Carnegie Museum of Natural History
One of the Four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh
Download Carnegie Museum of Natural History Coloring pages to print and color or to drag and drop into your favorite coloring software.
You can find salamanders like these (they’re usually red) near wet ground, like by Powdermill Run at the museum’s environmental research center, Powdermill Nature Reserve.
Tufted Titmice are regularly seen and banded at Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s environmental research center, Powdermill Nature Reserve!
Check out the reptiles and amphibians of today while looking out over prehistoric reptiles that existed millions of years ago.
The Daniel G. & Carole L. Kamin T. rex Overlook is home to the museum’s main herpetology displays, which feature toads, frogs, salamanders, snakes, lizards, and turtles of Pennsylvania. Learn about what makes these creatures unique, and enjoy a bird’s-eye view of an exciting scene in Kamin Halal of Dinosaurs, where two T. rexes are frozen in battle while a giant pterosaur flies above.
Though Pennsylvania has a temperate climate, it is home to representatives of most reptile and amphibian groups. Four dioramas exhibit examples of animals from our state, including an eastern box turtle, a northern leopard frog, and the venomous copperhead snake.
The Section of Amphibians and Reptiles maintains a collection of more than 230,000 specimens and ranks at about the ninth largest amphibian and reptile collection in the United States.
Step into an underwater world in Cretaceous Seaway, a unique exhibition hall that features gentle giants and fierce predators that lived underwater during the Age of Dinosaurs.
The hall brings to life the Western Interior Seaway, a shallow ocean that existed in the Midwestern United States 80 million years ago. Hanging over the entry, a massive Manitoba pliosaur closes in on its potential prey, a juvenile of the plesiosaur Libonectes morgani. The juvenile plesiosaur Libonectes is the only one of its kind, replica or otherwise, on display anywhere in the world.
Visitors can also examine the fossils of a giant turtle and a newly restored Tylosaurus mosasaur fossil skull. See a dramatic chase scene where a plesiosaur is in pursuit of a prehistoric diving bird. Look up, and see the king of the seaway—a 40-foot mosasaur swimming above. Two replica fossil fishes hang nearby.
Adjacent to Kamin Hall of Dinosaurs, Cretaceous Seaway is an extension of our blockbuster core exhibition that showcases life during the Cretaceous Period.
Invertebrate Paleontology’s collection contains several noteworthy phyla, including Paleozoic trilobites, Mesozoic and Cenozoic crustaceans, lower Carboniferous brachiopods, Paleozoic gastropods, Paleozoic cephalopods, Paleozoic ophiuroids, and Pennsylvanian age eurypterids. The section also has more than 12,000 primary types and figured specimens.
Discover the craft and artistry behind Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s famous nature dioramas. Art of the Diorama is an exhibition designed to look like a turn of the century museum with mahogany furniture, a chandelier, and seven classic dioramas that were created in the 1920s and 1930s.
The dioramas feature wildlife like blue geese and aurora trout in stunning replications of scenes from nature. The dioramas were created at the height of the craft and feature detailed, hand-painted backgrounds, expert taxidermy, and scientifically accurate flora and fauna. The exhibition also features two antique “bubble-glass” commercial taxidermy pieces that were once popular in homes and parlors.
Art of the Diorama gives visitors a deeper appreciation for the museum’s dioramas and shows how museum dioramas have changed and grown alongside the conservation movement.
The entirety of our collection–not just the collection we have on display like these very old dioramas–must be cared for and maintained to ensure they aren’t damaged by moisture, oils, pests, and other deteriorating agents.
Polar World: Wyckoff Hall of Arctic Life will close on June 28, 2026.
For more than 40 years, Polar World has transported visitors on an immersive journey through 4,500 years of Inuit history and Arctic life. Inuit sculptures and prints, full-sized dioramas, Arctic wildlife specimens, and a replica snowhouse have captivated people of all ages on tours, field trips, and independent visits.
While saying good-bye can be difficult, closing exhibitions creates space for new experiences. We look forward to sharing more details of our plans for the hall in the days ahead. All scientific specimens and objects from Polar World will be carefully cleaned and conserved by our expert conservation team. Some objects and specimens may return to display in other areas of the museum.
Before the exhibition closes, you’re warmly invited to join us for a farewell weekend of activities in Polar World: Wyckoff Hall of Arctic Life, June 26–28, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Throughout the anthropology and wildlife halls, enjoy hands-on Arctic themed activities, including art making, storytime, and a Snowhouse Spotlight tour. All activities are included with museum admission.
Travel to Antarctica with Paleontologist Dr. Matt Lamanna to search for fossils in a family-friendly, interactive documentary about finding dinosaurs in one of the most remote places on Earth.
This program utilizes an artificial snow machine resulting in heightened noise levels and falling, non-toxic microbubbles.
Weekends at 11:30 a.m. in Earth Theater
$2 per person, tickets available at admission desk or outside Earth Theater 15 minutes before start time.
