A shark fossil on display from Lebanon shows the fins and bones of a fish a shark ate , and the carbonized remains of the squid the fish ate . BHI has the largest collection of T . rex material in the world . You can see two mounted skeletons , original bones and six cast skulls .
It has one of the most important collections of Hell Creek dinosaurs , mammals and reptiles . But it ’ s not just fossils and dinosaurs . The display of minerals and local geological specimens , like Fairburn Agates , is unparalleled .
The gift shop has minerals , fossils and more , from the novice to the serious collector . It also has a wide assortment of books for children and beyond in almost every category including botany , natural history , reptiles , cosmology , local history and more .
Its toy selection is vast and includes dinosaur Legos , puzzles and a plethora of STEM and science-related gadgets and gizmos . The shop drawers are a treasure trove of mineral and fossil specimens from all over the world . Jewelry , one of a kind household items , stones and South Dakota minerals round out the shop collection .
Larson still goes out in the field on a fairly regular basis , mostly to the White River and Morrison formations .
“ That ’ s the most fun thing about the business , going out in the field and finding things and digging them up and bringing them back and preparing them ,” he said .
While Larson is living his dream , his vision since he was just a small child growing up in Mission , S . D ., he still has some work he wants to do .
“ I wanna find some new dinosaurs too ,” he said . “ We have parts of probably a dozen different undescribed dinosaurs from the Hell Creek formation that need to be named , but we don ’ t have enough of them ( bones ) yet .”
The Black Hills Institute is located on Main Street in Hill City . The museum and gift shop are open weekdays 8:30-4:30 and Saturdays 10-4 . Admission is $ 7.50 for adults , $ 4 for children ages 6-15 and free for those under 5 . ■
Black Hills Adventure Guide 2023 45