Bozeman is one of the most diverse and beautiful small towns in the Rocky Mountain West, blessed with an eclectic mix of ranchers, artists, professors, ski enthusiasts and entrepreneurs drawn here by world class recreation, Montana State University and a slice of old fashioned Americana. The town’s spectacular mountain setting makes it a popular ski destination area and movie film location. Bozeman has been ranked Number 7 on the "50 Best Places to Live" list by Men’s Journal magazine.
Museum of the Rockies (MOR) at MSU showcases a world renowned natural history collection with one of the finest and most extensive dinosaur fossil collections in the US. Named “Montana’s most entertaining museum” by Lonely Planet, MOR is perhaps best known for its paleontology program led by the scientific advisor on all the Jurassic Park movies, Dr. Jack Horner. A permanent exhibit of “The Tyrant Kings” places MOR among only a handful of museums in the world to display a fossilized T. rex skeleton. One of the most spectacular and complete specimens ever unearthed, Montana’s T. rex stands 12 feet tall and 40 feet long. The exhibit also displays skulls that show the growth of T. rex, from juvenile specimens to the largest ever discovered.
MOR was the only venue west of the Mississippi to host an exhibition of artifacts uncovered from wealthy villas buried beneath the eruption of Vesuvius in 79AD. The Museum is also recognized for its permanent regional history exhibits, including Native American cultures and Rocky Mountain peoples, along with its changing exhibits from around the world, the Martin Children’s Discovery Center and the Taylor Planetarium. The Museum’s Living History Farm is an historically accurate working homestead, where costumed interpreters provide a rich understanding of life on a late-1800s Montana homestead through visitor interaction, daily activities and ongoing programs. The Museum of the Rockies is located at Kagy Blvd and South Third. Call 406-994-DINO or visit the website at www.museumoftherockies.org.
Festivals in Bozeman include the Gallatin County Fair in July, the Sweet Pea Festival in August and the Wild West Winterfest in February. Museums include the Gallatin County Pioneer Museum and the American Computer Museum.
Montana Grizzly Encounter is a rescue and education sanctuary founded in 2004 to provide a spacious and natural home for rescued grizzlies and to offer the public a place to come and learn about grizzly bears as they watch the majestic animals up close in a beautiful mountain setting. This is the loving home to celebrity bear “Brutus”.