UTAH STATE PARKS
MUSEUM RENTALS
T
he museum, which includes a large rotunda,
exhibit halls, classroom, theater and garden, may
be rented separately or in its entirety for public or
private functions. Please inquire at the visitor information desk for cost and availability.
GUIDELINES
DIRECTIONS
Please observe these regulations to ensure
everyone’s visit is pleasant:
Please leave food and drink outside.
Pets are prohibited from entering the
museum. Service animals are allowed.
Children must be supervised at all times.
Running or rough–housing within the museum can damage displays, result in injury and
disrupt others’ enjoyment of the museum.
Please do not climb on or touch any of the
museum or garden models.
The museum is conveniently located on US Highway 40
in downtown Vernal, near the junction of US Highway 191
(the Flaming Gorge–Uintas National Scenic Byway).
MUSEUM HOURS
The museum is open seven days a week, and is
closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years
and Martin Luther King Jr. holidays.
Museum Hours are 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Extended Summer Hours (Memorial Day
to Labor D ay) 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Utah State parks mission…
Address inquiries to:
Provide opportunities to improve the quality of life in Utah through parks,
programs and employees serving the public
Utah Field House of Natural History
Information contained in this brochure was accurate at time of printing.
Policies, facilities, fees, hours and regulations, etc. change as mandated. For
updated information please contact the park.
496 East Main Street
State Park Museum
Vernal, UT 84078
(435) 789–3799
The Utah Department of natural Resources receives federal aid and prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex age, national origin or
disability. For information or complaints regarding discrimination, contact
Executive Director, Utah Department of Natural Resources, PO Box
145610, Salt lake City, UT 84114–5610 or Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission, 1801 L Street, NW, Washington, DC 20507–0001
Printed on recycled paper with vegetable-based ink.
Design: Anne Wolfer Design Inc.
FI
U TA H
TO R Y
T A T E
P
A R K
PO Box 146001
Salt Lake City, UT 84114–6001
www.utahstateparks.gov
HIS
S
Utah State Parks and Recreation
(801) 538–7458
USE O F NA
HO
TU
D
R
L
AL
P
E
utahfieldhouse@utah.gov
(801) 538–7220
VISITOR INFORMATION
lan your visit to the Uinta Basin or other destinations in northwestern Utah with the help of
our visitor information staff. Either call or stop by
the front desk. Maps, brochures and pamphlets are
available upon request.
Fax: (435) 789–4883
M
U S E U M
Utah Field House
of natural History
State Park Museum
he Utah Field House of Natural History
State Park Museum sits amidst some of
the most spectacular geologic and paleontologic resources on earth. This vast wealth of
resources drew scientists from all over the world
for research and collection. However, it did not
escape the notice of former Ashley National
Forest Supervisor A.G. Nord, that most of these
priceless fossils were leaving the Uinta Basin for
destinations elsewhere. It was through his vision
of retaining these items locally that the Utah Field
House of Natural History arose.
Share in 2.7 billion years of history revealed in the
museum and explore the story of Utah’s ancient
past. Touch actual rock and fossil specimens,
including a 150 million-year-old dinosaur bone.
DINOSAUR GARDEN
ACTIVITIES
V
T
isitors begin their Uinta Fossil Journey in the
rotunda and are greeted by Diplodocus, a dinosaur 90 feet long from tip to tail. After taking a close
look at this giant, visitors proceed to the theater
where their discovery of the Uinta Basin continues.
he dinosaur garden is home to 14 life-size
prehistoric animals. Ever wonder just how
big a woolly mammoth was, or if the tyrant of the
Mesozoic, Tyrannosaurus rex was really so terrible?
The answer is just a garden visit away.
THEATER
ROCKS AND MINERAL ROOM
D
id you ever wonder what it would be like to
participate in a fossil dig? What kinds of tools
would you uses, what might the area look like, and
which fossils might be found? A short film, Stories in
Stone, answers these questions by sharing a day in the
field at two dig sites. The story features volunteers
and scientists who helped excavate fossils for exhibits
at the Utah Field House.
O
JURASSIC HALL
F
rom the dig site and lab, visitors wander back
to the Morrison Formation as it looked 150
million years ago. View unique and rare fossils,
one of which helped paleontologists solve the
mystery of the plate arrangement of Stegosaurus
stenops, or the most complete Haplocanthosaurus
ever discovered, a sauropod dinosaur known from
less than five skeletons.
EOCENE GALLERY
M
MORRISON DIG SITE AND FOSSIL LAB
A
fter leaving the theater, visitors proceed into the sites and sounds of the Morrison Formation. This chapter of
Earth’s story has produced many dinosaurs familiar to us. Listening to sounds of an actual dig, visitors take up
excavation tools and proceed to uncover fossil bones. Several of the most recent and best dinosaur books are available in the lab study area. Younger visitors enjoy a visit to the Children’s Lab, designed to both amuse and educate with
a variety of toys, books and puzzles. A small theater area encourages children to make up their own Jurassic stories.
oving from the Jurassic to the Eocene, visitors go forward in time 100 million years,
when huge lakes dominated the landscape, and the
fauna included crocodiles, turtles, small primates, and
the massive beast, Uintatherium, sporting six horns
and saber–tooth tusks. One complete gallery wall
displays 288 panels of fossil plants, some so wellpreserved insect damage can be observed. A walkthrough diorama, complete with running stream, provides a snapshot of this unique time in Utah’s past,
the Eocene epoch.
ne of the most popular exhibits is the Rock
and Mineral room. Vibrant, glowing colors
are produced when minerals within the rocks are
exposed to ultraviolet light. Flip the switch again to
view the rocks in their usual manner and be amazed
by how ordinary they look.
EDUCATION
E
ducational programs are available to public
and private groups. It is recommended that
requests be made two weeks prior to the desired
date. Contact the Curator of Education for more
information or to schedule a program. A junior scientist book is available for purchase in the gift shop. A
variety of science based activities make learning about
the museum fun. A junior scientist patch is awarded
upon completion of the notebook.
ROCKS IN TIME
T
he Rocks In Time exhibit is designed to
make the science of geology more user
friendly to visitors. Different “chapters” of Earth’s
story are displayed in a mural covering one entire
hallway from floor to ceiling. Many rocks and
fossils on display complement understanding of
this story through both touch and sight.
STATE PARK
MUSEUM
UTAH FIELD
HOUSE
T
