We had a great time in OKC last weekend for our son’s third birthday. I am so excited to share this museum with you guys! It was such a unique and educational experience.
Museum History
The evolution of Skulls Unlimited began in 1972 when, at the age of seven, Jay Villemarette found a dog skull in the woods. When Jay’s father saw his interest, he encouraged Jay to find and collect other skulls.
In 1978, Jay entered his growing collection in his 6th-grade science fair, receiving a “Superior” award. That following year Jay won 5th place in the Oklahoma State Fair. After graduating high school as an auto body technician, Jay began selling skulls in his spare time. As sales grew Jay, along with his wife Kim, began to clean skulls in their kitchen. Starting with a one-page price list, in 1986, they turned this unusual hobby into a business.
In 1990, Jay opened Skulls Unlimited’s first retail location in Oklahoma City on South Shields Blvd. In 2000, due to company growth, Jay relocated Skulls Unlimited to its current custom-designed location. Today, Skulls Unlimited has earned a worldwide reputation for having the best quality, most professional services, and the largest variety of natural bone and replica osteological specimens.
In 2003, Skulls Unlimited built its corporate offices next to the current processing facility. Jay also took this opportunity to construct a space for his lifetime dream, the Museum of Osteology completed in October of 2010, the Museum currently has hundreds of skulls and skeletons on display and serves as the largest privately held collection of osteological specimens in the world.
Our Visit
My favorite part of the museum could be seen as soon as walk through the doors: a coyote skeleton being cleaned by Dermestid Beetles. It was very neat to see the beetles cleaning the skull! They had a station upon entrance where you could grab a sheet for a scavenger hunt. There were different scavenger hunts for different age groups. We all had a fun time finding and crossing off our list.
The museum has over 450 skeletons from all corners of the world, visitors have a unique opportunity to compare and contrast many rare species normally not seen in museum exhibits. In addition, the museum features a variety of North American specimens ranging from tiny mice and shrew skeletons to a 40-foot humpback whale. The whale is an extraordinary sight!
The kids loved the “Explorer’s Corner” where they could hold and learn about over a dozen real animal skulls! This area had lab coats and stuffed animals for pretend play, books about skeletons and animals, coloring sheets, and more. Great for hands-on learning fun!
My favorite exhibit was the Forensic Osteology exhibit. This exhibit is dedicated to Homo sapiens, also known as humans! Examination of human osteology is often used in forensic anthropology, which is usually used to identify the age, death, sex, growth, and development of human remains. It was all so cool!
Conclusion
I highly recommend visiting the SKELETONS: Museum of Osteology! You will be so glad that you went. Check them out here: https://www.skeletonmuseum.com/ and on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/museumofosteologyokc/