Your Fossil Headquarters
Your Fossil Headquarters
Prehistoric past. Awe-inspiring present.
Cincinnati Museum Center cares for a fossil collection totaling more than one million specimens, including the world's largest and finest Late Ordovician fossil collection and the second largest sauropod skull collection in the world. Stretching as far back as 420 million years ago, Cincinnati Museum Center's invertebrate and vertebrate paleontology collections feature the familiar — T. rex, Triceratops, Isotelus maximus — and the rare — Torvosaurus, Galeamopus, Daspletosaurus — but all extraordinary.
Cincinnati Museum Center is the fossil headquarters for paleontologists, researchers, amateur fossil hunters and dinosaur enthusiasts from around the world.
T.REX
Rediscover the GOAT – Greatest Of All Tyrants.
When three teen boys found a fossilized leg bone peeking out of the ground in North Dakota, they sparked one of the greatest discoveries in paleontology. The T. rex fossil laying before them would redefine our understanding of history’s most iconic predator.
Through dazzling graphics, the T. rex comes to life alongside a cast of prehistoric characters, including its archrival the Triceratops; Quetzlacoatlus, one of the largest animals to ever take flight; and the 25-foot-long Sinraptor, a species that likely fed on young tyrannosaurs.
Cincinnati Museum Center’s Dinosaur Hall and paleontologist Dr. Glenn Storrs, Withrow Farny Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology, make a cameo in a special version of T. REX, screening only at Cincinnati Museum Center’s Robert D. Lindner Family OMNIMAX® Theater.
Dinosaur Hall
Come eye-to-eye with the giants of our prehistoric past
Giant beasts roam the halls of Cincinnati Museum Center. From massive plant-eating sauropods to fierce two-legged predators, Dinosaur Hall features incredible, awe-inspiring specimens you won’t find anywhere else, including the fearsome Torvosaurus, generously supported by United Dairy Farmers (UDF). Six prehistoric beasts, many at the center of ongoing scientific research, tower overhead. And state-of-the-art interactive elements will help you experience the late Jurassic like never before. Dinosaur Hall utilizes our globally-significant fossil collections to explore dinosaur evolution, ecology and biology.
Ancient Worlds Hiding in Plain Sight
Dive in as the Ordovician Period shimmers to life through fossils and new technology
The Cincinnati region’s deep time past is all around us! From tropical oceans teeming with invertebrate life to the first forests with 100-foot-tall trees, fossil evidence enables us to travel back in time to study and explore these ancient Paleozoic ecosystems over 450 million years ago.
Built on the strength of our world-renowned fossil collection, travel through over 150 million years of Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky’s incredible geologic past. In this immersive new gallery, explore ancient environments and the animals and plants that lived here so long ago. Discover how fossils are formed and investigate the connections between extinct and modern species. See how processes such as evolution, extinction and climate change impacted these communities, and how this understanding can inform the major issues facing us today. Become an amateur paleontologist and get prepared to step into the time machine that is Ancient Worlds!
Paleo Lab
Paleontology in action
Witness fossils emerging from rock in real time. Staff and volunteers, armed with picks, brushes and pneumatic tools, meticulously excavate fossilized bones from field jackets and rocky encasements. Using glue and gravity, the team pieces together prehistoric puzzles to put bones back together and prep fossils for future research.

Become a CMC Member!
Be the first to see new exhibits, enjoy free admission to all of our museums and get the best price at all of our yearly events.