “Wyrex”, our hometown hero, famous for its missing tail and extraordinarily well preserved hands and feet; “Stan”, who has the best-preserved T. rex skull ever discovered; and “Bucky”, the only subadult displayed at HMNS and our favorite teenage resident!

Step back in time in the Morian Hall of Paleontology and come face-to-face with prehistoric giants! Chat with our knowledgeable docents, ask all your burning dinosaur questions, or finally settle that “fact” your family swore was true over spring break. 

Get hands-on with a dino-themed craft to take home, and don’t miss your chance to snap a photo with everyone’s favorite walking dinosaur, Fluffy! 

• 10 am – 1 pm: Volunteer Touch Carts 
  Get up close with real fossils and artifacts—yes, you can touch them! 
  
  
• 10 am – 3 pm: Craft 
  Create your own prehistoric masterpiece to take home. 
  
  
• 11 am – 2 pm: Photo Op with Fluffy 
  Strike a pose with Fluffy, our resident walking dinosaur and crowd favorite! 

Let your creativity run wild in the Morian Hall of Paleontology! Watch talented artists bring dinosaurs (and guests!) to life through sketches, paintings, and colorful transformations. 

Be part of the art yourself by helping us turn a featured sketch into a community coloring wall, add your touch and see it become part of the day’s masterpiece. Then, strike a pose with our playful puppet friends roaming the museum! 

• 12 pm – 3 pm: Live Artists 
  From sketches to face paint, become the canvas or take home a custom creation.
  The face painting line will close at 2:45 pm to allow artists time to finish guests already in line.
  Caricatures are available for an additional fee and must be paid directly to the artists. 

• All-Day Feature: Community Coloring Wall 
  Come show off your artistic skills by coloring your own page from a custom sketch created just for T. rex Week 2026! HMNS staff artist Daniel Huerta will be onsite, drawing inspiration from our incredible halls to create something brand new for this year. 

• 5 pm – 8 pm: Puppet Photo Op 
  Keep your eyes peeled… our dino puppets are on the move! Catch them roaming the Morian Hall of Paleontology and snap a photo before they wander off. 

Dig deeper into the world of dinosaurs with hands-on activities and behind-the-scenes science! Explore, question, and discover what it really takes to uncover the past. 

• 10 am – 1 pm: Volunteer Touch Carts 
  Get hands-on with real fossils and artifacts. 

• 11 am – 2 pm: Paleo Lab Table 
  Step into the world of paleontology and learn how discoveries are made. 
  
  
• 11 am – 2 pm: Mini Dig Pit 
  Search for a hidden T. rex footprint, find it and win a prize! 

Where curiosity meets creativity! Spend the day asking questions, making discoveries, and diving into hands-on fun throughout the Morian Hall of Paleontology.  

• 10 am – 3 pm: Craft 
  Create a prehistoric keepsake. 
  
  
• 11 am – 2 pm: Paleo Lab Q&A 
  Ask the experts your biggest dinosaur questions while they are working on fossils. 
  
  
• 11 am – 2 pm: Puppet Photo Op 
  Keep your eyes peeled… our dino puppets are on the move! Catch them roaming the Morian Hall of Paleontology and snap a photo before they wander off. 

Swing by the Morian Hall of Paleontology to touch real fossils and get crafty before the evening’s exclusive fun begins. 

• 10 am – 1 pm: Volunteer Touch Carts 
  Yes, you can touch them. No, they won’t bite. 

• 10 am – 3 pm: Craft 
  Glue, create, and take home your own prehistoric creation. 

Somewhere in the museum… a golden egg is waiting to be found.  

Find it, and you’ll win a Family Level Membership to the place dinosaurs call home—that’s right, the Houston Museum of Natural Science. 

While you’re on the hunt, stop by to explore fossil replicas up close, hear the stories behind them from our knowledgeable docents, and get creative with a prehistoric craft to take home. 

If you find a golden egg, please make your way to Museum Services to claim your prize. You will be asked to provide your information to process your membership. Your Family Level Membership will be activated and ready to use within 2–3 business days. If you are already a member, your membership will be extended and applied to a future term. Memberships may be upgraded to a higher level once the Family Membership has been processed. 

• 11 am – 2 pm: Mini Dig Pit 
  Search for a hidden T. rex footprint, find it and win a prize! 
  
  
• 11 am – 2 pm: Photo Op with Fluffy (Saturday Only) 
  Strike a pose with Fluffy, our resident walking dinosaur and crowd favorite! 

All great things must come to an end, and so does our T. rex Week. Over the past few days, we crafted, we posed, we asked questions, we laughed, and maybe even jumped at just how scary dinosaurs can be, but most importantly, we learned from our incredible volunteers and our Paleontology team.  

