Carnegie Museum of Natural History

One of the Four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh

dinosaurs

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Art of the Diorama

  • First Floor

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.

adult and child reviewing a museum map

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Polar World: Wyckoff Hall of Arctic Life

Polar World: Wyckoff Hall of Arctic Life closed on June 28, 2026.  

For more than 40 years, Polar World 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 captivated people of all ages on tours, field trips, and independent visits. Polar World helped educate generations of Pittsburghers about the history of the region and the culture of the Inuit people and was made possible by the passion and generosity of many.  The Hall was named in honor of George W. Wyckoff, Jr.—a very active Board Member of the Carnegie Institute, as well as a gifted photographer and filmmaker—who joined the Museum on expeditions to the Arctic. While traveling through the Canadian Arctic, Wyckoff collected Inuit sculptures, many of which were donated to the museum by his family and were part of the fabric of Polar World for four decades. In recognition of his care for the people of the Canadian Arctic, Polar World proudly carried the legacy of his work as well as the Wyckoff name.


While saying good-bye can be difficult, closing exhibitions creates space for new experiences. The hall will be home to Egypt on the Nile, which opens on May 1, 2027. 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. We hope to honor the legacy of Polar World by continuing the tradition of storytelling in the space.

Polar World: Wyckoff Hall of Acrtic Life Through the Years

kids in a reconstructed snowhouse
group of people looking at a reindeer
Credit: Sarah Gabany, The Warhol Creative
Polar World: Wyckoff Hall of Arctic Life
Credit: Joshua Franzos, Treehouse Media
polar bear taxidermy mount
Credit: Samme Watts
field trip in Polar World
Credit: Mindy McNaugher
group of people looking at a polar bear taxidermy mount
Polar World entrance under contruction
black and white model of a diorama
walrus diorama under construction
sketch for Polar World display
historic map
brightly colored poster for Polar World: Wyckoff Hall of Arctic Life

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Benedum Hall of Geology

  • First Floor

What shaped the Earth’s surface? How are fossils formed? What did western Pennsylvania look like millions of years ago when giant lizards roamed through our once-tropical forests? Learn the answers to these questions and more when you explore the ever-changing nature of our planet in Benedum Hall of Geology.

Three Earth-like domes highlight geological time and dating, fossils, shaping the Earth, and Pittsburgh geology. A fourth dome explores the origin, location, and economic development of coal, oil, and gas. A strong emphasis is placed on the geological processes that shaped Pennsylvania and its neighbors, Ohio and West Virginia. The Stratavator offers a simulated-elevator ride deep into the Earth.

Benedum hall of Geology

Learn about the Invertebrate Paleontology Collection at the Museum

The Section of Invertebrate Paleontology has close to three-quarters of a million fossils in its collection. Because of the special interest in the Paleozoic Era fossils by the section’s four curators and the central location of Carnegie Museum Natural History within the Appalachian Basin, the Paleozoic Era fossils make up almost half the collection.

Learn about the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology

Science Stories

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Hall of Botany

Investigate the incredibly diverse plant life of North America and Western Pennsylvania in Hall of Botany. Get lost in beautiful dioramas that depict wildly different biomes from all four corners of the United States. Learn about how animals and humans depend on plants for foods, shelter, medicine, and clothing. Discover how temperature and water affect plants by comparing a Florida everglade, an Alpine meadow on Mt. Rainier, an Arizona desert, and a wooded Pennsylvania valley. Identify herbs by their smells, and learn about photosynthesis and the food chain.

The hall also has several dioramas to show the plants and diverse habitats present in Western Pennsylvania. Local habitats like Lake Erie’s Presque Isle during the summer, a Warren County bog in the fall, and the Allegheny National Forest in the spring are all represented in Hall of Botany.

A video in the entryway showcases scientists collecting specimens in the field, preserving them, and ultimately digitizing them so the data can be used by researchers all over the world. 

Labels and graphics were created in the museum’s Print Shop using green printing techniques: fiberboard composed of 100% recycled material and a new type of vinyl which contains no Polyvinyl Chlorides (PVCs). 

  • Second Floor

Meet our Botanists

Mason Heberling

Mason Heberling, Ph.D.

Associate Curator of Botany

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Isaac, Bonnie

Bonnie Isaac, M.S.

Collection Manager of Botany

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Learn about the Botany Collection at the Museum

Carnegie Museum’s Herbarium (CM) is the major botanical facility in the Upper Ohio Valley region and ranks among the top 25 herbaria in North America.

