The Sternberg Museum, Hays, Kansas

[Jaybot]

I had the appreciated opportunity to visit the Sternberg for the first time.  I have driven by it many times while traveling, nice to know what’s inside.  

 

It’s a great museum, primarily focusing on the chalk formations of W KS; which I have hardly hunted unfortunately.  Many mosasaurs, several plesiosaurs (including my favorite, Dolichorhynchops), Hesperonis and Icthyornis birds, and much more from around the world.

 

Enjoy  

 

 

 

 

This feller was doing a live demonstration!  He was an unbelievably slow worker though, so I lost patience and moved on eventually.  

 

 

 

And for the very famous ‘Fish within a Fish’.  This Xiphactinus is SO much bigger in person… pictures do not do it justice.

 

 

 

And now for a COMPLETE Cretoxyrhina!!!  Dentition position STILL PRESERVED!!!  It was huge.

 

 

 

 

A great fish and shark display:

 

 

Here is some from that display:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That Ptychodus mortoni tooth plate blew my mind…. That would be so cool to find and prep.

 

 

 

Now for an incredible display of these rare birds:

 

 

 

A Doli!!!

 

 

 

 

A display of various invertebrates found in KS and surrounding states:

 

 

 

A massive bivalve:

 

 

 

 

 

A bunch of fossils from various localities.  Those Teleoceras specimens were a highlight for me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Patagonian fossils!

 

 

 

 

 

 

And now for mammals, mostly casts.  My favorite mammal was present, Casteroides- it was a cast, but still cool.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And finally, a massive mosasaur:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, that’s all from from me.  I forgot to take pics of a lot, so you’ll have to visit to see it all.  

  Definitely a lot to see, especially for aquatic reptile fans!

 

Hope y’all enjoyed 

Edited November 25, 2024 by Jaybot

[Bobby Rico]

Hi really great report,  it looks like a crackerjack museum.  I love the half and half fossil/ model.

 

Thank you. Bobby 

 

 

[AndrewMT]

Amazing, Thanks for the virtual tour! My folks were originally from E KS, so I have driven through KS many times. I had no clue Western KS has such great fossils/museums. Definitely something to look forward to on that drive  

[hadrosauridae]

Thanks for the great pics, I really like that museum.  Last time I was there, they had many of the Green River fish mis-labeled.  I always wonder if they got the correct specimens to the appropriate label.

[LSCHNELLE]

Looks like a lot of fun! Thanks for giving us a virtual tour!

[Jaybot]

Thanks for the kind words everyone.  

@hadrosauridae, I suspect they are still mislabeled.  I am not a GRF expert, but there was one I was sure was a Priscacara, but they had it labeled as something else.  Some of the other fish ids seemed… ahem… fishy  .

[Jaybot]

On 11/25/2024 at 12:00 PM, AndrewMT said:

Amazing, Thanks for the virtual tour! My folks were originally from E KS, so I have driven through KS many times. I had no clue Western KS has such great fossils/museums. Definitely something to look forward to on that drive  

Nice!  You may have already visited it, but the KU museum is really good as well.  It’s actually my favorite KS museum.  

[Kohler Palaeontology]

Thanks for showing, I really enjoyed!! 

[AndrewMT]

13 hours ago, Jaybot said:

 It’s actually my favorite KS museum.

Absolutely! I LOVE that museum!