Thank you for spending the week with us, we can’t wait to do it all again. See you next year: June 7 – 14, 2027! 

• 10 am – 1 pm: Volunteer Touch Carts 
  Yes, you can touch them. No, they won’t bite. 

• 11 am – 2 pm: Mini Dig Pit 
  Search for a hidden T. rex footprint, find it and win a prize! 

• 11 am – 2 pm: Puppet Photo Op 
  Keep your eyes peeled… our dino puppets are on the move! Catch them roaming the Morian Hall of Paleontology and snap a photo before they wander off. 

Elevate your teaching practice at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, where we combine world-class resources with evidence-based strategies for the gifted classroom. This day-long event is designed to immerse educators in the phenomena-based learning environments that best serve high-ability students. 

The day begins at the Wortham Giant Screen Theatre, using immersive media to spark complex conceptual connections. Participants will then transition to hands-on applications during the Europa Exploration Challenge and a space mission simulation in our Expedition Center. These high-stakes environments provide a framework for mastering differentiation, executive functioning coaching, and resilience building, equipping you to return to the classroom with new tools to challenge your most advanced learners. 

Professional Development Credit: 6 hours of Gifted and Talented credit (Differentiation or 6-hour update credit). There are no refunds for this program.

Fossil preparation is a key step all fossils undergo after their discovery before they can be studied and displayed. From whale bones bitten by Megalodon sharks 6 million years ago, to battle scarred T. rex teeth 68 million years old and beyond, HMNS’s Fossil Preparation Laboratory has worked on some spectacular specimens. Join us for a behind the scenes look into the newest and most exciting additions to the HMNS Paleontology Collection. 

Colin Diggins manages the Paleontology Laboratory at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, overseeing a dedicated team of volunteer fossil preparators and assisting with maintaining and documenting the Museum’s collection of fossils. He’s been passionate about the Pleistocene since he was a small child and participated in his first field school excavations at the age of 13. He completed an undergraduate degree in Archaeology at Augustana University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota in 2013 before then spending several years learning Geology and Paleontology while working as a Discovery Guide at HMNS, and subsequently moved into the Prep Lab bringing his talent for vertebrate skeletal identification. 

Eligible for CPE credit.

Want to see what is deep beneath Earth’s surface? Join HMNS on a tour of the Bureau of Economic Geology’s Houston Research Center, which houses hundreds of thousands of core samples from deep within Earth. Learn what the core samples tell researchers about our planet by looking at a variety of spectacular cores illustrating various siliciclastic and carbonate depositional environments, such as deep-water mass transport deposits, paleo-karsts, valley fills, fluvial and shelf sandstones, and Cretaceous reef—this research center houses over 600,000 boxes of cores and cuttings from all over the world. 

Participants will meet at the Bureau of Economic Geology’s Houston Research Center on W. Little York at 9:45 am. You do not need to pick up your tickets at the museum. Directions will be emailed to those with reservations. Advance registration required. 

Ages 15+. NO EXCEPTIONS. All minors must be accompanied by a ticketed adult. No refunds. 

We’ve all wondered it: Who would win in the ultimate dinosaur showdown? Now it’s time to find out! 

Join us for an epic head-to-head debate as Ted Rechlin, award-winning graphic novelist, animator, filmmaker, and science communicator, faces off with the HMNS Paleontology team to determine which prehistoric powerhouse would reign supreme. Before the debate begins, choose your champion and cheer them on. Will your pick come out on top? There’s only one way to find out! 

After the debate, continue the adventure in the Morian Hall of Paleontology, where you can explore the gallery through interactive activities and hands-on crafts while surrounded by the giants of the past. And, don’t worry, Ted and our HMNS experts will be on hand, ready to answer your questions and dive deeper into the science behind these awe-inspiring creatures. 

Only the Wortham Giant Screen Theatre and the Morian Hall of Paleontology will be open for the evening
Enjoy complementary parking for this event
Tickets to the general public will be available on May 5th

We know T. rex Week just passed, but we’re still not over dinosaurs! Stop by to make a folded paper dinosaur craft, then explore the Morian Hall of Paleontology. Our docents will be ready to answer big questions, like how brachiosaurus held up their long necks and just how powerful a T. rex really was. 

Event is subject to change at any time due to unforeseen circumstances 

Step back into a time when neon ruled, and hair was larger than life! The 80s are taking over the Houston Museum of Natural Science for a night of music, movies, and nonstop fun. 

