150 Million Years Shell Fossil Dinosaur Museum Udon Thani

Take the highway 210 about 130kms going towards Nong Bua Lamphu is the Phuwiang Fossil Dinosaur Museum and Research Center.

Shell fossils were discovered by villagers searching for plants in an unused mine area in 1994. The discovery of outstanding-shaped shell fossils in great numbers also included approximately 150-million-year-old Bivalvia fossils and T-Rex fossils.

Nong Bua Lamphu Province then developed the dinosaur and shell fossil site into “Nong Bua Lamphu Unseen” as a site museum. The area is divided into 6 exhibition zones..

This small outdoor park and museum area make a fine sightseeing activity for both locals and tourists. It costs 50THB for farangs, 20THB for Thai nationals, and 10THB for kids. It offers free parking, food, bathrooms, souvenirs, and enough sightseeing to warrant an hour or two. It also offers enough interesting items and colors to warrant a camera. Walking into the area, around the museum and grounds, and back is a short easy walk on pavement. The museum and other buildings do require removal of one’s shoes, but otherwise there is no dress code to worry about.

The highway entrance itself is worth a stop and there is room to park and do so in order to take a picture. Which came first, this place or the movie I don’t know, but I sure felt like it was an entrance drive for Jurassic Park World – definitely neat.

The museum building is small inside but professionally done with lit displays of various fossils and description plaques. I found most of the displays unimpressive but still worthwhile viewing for a short while – even the debatable Darwin evolutionary chart of man’s development from apes. Mostly though, I was thrilled with the moving T-rex dinosaur. Even knowing its robotic harmless nature, up close I found the creature to be impressively realistic – enough to garner an idea of how scary it would be to face a real creature of such magnitude. Photos seem necessary, but the display warrants a video clip.

Elsewhere, the grounds offer a pretty and colorful walk bridge, a couple of impressive war memorials, and an abundance of very bright and colorful roosters. If you’re looking for a short trip out of the city, this is a good, low key activity to explore at least once

How to get there: