What are the opening hours?

Tuesday 10am - 5pm Wednesday 10am - 5pm Thursday 10am - 5pm Friday 10am - 5pm Saturday 10am - 5pm Sunday 1pm - 5pm

Oklahoma Museum of Natural History

Name: Oklahoma Museum of Natural History
Address: 2401 Chautauqua Avenue, Norman, OK, 73072, US
Telephone: +14053257977
Price range: $
Rating: 4.7

Home
United States
Norman, OK
Oklahoma Museum of Natural History

Call Directions Website Contact the museum

Preserving natural and cultural heritage since 1899, discover wonder at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History.
(1603)

10/16/2026

You won't want to miss this free public talk with Dr. Robert Con Davis-Undiano!

💀 Explore the rich legacy of Día de los Mu***os and discover how this meaningful tradition continues to bring people together in celebration of identity and belonging.

🗓️ October 22
⏰ Doors open at 5:30 p.m. | Talk begins at 6 p.m.
📍 Oklahoma Museum of Natural History
🎟️ Free and open to the public (Ages 18+). Registration is required.

🔗 Space is limited. Click the link in our bio to register and reserve your spot today.

Dr. Davis-Undiano is an acclaimed author, scholar, and Executive Director of World Literature Today.

***os

10/14/2026

🕷️ Meet Dr. Gustavo Silva de Miranda, our Assistant Curator of Invertebrates!

We asked him about the giant spider outside the museum, his favorite spider species, and the biggest misconceptions people have about Oklahoma spiders.

Disclaimer: This video specifically discusses spiders of medical importance in Oklahoma. While most spiders are venomous, the brown recluse and black widow are the two species of primary medical concern in Oklahoma.

10/09/2026

From colorful sugar skulls to intricate folk art, Lives of the Dead is full of incredible details to discover. 💀🌼 Explore the art and traditions of Día de Mu***os through paintings, prints, sculptures and more.

Only here for a limited time, so be sure to stop by and experience it while you can!

🛍️ Before you head out, stop by Excavations Museum Store to shop colorful folk art, décor and unique keepsakes inspired by the exhibition

***os

10/01/2026

October is packed with plenty to discover at the Oklahoma Museum of Natural History! 🍂🦖

A full month of curiosity, culture and just the right amount of spooky is ahead, with plenty of reasons to stop by. You may even spot one giant eight-legged visitor outside the museum as the fall season gets underway! 🕷️

Swipe through to see what’s coming up this October, save the dates and start planning your visit!

🔗 Visit our website for event details, registration and more.

09/24/2026

Away game this weekend? We’ve got your plans covered! 🏈🦕🦖

Make the most of your weekend with a visit to the Sam Noble Museum! Check out what’s happening and register for your favorites before spots fill up.

09/15/2026

Meet Murphy Mullenix, a volunteer in the Vertebrate Paleontology Prep Lab! 🦴
Behind every fossil discovery are hours of careful work. Murphy helps support the behind-the-scenes preparation and care of specimens, contributing to the research, education, and discovery that happen every day at the museum!

09/06/2026

Spend your Labor Day with us! The museum will be open tomorrow, September 7, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. We hope you enjoy a safe and relaxing holiday weekend!

07/23/2026

Take a good look at our state's new official soil conservation insect: the rainbow scarab. And, well, there's no other way to put it...
..The rainbow scarab is a dung beetle. It's a dirty job, but they look good doing it. Adults use animal droppings as both food and nursery material, shaping and burying dung underground where their larvae can grow and develop.

Their bright colors help the beetles recognize one another, signal fitness to potential mates, and may even provide a degree of camouflage from some animals. Males also sport a single curved horn on the head, used for fighting each other over choice piles of excrement–– a scene that may feel familiar to anyone who engages in online political debate.

But unlike online political debate, the beetles and their disputes provide a productive and valuable service to the human race. By burying dung, they help return nutrients to the soil, reduce the transmission of parasites in livestock, and breathe new life into Oklahoma prairies and grasslands.

07/16/2026

Continuing our series highlighting Oklahoma's new state insects, we once again explore the museum's collection of recent invertebrates to meet our new native insect: The American bumblebee.

Bumblebees are some of the largest bee species in North America, up to an inch long, and paired with a deep rumbling buzz that sounds like a miniature attack helicopter, they can be intimidating in close quarters. However bumblebees are typically gentle and non-aggressive. Their relatively small colonies of 50-200 bees do not store large amounts of honey, and with little to defend, they tend to be far less aggressive by nature. Though they can sting and will defend their underground hives if disturbed directly, their stings are actually less painful than a honeybee's.

Though a popularized myth suggests that bumblebee's "shouldn't scientifically be able to fly" given their weight and wing size, in reality they manage well enough to carry large amounts of pollen. The myth originates from a faulty calculation in the 1930s which was based on rigid airplane wings, rather than the fast and flexible wings of insects.

07/13/2026

Take your mind off the heat with a look inside the museum's coolest collection... clocking in at -190°C.

Our genomics collection preserves 25,000 DNA samples from animals across the state of Oklahoma and beyond, allowing future generations of scientists to clone dangerous extinct wildlife for theme parks. Or at least that was the plan until lawyers from Universal and the trademark office got involved. Thankfully the specimens are still incredibly valuable to science. The frozen DNA provides a genetic record and snapshot of animals living today, and can help researchers answer questions about biodiversity, evolution, disease, and conservation here and now, as well as years into the future.

It's essentially a biological time capsule that scientists all over the world can access as needed.

Shout out to Curatorial Associate Rebecca Hawkins for showcasing the collection and preventing our videographer from discovering what -190°C feels like when you poke it.

Address

2401 Chautauqua Avenue
Norman, OK
73072

Opening Hours

Tuesday	10am - 5pm
Wednesday	10am - 5pm
Thursday	10am - 5pm
Friday	10am - 5pm
Saturday	10am - 5pm
Sunday	1pm - 5pm

Telephone

+14053257977

Website

https://samnoblemuseum.ou.edu/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Oklahoma Museum of Natural History posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Museum

Send a message to Oklahoma Museum of Natural History:

Want your museum to be the top-listed museum in Norman?