Dance the night away as DJ P. Charm and DJ SkaDean spin all your favorite 80s hits from hair metal to hip hop. Take a break with a screening of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) in our Giant Screen Theatre, or grab the mic and belt out your favorite Madonna song in the Planetarium karaoke lounge. 

Test your skills in the Grand Hall with classic arcade games, and stay fueled with drinks from our cashless bars or snacks from food vendors on the Sundial. 

It’s neon, it’s nostalgic, and it’s totally 80s.

Before Dinosaur Discoveries gets released to the world, see it today at the Houston Museum of Natural Science in its World Premiere Special Preview! Dinosaur Discoveries brings life-size dinosaurs up close and personal to audiences inside the historic Wortham Theatre’s new HoloTheater. This dynamic and immersive storytelling attraction uses 3D holographic technology and video mapping to take audiences through more than 140 years of scientific discovery and disputes on the journey to understanding the truth about dinosaurs.

Watch Wyrex dominate the big screen, then meet this superstar face-to-face in the Morian Hall of Paleontology! Walk with a menagerie of late Cretaceous giants, from Quetzalcoatlus and Champsosaurus to Triceratops—the three horned devil of Hell Creek—and, of course, Wyrex, one of the most complete T. rex skeletons ever discovered. Follow Wyrex from egg to subadult, through the many injuries that make this specimen a unique window into the life of a T. rex.   

In Tales of a Time Traveler, time travel surrounds you from the biological clock in your brain and the changing shadows on our Cockrell Sundial, to the history of life on Earth. Then the story expands to the lives of stars, the time scale of the Big Bang, and the distortion of time by gravity.

Delve into the ancient mysteries of the dinosaurs and uncover the truth behind their demise in the captivating exhibition, “Dinosaur Extinction: Unraveling the Enigma.” Embark on a mesmerizing journey through time as you witness the incredible lives and survival strategies of these colossal creatures that once roamed the Earth millions of years ago. Immerse yourself in the world of the dinosaurs, guided by stunning animations that bring their stories to life, and explore the very sites where their fossil remains were discovered.

Stress-free. Mess-free. Absolutely unforgettable. 

At HMNS, we don’t just throw birthday parties, we engineer epic celebrations. Designed with curious kids and smart parents in mind, our birthday experiences spark wonder, fuel imagination, and make memories that wow. 

Whether your child dreams of dinosaurs, is dazzled at chemistry, or wants to blast off into space, we’ve got it down to a science. From a unique party space and hands-on activities to high-energy fun and zero planning stress, we handle everything. You show up. We bring the magic. 

Have you ever wondered what really happens after dark or overnight at the museum? 

Find out what happens at the museum after the sun goes down! Enjoy a fun-filled evening with hands-on activities and scavenger hunts before settling down to sleep among the exhibits. 

Create the ideal environment to fit any event from 20 to 5,000 guests. From sophisticated and dramatic to out of this world, our distinctive venues offer beautiful settings beyond compare. 

Inspiring the Next Generation of Engineers and Scientists through Hands-on Learning and Exploration. 

This isn’t your average summer camp. Against the backdrop of real dinosaur fossils, chemistry in action and a world-class institution, kids can experience a summer of education and adventure. Geared for kids ages 6-12, Summer Camps at HMNS use fun, hands-on learning and distinguished teachers to inspire the next generation of engineers and scientists. A wide range of topics from physics and coding to paleontology and forensic science are explored. 

Looking for options for early childhood or teens? 

• Little Learner Labs (4 and 5 year olds)
• The Lab (13 and 14 year olds) 

Due to ongoing summer camp activities, availability is limited. We appreciate your understanding!

The HMNS Scouting Program offers badge classes for Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, as well as enrichment field trips and events at HMNS facilities in Hermann Park, Sugar Land and Brazos Bend State Park, home of the George Observatory. Classes take place on Saturdays during the school year and in week-long day camps during the summer. 

Generously Supported by Oxy 

Become a Paleontologist for the Day and Discover Prehistoric Creatures in this Interactive Exhibit.

Get ready to unearth the secrets of the past as you become a paleontologist for the day. Step into the Dig Pit and grab your tools – shovels, brushes, and trowels. As you dig through the recycled material, you’ll uncover fascinating fossils buried beneath the surface. Feel the thrill of discovery as you carefully brush to reveal several species of cast fossil dinosaur bones. Each find is a piece of the puzzle, offering insights into the past.

The fun doesn’t stop at digging. Once you’ve uncovered your finds, examine them closely and try to identify them using the “Can you find it?” charts.

The Dig Pit exhibit is designed to inspire curiosity and ignite a passion for science. It’s a hands-on experience that encourages visitors ages 3 to 11 to explore, learn, and engage with the wonders of the past.