Must Do: Eromanga Natural History Museum, Queensland

By Michelle Gilmore
January 31, 2022
Bucket List, Destinations, Family Friendly Fun, Queensland, Sights, Things to do

Put Eromanga Natural History Museum on your Queensland bucket list!

I’ve dragged the family to plenty of museums over the years. But if you come all the way to Eromanga – you have to meet Cooper – or at least Cooper’s thighbone. He is Australia’s largest dinosaur.

Australotitan cooperensis is 93-96 million years old, and 28-30m long, 6.5m high (ground to hip) and about 67 tonnes! He is in the top five largest dinosaurs in the world!

Hands down, it was the best museum experience we’ve had.

A 14 year old picked up an unusual ‘rock’, the first bone, as he mustered just west of Eromanga. This sparked a natural history society out here, and the creation of the Eromanga Natural History Museum. This working museum is an operating laboratory and research facility.

The film was just released before our arrival, and it is THE finest museum movie I’ve seen. Our family has never found fossils so fascinating – we learnt so much about excavation and preservation on the guided tour. Alana our tour guide was passionate on the topic and made it fun, showing us the intricate work involved in revealing each bone. You’ll also meet dinos Zac, Sid and more!

The megafauna (or ‘big animals’) intrigued me. After dinosaurs were extinct these giant animals roamed Australia. We already met the Eulo Diprotodon – a giant wombat. The statue is another selfie must! In fact, ten species of Megafauna have been found around Eulo, south east of Eromanga, also on the Natural Sciences Loop. The museum is home to these critters, too.

Make sure you book before you arrive in Eromanga. You can even join a dinosaur or megafauna dig (mostly booked out already for 2022), or multiday fossil preparation training. Family programs are available, too. The new facility is a three kilometres away, with the turnoff just west of town.