The University of Michigan Museum of Natural History occupies the Biological Sciences Building at 1105 N University Ave on Central Campus. It is a free, research-driven museum where families come face to face with mastodons, ancient whales and swooping pterosaurs, and where students watch working U-M scientists through lab windows.
The museum reopened in this light-filled building in 2019. Its soaring atrium hangs with Pteranodon and Quetzalcoatlus casts above a striking pair of male and female American mastodon skeletons, both from Michigan finds. The evolution galleries trace life from early oceans to the Ice Age. A standout is the collection of Egyptian fossil whales, including Basilosaurus and Dorudon, drawn from decades of U-M field research. Children gravitate to hands-on stations and touchable specimens. Glass-walled teaching and research labs let visitors see real science in progress. The planetarium and dome theater add shows about space and Earth.
Visitor Highlights & Practical Info
General admission is free. Planetarium shows carry a small fee and often sell out, so reserve online ahead, especially on weekends. Weekday afternoons are quietest. Mornings during the school year bring field-trip groups, and home football Saturdays clog the whole campus. Confirm current hours on the museum’s website before you go. Street parking is scarce. The Fletcher Street and Palmer Drive structures are the closest options, and TheRide and U-M buses stop nearby. The Michigan League sits at 911 N University Ave, a short walk away, and has a campus information desk (source: [U-M Campus Information](https://campusinfo.umich.edu/mapsAndDirections)). The Diag and the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology are also within easy walking distance.
