Note: Utah's premier natural history collection is the main Natural History Museum at the University of Utah campus in Salt Lake City, but Ogden's George S. Eccles Dinosaur Park operates a sister facility and fossil preparation lab adjacent to the outdoor dinosaur sculptures. This facility gives visitors a direct look at ongoing paleontological work — real fossils being cleaned and catalogued, which is unexpectedly gripping to watch through the viewing window.
Ogden's collections focus on the Wasatch Front's own geological history: the legacy of Lake Bonneville, the Wasatch fault system, and the region's Jurassic and Cretaceous dinosaur beds. Staff can usually answer specific questions, and the facility draws a knowledgeable crowd including serious fossil enthusiasts. The combination of the outdoor park and indoor lab makes for a complete half-day experience.