Cincinnati Museum Center

Cincinnati Museum Center The official account for the museum who loves Cincinnati and is wild about science, history and learning through play.
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HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!Every year, we look forward to June because it gives us a chance to focus in and target some extra lov...
06/01/2026

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!

Every year, we look forward to June because it gives us a chance to focus in and target some extra love at our LGBTQIA+ friends; a community that has often felt ostracized, facing violence and harassment simply for being true to themselves. While things in our neck of the woods have certainly gotten better over the decades, we are far from where we need to be as a society in accepting each other for who we are no matter what we look like, where we come from and who we love.

Here though, you matter and we are happy to have you exactly as you are. Love is love, forever and always.

If we don't see you beforehand, we will see you at the Cincinnati Pride Parade on Saturday, June 27!

Special note if you’re new here: Cincinnati Museum Center is a welcoming, safe space for everyone. We do not tolerate hatred or bullying of any kind so whether you align with being personally welcoming for all or not, keep it respectful in the comments or you will be removed when our social admin gets tired. 😊

05/31/2026

Pressed “fast forward” so Exhibits could get their work done faster 💅 No need to thank me, team!

Been wondering how the LEGO® T. rex was put in its place in our newest featured exhibition? You can now put your curiosity to bed.

: We have 6 million LEGO bricks filling our featured exhibit gallery until January 4, 2027! Visit https://bit.ly/4dFZORg to grab your tickets for the adventure.


The Brickman LEGO Universal Pictures

Now THAT’S What I Call : Pachystropheus Edition!Hey there, Cameron (our Paleontology Collections Manager), give me the ...
05/29/2026

Now THAT’S What I Call : Pachystropheus Edition!

Hey there, Cameron (our Paleontology Collections Manager), give me the deets, boy (and free my soul):
“Pachystropheus (meaning ‘thick vertebrae’) is a genus of prehistoric marine reptile found in Late Triassic rocks of southwestern England. It is the youngest known thalattosaur—an extinct group of marine reptiles superficially resembling, but only distantly related to, lizards.

Pachystropheus was named by Erika von Huene in 1935, who described the animal as a choristodere (another extinct group of marine reptiles). Decades went by before Dr. David Gower and our very own Dr. Glenn Storrs redescribed the specimen and determined it may represent the youngest occurrence of choristoderes in the fossil record, extending their record 45 million years. However, this conclusion has brought skepticism; notably, there is no confirmed skull material for Pachystropheus, and most of the diagnostic features of choristoderes are skull features.

Pachystropheus reached a maximum length of ~2.5 meters, though most known individuals don't exceed 1 meter in length. It was an active swimmer, likely using its limbs as paddles for steering and thrust, along with additional propulsion from the tail. The ribs and vertebrae of the body display pachyostosis—a non-pathological thickening of the bone seen in modern manatees and dugongs—likely as an adaptation to living in a marine environment. No teeth are known for Pachystropheus and it may have been toothless, feeding on small fish and cephalopods.

The Westbury Formation is a mudstone representing a shallow shelf marine environment. The yellow-gold crystals visible on the surface of the slab pictured are the iron sulfide mineral, pyrite (FeS2), commonly known as ‘Fool's Gold’. In marine settings, pyrite commonly forms in organic-rich sediment where bacterial reduction of seawater sulfate occurs, particularly in anoxic basins; such environments also happen to be suitable for accumulating and preserving fossils.”



CMC VP6616
Pachystropheus rhaeticus
Marine reptile
Westbury Formation
Late Triassic
Westbury-on-Severn, Avon, England

05/28/2026

D-Day: Normandy 1944 is coming back to the OMNIMAX® screen for limited showings the first week of June, and Pascal Vuong—the writer, director and producer of the film—recorded this short message for us to help us spread the news.

Visit https://bit.ly/3PuEVkh to reserve your seats in advance.

THE BRICKMAN IS (digitally) HERE!Now that LEGO® Jurassic World: The Exhibition is open, it’s basically all LEGO all the ...
05/27/2026

THE BRICKMAN IS (digitally) HERE!

Now that LEGO® Jurassic World: The Exhibition is open, it’s basically all LEGO all the time over here, but you won’t catch us complaining. To help us celebrate, Ryan McNaught, the LEGO Master behind the exhibition, joined us on Meanwhile... at the Museum to talk about how he became “The Brickman”, his role as a judge on LEGO Masters Australia and what it takes to design and build an exhibit full of large-scale and life-size dinosaurs made from LEGO bricks.