Learn about the Section of Plants (Botany)

Science Stories

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Paleolab

PaleoLab is a working paleontology lab that offers visitors a window into scientific research at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Watch our paleontologists and scientific preparators unpack, prepare, and analyze fossils and specimens for research or display. View the fossilized bones of prehistoric mammals and fascinating dinosaur species before they’re displayed in museum galleries, or watch brand new specimens unwrapped straight from the field.

There is always something new happening in the PaleoLab. New specimens arrive, bones are chiseled out of rock, and scientist glean new insights from specimens they’re examining. Watch our scientists at work and learn about the tools and methods they use to uncover the past in this working lab.

PaleoLab is sponsored by

Green Mountain Energy logo
  • First Floor

Meet our Vertebrate Paleontologists

Learn about the Fossil VertebrateCollection at the Museum

The Section of Vertebrate Paleontology collection began in 1895 with the sponsorship of Andrew Carnegie. In the early 20th century, the Carnegie Corporation supported the museum’s numerous paleontological expeditions to the American West, building one of the best dinosaur collections in the world. More recent efforts by Vertebrate Paleontology staff have concentrated on collecting mammals, reptiles, and amphibians from the Cenozoic and tetrapods from the Paleozoic and Mesozoic.

Learn about the Section of Vertebrate Paleontology

Blogs about the Dinosaurs

  • Fossil Matrix Under the Microscope

    Fossil Matrix Under the Microscope

    by Pat McShea Museum visitors who approach the broad window of PaleoLab encounter an array of large fossilized bones. If not for …
  • Badwater 20: Not So Bad After All

    Badwater 20: Not So Bad After All

    by Lauren Raysich Although many people are familiar with fossilized bones of dinosaurs and other large extinct creatures, some fossils can be so …
  • Mastodon Restoration

    Mastodon Restoration

    What does a Scientific Preparator do? Part of Dan Pickering’s really cool job is carefully restoring museum specimens. In this photo he’s …
  • Clues

    Clues

    By Amy Henrici Collection Managers often solve fossil mysteries, and sometimes we have only a few clues to assist us. A recent …

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The Age of Mammals: The Cenozoic Era

Discover life on Earth in Age of Mammals: The Cenozoic Era. See fossils from a Columbian mammoth that lived in the Ice Age, or wonder at the size of an Irish Elk’s enormous antlers. Discover the diverse and fascinating creatures that lived in the 66 million years after the extinction of the dinosaurs and learn how they related to today’s mammals!

Age of Mammals: The Cenozoic Era features specimens discovered all over the world, including a large number of Ice Age fossils. Learn about the 55 million-year evolutionary history of the horse or the hunting practices of saber-toothed cats. Exhibits include a dire wolf, giant ground sloth, and specimen groupings that illustrate anatomical changes through time.

  • First Floor
Animals in Cenozoic Hall

Meet our Mammalogists

Wible, John

John Wible, M.S.

Curator of Mammals

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Eleanor Hoeger

Eleanor Hoeger

Collection Manager of Mammals

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Learn about the Mammal Collection at the Museum

The Section of Mammals houses a research collection consisting of more than 118,553 specimens. The main collection is housed at the Edward O’Neil Research Center, about two miles from the main Carnegie Museum of Natural History building.

Learn about the Section of Mammals

Meet our Vertebrate Paleontologists

Lamanna, Matt

Matt Lamanna, Ph.D.

Mary R. Dawson Associate Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology

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sarah davis

Sarah Davis, Ph.D.

Collection Manager of Paleobiology

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Learn about the Fossil Vertebrate Collection at the Museum

The Section of Vertebrate Paleontology collection began in 1895 with the sponsorship of Andrew Carnegie. In the early 20th century, the Carnegie Corporation supported the museum’s numerous paleontological expeditions to the American West, building one of the best dinosaur collections in the world. More recent efforts by Vertebrate Paleontology staff have concentrated on collecting mammals, reptiles, and amphibians from the Cenozoic and tetrapods from the Paleozoic and Mesozoic.

Learn about the Section of Vertebrate Paleontology

Science Stories

  • Clues

    Clues

    By Amy Henrici Collection Managers often solve fossil mysteries, and sometimes we have only a few clues to assist us. A recent …
  • Renovating Age of Mammals: The Cenozoic Era

    Renovating Age of Mammals: The Cenozoic Era

    Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s exhibition team has been working on renovating parts of Age of Mammals: The Cenozoic Era which features fascinating …
  • Did you know?

    Did you know?

    Did you know that Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Cenozoic Era: Age of Mammals exhibition contains more than 30 mounted real fossil …
  • Age of Mammals: The Cenozoic Era Opens

    Age of Mammals: The Cenozoic Era Opens

    Friends of Carnegie Museum of Natural History celebrated the reopening of a popular exhibition hall this weekend and honored Joe and Kathy …