State Museum of Pennsylvania

[FossilBaron]

The State Museum of Pennsylvania has a great fossil hall with some immersive dioramas. Most of it pertains to fossils found within the state of Pennsylvania and is arranged so that visitors can walk through the history of life in chronological order. Despite it not being too far from me, I only first visited a few years ago on spring break. 

 

This mastodon is in a side room off the lobby. According to the signage, it was originally in the upstairs gallery but moved to make room for the mastodon skeleton when it was re-mounted.

 

This dunkleosteus cast is accompanied by a real fossil fragment.

There was an immersive, walk-through replica of a Carboniferous coal forest, complete with sound effects.

This is the original koskinonodon skull that the one at the North Museum is cast from:

 

Interestingly, it's next to a cast of the North Museum's sphodrosaurus skeleton:

Next, two large triassic dioramas, with a Redondasaurus skeleton.

 

A diorama of excavation at the famous Ghost Ranch in New Mexico:

 

And a familiar face, CM 11338:

 

The centerpiece of the SMP's collection is the Marshall Creek Mastodon:

 

 

The mastodon was collected in 1968 but it was re-mounted more recently. It's the most complete mastodon from Pennsylvania at 90%.

[ClearLake]

Thanks for posting, I love a good museum tour, especially one that I have never visited. 

[A.C.]

I visited this museum maybe two months ago. Super great paleontology displays. Opened my eyes to some of the great things that have been found in PA.

[Adam86cucv]

Cool my wife and I thought about taking a trip up there with the boys.  We just never seem to get around to it.