Museum of Osteology

Museum of Osteology

Location of the Museum of Osteology in Oklahoma
Established	2010
Location	Oklahoma City, United States
Coordinates	35°21′55″N 97°26′33″W / 35.365371°N 97.442601°W
Type	Natural history museum
Collection size	5,000+ skeletal specimens
Director	Jay Villemarette
Website	www.museumofosteology.org

The Museum of Osteology is a private museum devoted to the study of bones and skeletons (osteology). This museum is located in Oklahoma City and displays over 350 skeletons from animal species from animals all over the world. ^[1] With another 5000 skeletons as part of the collection, but not on display, this is the largest privately held collection of osteological specimens in the world. .^[2][3][4]

Exhibits including a humpback whale at the Museum of Osteology, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Description

Skulls Unlimited and the Museum of Osteology, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

The museum was established by Jay Villemarette, founder of the company Skulls Unlimited International, Inc., which is located next to the museum.^[2] Construction on the museum began in 2004 and opened to the public on October 1, 2010.^[2][3][5][6] The museum focuses on the form and function of the skeletal system with numerous educational and taxonomic displays featuring all five vertebrate classes.^[4] The collections housed by the Museum of Osteology are the result of over 30 years of collecting by Jay Villemarette.^[7] Currently the collections consist of approximately 5,000 specimens representing over 2,500 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish.^[8]

In 2015, the Museum of Osteology opened a second location, Skeletons: Animals Unveiled, at the I-Drive 360 entertainment complex in Orlando, Florida. This location is slated as the largest skeleton museum in America with over 450 skeletons on display.

Gallery

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  Oklahoma wildlife on display at the Museum of Osteology, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
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  Primate skeletons on display at the Museum of Osteology.
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  Skeletons on display at the Museum of Osteology.
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  Elephant skeleton on display at the Museum of Osteology.
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  Pygmy sperm whale skeleton on display at the Museum of Osteology.
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  African lion attacking a common eland antelope skeleton.
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  School bus tour group
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  The Museum of Osteology in the final stages of development, March 2010.
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  Ungulate skeletons on display at the Museum of Osteology.
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  Various animal skeletons on display at the Museum of Osteology.
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  Big cat exhibit at the Museum of Osteology, including tiger, jaguar and African lion.
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  Fossil hominid and human evolution exhibit on display at the Museum of Osteology.

References

1. "Skeletons: Animals Unveiled! I-Drive 360". www.blooloop.com. Retrieved 2016-08-04.
2. Urstadt, Brian (July 2006). "I'm Going to Rib-cage World". Outside Magazine. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
3. Raymond, Jeff (March 26, 2007). "Skeleton Crew". The Oklahoman.
4. Wheelbarger, Brent (Oct 1, 2008). "The Bone Collectors; The Biggest Skeletal Collection in the World Right Here in Moore Oklahoma" (PDF). Moore Monthly.
5. Dinger, Matt (Nov 15, 2010). "Museum Opens in Southeast Oklahoma City". The Daily Oklahoman.
6. Gray, Aaron Wright (Oct 30, 2010), "Villemarette Gets His Skeletons Out of the Closet", Norman Transcript
7. Horton, Greg (October 25, 2006). "Bone Collector". Oklahoma Gazette.
8. Brus, Brian (May 27, 2009). "Skull Junkie Finds Solid Future in Skeleton Frontier". The Journal Record.

External links

• Official website
• Museum of Osteology on AdventureRoad.com Destination Information & Travel Planning