Aathal Dinosaur Museum, Natural history museum in Seegräben, Switzerland.
The Aathal Dinosaur Museum occupies a former textile mill with about 4,500 square meters (48,400 sq ft) of exhibition space displaying numerous dinosaur fossils and reconstructions. The collection includes skeletons, teeth, and other bone remains from various species spanning different geological periods.
Hans-Jakob Siber, a mineral and fossil dealer, showed a 4.5-metre fossil turtle at his annual Aathal special show in 1977, followed four years later by an eight-metre Edmontosaurus skeleton. The collection grew in 1992, and in 1993 the museum opened in the former Streiff & Cie cotton mill built in 1903. The family firm Siber + Siber helped fund its later work.
The museum's name comes from the Aathal locality and its Swiss German form, Sauriermuseum Aathal. Its own excavations on the Howe Ranch in Wyoming and at the Dana Quarry are presented in the museum, and taxidermists can be watched at work in the Schaupräparatorium. A shop, a cafeteria and the Dino-Gardino park for children are part of the site.
The museum sits about 600 meters (2,000 ft) from Aathal train station and is easily reached on foot. Visitors should plan enough time to thoroughly explore the extensive exhibition spaces and different fossil displays.
The museum holds a remarkable collection from the Howe Ranch excavation site in Wyoming, including rare specimens of Stegosaurus and Ankylosaurs. These discoveries show how Swiss paleontologists participate in international research projects.
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