Catch the full episode and all others anywhere you listen to podcasts - Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Podbean, Spotify, Amazon Music and iHeart Radio.

The Brickman

https://cincinnatimuseumcenter.podbean.com/e/ryan-mcnaught-aka-the-brickman-on-lego-jurassic-world-the-exhibition/

05/26/2026

Trying to hype the squad up after a long weekend…

Potentially the weirdest we’ve ever shared, but if we aren’t being goofy and having fun, what are we even doing, you know? Happy Tuesday, folks!

It is time. The gates are officially open and ready to welcome you into LEGO® Jurassic World: The Exhibition!With over 5...
05/23/2026

It is time. The gates are officially open and ready to welcome you into LEGO® Jurassic World: The Exhibition!

With over 50 large-scale LEGO builds—like massive dinosaurs, iconic scenes and props—there’s plenty to see, but also plenty to build! The exhibition features multiple build stations for you to click some bricks together and enjoy hours of playtime surrounded by the sights and sounds from the films.

Your visit is about to be positively prehistoric. Visit https://bit.ly/4dFZORg to reserve your tickets in advance!


The Brickman LEGO Universal Pictures

Our shining star of recent weeks is getting more spotlight today for !Cameron Schwalbach, our Paleontology Collections ...
05/22/2026

Our shining star of recent weeks is getting more spotlight today for !

Cameron Schwalbach, our Paleontology Collections Manager, shared this Torvosaurus tooth for with this backstory:
“This week's fossil is a single tooth from Torvosaurus tanneri, a species of megalosaurid theropod dinosaur. The name Torvosaurus derives from the Latin word “torvus”, meaning "savage", and the Greek word “sauros”, meaning "lizard". Specimens of Torvosaurus have been found in Middle and Late Jurassic-age rocks in what is now Colorado, as well as parts of Europe, Africa and South America.

Torvosaurus tanneri reached ~9 meters (~30 feet) long and weighed approximately 2-2.4 metric tons, ranking it among the largest terrestrial carnivores in North America during the Late Jurassic. Among its characteristic features are an elongated, narrow snout and short, strong forelimbs with three clawed digits.

The type specimens of T. tanneri represent three individuals and consist of upper and lower arm bones, back bones, hip bones and hand bones. Other material collected in the 1980s provided more skeletal elements, but it was the breakthrough discovery of a 55% complete skeleton in Colorado in 2012 (by a Cincinnati native) that has allowed scientists to better understand this individual and how it relates to other megalosaurids.

The one-of-a-kind specimen, nicknamed "Elvis", is the most complete specimen of Torvosaurus to date, and includes the pelvic, spine and hind limb bones, a complete, associated backbone and cranial elements. The specimen is currently on display in our Dino Hall with missing parts reconstructed with casts from other Torvosaurus specimens.”

CMC VP15575
Torvosaurus tanneri
Theropod dinosaur
Morrison Formation
Late Jurassic
Colorado, USA

05/21/2026

🗣️ MEMORIAL DAY MEMBERSHIP DEAL COMING IN HOT

Save 15% on ALL Membership levels from May 22 through 25. Whether you’re renewing, buying for yourself or gifting to a friend, lock it down with the discount this Memorial Day weekend!

Visit https://bit.ly/4wIu6eZ to get started.

Future astronauts loading… 👨‍🚀👨‍🚀👨‍🚀👨‍🚀Did you know that Neil Armstrong was on our Board of Directors? Stuff that in you...
05/21/2026

Future astronauts loading… 👨‍🚀👨‍🚀👨‍🚀👨‍🚀

Did you know that Neil Armstrong was on our Board of Directors? Stuff that in your fun fact pocket!

Packed from corner to corner with colorful visuals and interactive displays, our Neil Armstrong Space Exploration Gallery sends you to the moon and back (kind of) to tell you all about the Apollo 11 mission, the history of space travel and what we know about the universe today.

Photos from one of our very favorites, Phil Armstrong, that shows 4 young guests enjoying the 360-degree immersive Galaxy Theater in the Space Gallery.

Address

1301 Western Avenue
Cincinnati, OH
45203

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 5pm
Tuesday 10am - 5pm
Wednesday 10am - 5pm
Thursday 10am - 5pm
Friday 10am - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 5pm
Sunday 10am - 5pm

Telephone

+15132877000

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