When it comes to Natural History, the Naranjo Museum in Lufkin, Texas, has something for everyone. Of course, the biggest “something” is dinosaurs in sizes from eggs to Tyrannosaurus Rex. And kids love dinosaurs!
Linda’s Pick of the Exhibits
Choosing a favorite exhibit in the Naranjo Natural History Museum was really tough! In the end though, I had to choose the Ice Age exhibit. Why?
Fast Fact: The last Ice Age ended around 10,000 years ago in North America. During an Ice Age, the climate flipflops between glacial and interglacial periods, which alternate cold and warm. Some scientists say we're actually in an interglacial, or warm, period now!
Well, first off, a member of my writer’s group has written an awesome book for young readers, Sisters of the Wolf, set in Ice Age Europe. I was lucky to have watched the story grow from idea to winner at the Saskatchewan Book Awards. So I always enjoy building on my knowledge of the ice age.
Mostly though, an era of giants roaming the planet just fascinates me!
So what else lived here during this period? Lots of the animals were big — much bigger than today. There were mammoths, mastodons, horses, glyptodon, short faced bear, dire wolf, American cheetah, ground sloth, giant beaver and more. Many of the animals roaming wild were nearly three times as tall as the people!
As well as fossils from this era, the museum also has a map with additional details about the Ice Age in North America.
What’s in the Naranjo Museum of Natural History?
The Naranjo Museum of Natural History contains the private collection of Dr. Neal Naranjo, paleontolgist and archeologist.
Who is Dr. Neal Naranjo?
Dr. Neal Naranjo began a lifelong quest to find and preserve dinosaur bones in 1960. Over the years, he’s built a collection that rivals many museums in much larger centers.
Naranjo’s interest in fossils started when he stepped on an arrowhead as a child. That arrowhead, which is 12,000 years old, is in the museum today.
Most of the museum’s fossils and artifacts were dug up by Naranjo. His digs were done in a number of US states as well as locations around the world. His prize find was named Mary Ann Hadrosaur in honor of his wife. It’s a duck-billed dinosur that had very rare visible pieces of skin and tendons, along with hooves. Indeed, he’s the only one ever to dig up hooves.
While the museum started in 2011 with over 2000 pieces, it grows continuously due to Naranjo’s ongoing digs and collecting.
Fast Fact: The museum has an amazing collection of eggs -- not the kind we scramble -- but the kind that hatched into dinosaurs. Plus, you can view images of fossilized dinosaur embryos inside many of the eggs. These images were taken with a CT scanner.
The museum is organized around four blocks of displays. It starts with fossil dig tools and a rock exhibit featuring a moon rock. Collected on the Apollo 14 Mission, the rock is one of the largest lunar samples on display. It’s on permanent loan from NASA.
Museum as a Timeline
Progressing through the museum is like following a timeline. Periods from Precambrian though Devonian to Jurassic to Cretaceous are all featured. You’ll see a cave bear, a bison antiquus, the history of the horse and more. These take you up to the NASA exhibit and the space age.
However, there are so many unique artifacts in Naranjo’s collection, it’s impossible to describe them all.
As you can imagine with digs across the US, there’s a lot of history inthe ground. The collection shelves are filled with all kinds of artifacts such as:
- An Indigenous war axe
- Clovis arrow head from 14,500 BC
- Artifacts from the Revolutionary War including tools used to cast bullets
- Viking apparel and artifacts
Dinosaurs in the Collection
The dinosaurs in the collection are all built around real bones from Naranjo’s digs. You’ll see these dinosaurs:
- Hadrosaurus (mostly complete)
- Torosaurus (mostly complete)
- Hypacrosaurus (complete skeleton)
- Einiosaurus (complete skeleton)
- Deimetrodon (complete skeleton)
- Edaphosaurus (complete skeleton)
- Camptosaurus (complete skeleton)
- T-Rex (some vertebrate)
- Ichthyosaur (some fossilized bones)
- Mosasaur (some fossilized bones)
- More types as the digs continue!
Linda’s Road Trip Tips
We visited Lufkin, Texas, on our way home from Galveston. Our first stop had been Beaumont, with its amazing Texas Energy Museum. We also visited the Texas Forestry Museum in Lufkin, which was a great free attraction.
From Lufkin, we made our way north, taking the Indian Nation Turnpike through Oklahoma to spend our next night in Okmulgee.
The Turnpike was inexpensive, with just a few stops where we paid $2.50 each. So, we didn’t need a transponder that could be scanned.
I’d definitely recommend the Turnpike as it connected to Hwy 75, that takes you into Topeka, Kansas, our next stop.
Who Should Visit the Naranjo Museum in Lufkin, Texas?
The Naranjo Museum is an awesome stop for all ages interested in natural history. While we were there, we saw several families and the kids were all having a blast.
Of course, kids like to do more than look at artifacts even if they’re dinosaur bones and figures. So, they’ll love the hands-on exhibits.
Children can try their hand at being a paleontologist in the dig pits where they can dig “fossils” like a real paleontologist.
And they’ll find pushing the red buttons around the museum that activate a hologram-like Dr. Naranjo to explain things interesting.
The depth of information is very good in the museum. Each item is labelled and described. So, you’ll learn more than just the names of the dinosaurs in the collection. In fact, to go completely through the museum examining each artifact would take a day, or a couple of visits.
If you’re from the area, kids can even sign up for summer camp.
In 2024, a new project was started to add a playground and improve accessibility.
How Do You Visit Naranjo Museum of Natural History?
The Naranjo Museum of Natural History is located in Lufkin, Texas, at 5104 South 1st (Hwy 59S). It can be a bit complicated to get the right access, so do follow the website’s directions.
Check days open and admissions on the Naranjo Museum website.
Keep up-to-date with the Naranjo Museum Facebook page.
Take a virtual tour of the Naranjo Museum on YouTube.
Plan your visit to the Naranjo Museum with Google maps.
Reference(s)
Camarillo, V. (2017, June 30). Charm East Texas. https://www.charmeasttexas.com/features/a-renaissance-man-dr-neal-naranjo/article_c77a2b28-5ab8-11e7-ae0f-271f74d1e886.html#:~:text=Neal%20Naranjo’s%20life%20as%20a,he%20stepped%20on%20something%20sharp.
guide2museums.com 