I have to admit that we were more than pleasantly surprised at the size and quality of the exhibits. The Naranjo Museum has everything from a full size Tyrannosaurus Rex to pieces of the ancient Roman Coliseum to items that actually traveled to the moon. For history buffs like the wife and I, we were in absolute heaven.
From the museum website:
They roamed the Earth for 165 million years, they were larger than life and dominated the landscape, then in a flash they were gone.
Though they became extinct more than 65 million years ago, dinosaurs – their habits, their size and their power continue to fascinate us.
Unfortunately their history is hidden by physical elements and often remains buried, but their story is one that needs to be told and shared.
In 1960, Dr. Neal Naranjo began a lifelong quest to find and preserve dinosaur bones. Each new fossil he collected laid the foundation for the Naranjo Museum of Natural History.
Today the Naranjo collection contains several thousand fossils and is as comprehensive as it is diverse. It includes a 26-foot tall Hadrosaur and a four-inch long Coelacanth; a nurturing Einosaur mother with her child and ferocious Tyrannosaurus Rex life-size replica; a fully-grown Woolly Mammoth and multiple unhatched dinosaur eggs.
With a meticulous eye for rare finds, the Naranjo Family has built a collection that rivals most urban museums.
It's hard to believe that all of this is one man's personal collection.
I've been to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles and this collection rivals that one if only on a somewhat smaller scale.
I highly recommend that you visit this 'Jurassic Park' in the fine city of Lufkin. I know that you will love it as much as we did.
Map:
Here are some of my photos:
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