Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, Natural history museum in Norman, Oklahoma.
The Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum in Norman that displays tens of thousands of objects and specimens. The exhibition spaces show the region's geological development, wildlife, and human history.
The institution was founded in 1899 by the Oklahoma Territorial Legislature and was first housed in various campus locations. The building at its current site opened in 2000 and allowed for a much larger collection.
The museum shows Oklahoma's natural world through displays that span from ancient times to today's Native American communities. You can see how the land and its people have developed together over thousands of years.
The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday and also on Sunday, offering flexible planning options for visitors. It is easily accessible and has large exhibition spaces that work well for different kinds of visits.
The museum holds a remarkably extensive collection of fossils and minerals from Oklahoma and the surrounding region. These objects reveal the vast geological history hidden beneath the state's surface.
Location: Oklahoma
Official opening: 2000
Website: http://snomnh.ou.edu
GPS coordinates: 35.19450,-97.44930
Latest update: December 6, 2025 17:40
Oklahoma offers destinations beyond the well-traveled routes. The state holds a biblical city replica built into a hillside, a roadside blue whale large enough to climb, a Western museum with roaming bison and elk, and a park filled with hand-carved totem poles. Natural formations add depth to this list, including caverns lined with alabaster, red-rock canyons, waterfalls, and thermal springs. Some parks preserve sand dunes, forests, and lakes that provide space for hiking and water recreation. The region's history appears in frontier forts, homes of settlers and oil barons, and museums dedicated to the indigenous nations of the area. The collection includes galleries of Western and Native American art, natural history exhibits with fossil discoveries, and a museum holding the largest private arms collection in the country. Architectural examples range from preserved Victorian mansions to a 1950s tower now serving as an arts center.
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