Peabody Museum of Natural History, New Haven (must see)

The Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University—often referred to as the Yale Peabody Museum—is one of the oldest and most comprehensive university natural history museums in the world. Founded in 1866 through the generosity of philanthropist George Peabody at the urging of his nephew, pioneering paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh, the museum has since grown into a globally recognized center for research, education, and public engagement.

Located on Whitney Avenue in New Haven, the museum is especially famous for its Great Hall of Dinosaurs, featuring a mounted juvenile Brontosaurus and the iconic 110-foot mural The Age of Reptiles. Other permanent exhibits include displays on human and mammal evolution, wildlife dioramas, Egyptian artifacts, Connecticut’s Native American cultures, and local birds and minerals.

After closing in 2020 for its first comprehensive renovation in 90 years, the museum reopened on March 26, 2024, more than doubling its exhibition space. A historic $160 million gift from Yale alumnus Edward P. Bass helped fund the transformation—marking the largest known donation ever made to a natural history museum in the U.S. As part of its renewed mission, admission is now free to the public in perpetuity.

The museum's collections are among the most important in the world. Its vertebrate paleontology holdings are unmatched, shaped by key figures such as Marsh, R.S. Lull, and John Ostrom. Other standout collections include the Hiram Bingham Collection of Incan artifacts from Machu Picchu, a vast ornithology collection, the William Robertson Coe Ornithology Library, and a large marine invertebrate archive enhanced by the work of Addison Emery Verrill. The Yale Herbarium also forms part of the Peabody's research infrastructure.

The museum complex includes the original Peabody Museum building (opened in 1925), the Kline Geology Laboratory, the Class of 1954 Environmental Science Center (housing half of the museum’s 13 million specimens), parts of several additional buildings, and a field station on Long Island Sound. It even owns Horse Island in the Thimble Islands, used exclusively for scientific research.

Greeting visitors outside the entrance is a striking bronze reproduction of a Torosaurus, the first full-scale model of its kind, measuring 7 meters long and mounted on a towering granite base. The sculpture captures the scientific accuracy of Torosaurus latus, right down to its skin texture modeled after fossilized impressions.