WASHAKIE MUSEUM & CULTURAL CENTER
  • Home
  • Exhibits
    • The Ancient Basin
    • The Last West
    • Mezzanine Exhibit
    • Temporary Gallery >
      • Dinosaurs Among Us
      • Art Exhibit & Sale
    • Guided Tours
  • Events
    • Speaker Series
    • An Evening of Shakespeare
    • STEAM Camp
    • Montana Shakespeare in the Parks
    • Art Exhibit & Sale
    • Mini Mammoth Mixer
    • Mammoth Quick Draw >
      • Quick Draw Sponsorship Opportunities
  • Education
    • Youth Programs >
      • STEAM Saturdays
      • Youth Scholarship Application
      • Guided Youth Tours
      • Scavenger Hunts
    • Adult Programs >
      • Speaker Series
      • Art Workshops
  • Calendar
    • Speaker Series
    • An Evening with Shakespeare
    • STEAM Camp
    • Montana Shakespeare in the Parks
    • Art Exhibit & Sale
    • Mini Mammoth Mixer
    • Mammoth Quick Draw
  • Visitor Information
    • Directions
    • Hours & Admission
    • Museum Social Impact Study
    • Passport Program
    • Guided Public Tours
    • Guided Youth Tours
    • Visitor Survey
  • Join & Support
    • Membership >
      • Individual & Family
      • Business & Corporate
    • Support Us
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Facility Rental >
      • Capacity, Amenities, & Rates
      • Rental Request Form
    • Staff & Board of Directors
    • Volunteer Opportunities
    • Job Openings
    • Our History
    • Strategic Plan
  • Resources
    • Rico Stine Glass Plate Collection
    • The War Babies of Worland Oral History Collection
  • Gift Shop
  • Mammoth News

THE ANCIENT BASIN


The Ancient Basin includes paleontology with elaborate commissioned illustrations, and casts of plant and dinosaur fossils. The amazing casts of prehistoric skeletons include: Diatryma, a six-foot Eocene bird and Deinonychus, a fierce meat-eating therapod from the Morrison formation. The museum also boasts a cast of Carpolestes, a tiny creature that is one of the earliest primates known on Earth. The gallery is interactive with audio and video components throughout. The Ancient Basin gallery also covers archaeology, including the study of early humans and the mammoth bones they left behind, rock art, and prehistoric cooking. The Archaeology section displays numerous artifacts including: atlatls, projectile points, scrapers, awls, blades, bone tools, and trade points (metal arrowheads). There is also a Sheepeaters Lodge, a conical hunting structure used by the Sheepeaters - Mountain Shoshones, which was excavated from the Bighorn Mountains.

Paleontology Gallery

Check out this video as seen at the Washakie Museum, showing the formation of the Big Horn Basin of Wyoming from the Paleozoic to Cenozoic eras.  Created for the Washakie Museum by ECOS Communications and Boston Productions, 2010.

Archaeology Gallery

Check out this video as seen at the Washakie Museum, featuring Big Horn Basin scientists presenting the importance of research on the PETM (paleocene eocene thermal maximum) in the Big Horn Basin, Wyoming. Created for the Washakie Museum by ECOS Communications and Boston Productions, 2010.
2200 Big Horn Avenue
Worland, WY  82401
307.347.4102
Hours: Mon. - Sat.
9:00am - 5:00pm,
Sun. 12:00 - 4:00pm
Vertical Divider
JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST
Stay up to date with the Washakie Museum!
Vertical Divider
AAA Listed Attraction
Blue Star Museums
© 2025 Washakie Museum. All rights reserved.
Mammoth logo with text
  • Home
  • Exhibits
    • The Ancient Basin
    • The Last West
    • Mezzanine Exhibit
    • Temporary Gallery >
      • Dinosaurs Among Us
      • Art Exhibit & Sale
    • Guided Tours
  • Events
    • Speaker Series
    • An Evening of Shakespeare
    • STEAM Camp
    • Montana Shakespeare in the Parks
    • Art Exhibit & Sale
    • Mini Mammoth Mixer
    • Mammoth Quick Draw >
      • Quick Draw Sponsorship Opportunities
  • Education
    • Youth Programs >
      • STEAM Saturdays
      • Youth Scholarship Application
      • Guided Youth Tours
      • Scavenger Hunts
    • Adult Programs >
      • Speaker Series
      • Art Workshops
  • Calendar
    • Speaker Series
    • An Evening with Shakespeare
    • STEAM Camp
    • Montana Shakespeare in the Parks
    • Art Exhibit & Sale
    • Mini Mammoth Mixer
    • Mammoth Quick Draw
  • Visitor Information
    • Directions
    • Hours & Admission
    • Museum Social Impact Study
    • Passport Program
    • Guided Public Tours
    • Guided Youth Tours
    • Visitor Survey
  • Join & Support
    • Membership >
      • Individual & Family
      • Business & Corporate
    • Support Us
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Facility Rental >
      • Capacity, Amenities, & Rates
      • Rental Request Form
    • Staff & Board of Directors
    • Volunteer Opportunities
    • Job Openings
    • Our History
    • Strategic Plan
  • Resources
    • Rico Stine Glass Plate Collection
    • The War Babies of Worland Oral History Collection
  • Gift Shop
  • Mammoth News