Stan and other Fossils in the Black Hills

If you get a chance to visit Hill City, SD and like dinosaurs and other fossils one place you will want to take time to see is the Black Hill Museum of Natural History. It is in a pink building that used to be the old Opera House. I believe that they used to be housed in an old white building nearby. They are a small museum that is growing and have some very nice fossils. To enter you have to go through their shop which at times can be a bit crowded.


Their star attraction is Stan the Tyrannosaurus Rex. He is the second most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex that has been found. The most complete is Sue who is now at the Field Museum, Chicago, IL. At this museum you are able to get up right next to Stan.


Randy, Jeffery and I were joking among ourselves that Stan and Sue must be siblings because they were found not that far from each other but now one lives in Chicago, IL and the other in Hill City, SD because they can’t stand to be closer than that.

They also have other fossils there as well.



If you feel hungry for something to eat there is a little café in Hill City. I think that it is called the Hill City Café. It is in an older building and is not fancy but don’t let fool you. We stopped there because Jeff was hungry and they were open. Randy and I each ordered a bowl of ice cream expecting a couple of scoops. I think that between the two of us we got almost a quart of ice cream and it was a good vanilla ice cream. Jeff had a piece of pie. They gave him a second slice at no charge because he looked hungry.