The Naranjo Museum of Natural History

Eclectic and unique gem of a museum in the heart of deep east Texas. The Naranjo museum is focused on (what else) dinosaurs and related fossils, but there are smatterings of exhibits on confederate currency (including some bills hand-​signed by Sam Houston), NASA and the space program, Native American spear points and axe tips, and even some Roman and Irish coins and other finds.
It is certainly nothing on the size of the natural history museums you might find in D.C., Denver or even Houston, but has a lot of ties to the local community and many of the specimens exhibited there are either donated by or found by local inhabitants.
One of the stars of the collection is a hadrosaur specimen («Mary Ann» that Dr. Neil Naranjo and his team dug up in Montana. Mary Ann is really a stunning dinosaur, and the fossil includes something that was new for me — you can actually see the imprint of the texture of her skin on a good part of her hindquarters.
They also have a neat dimetrodon specimen that Dr. Naranjo found just over the Texas border in Oklahoma. Unlike many dinosaur skeletons you see in museums, these are the actual bones, not casts!
The museum also has the obligatory cast of a T-​Rex, and plenty of other interesting informational dioramas. Certainly worth wandering around in for several hours, even though it is a relatively small building.
Great place to visit if you’re in Lufkin!

Interesting exhibits, good place for little ones interested in dinosaurs. For the money ($ 7.50 admittance) I expected more. Okay.