Ancient Ozarks Natural History Museum

It's an impressive collection of artifacts, bones, clothing, paintings, proverbs and some instruments. The best Native American museum we've been too. Not that there are many to compare with. By any museum standard, this is worth a visit! An Ancient Indian Proverb encapsulated the theme of the museum: "Treat the Earth well. It was not given to you by your parent, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children." We sped walked through it before our meal in front of the Golf Course. The whole experience was wonderful.

PROs: Great place to explore and show respect for our History. Free entry with our golf tour ticket (keep that handy). Equivalent to 4 football fields, wear good walking shows. Comfortable atmosphere during inclement weather. Museum attendants were kind and helpful. CONs: So much to see in one day with one ticket use. No bench seats provided for elders except in one area. I believe this was the best museum I've visited yet that showcased the most of Native American artifacts. We spent nearly 3 hours exploring. The website shows admission prices.

Easily the best day we had until the valet lost our key at night. Took about an hour for them to find our vehicle and our key obviously but great service. Great day! Great place and great service besides the key thanks Mr Morris

Quite impressive collections of civil was and Native American Indian artifacts and artwork! Was larger than expected! Took about an hour to see the entire museum. Be prepared to stay the duration as there is no exiting til the end. There are bathrooms halfway through FYI. Tickets to the museum are included with the Lost canyon cave & nature trail.

We did the Nature trail lastnight and came back to visit today and we're truly impressed by the extensive collection of history and artifacts. It was considerably larger than we had anticipated. While it took some time to explore everything, it was certainly a worthwhile experience.

AMAZING museum 😍 We were not expecting to find as many amazing artifacts here as we did!! So thankful Johnny Morris is a conservationist. This was a treat to see!

Great place to visit! Lots of natural history. A little expensive but high quality. Anything Johnny Morris is top notch, nothing is lacking.

So much history so worth the time to visit and see. Seeing a lock of George Washington hair and Abraham Lincolns was cool. Also seeing the flag that was draped on Abraham Lincolns coffin. Take the time to visit and enjoy.

Had a fairly nice experience here with my grandmother. It is absolutely freezing in the ENTIRE museum which is a quarter of a mile walk. The security guard when we commented on how it is freezing inside said it is because all of the Natives artifacts are haunted. Like sir why are you guarding the thermostat acting like this is ghost adventures? (63 degrees btw) As someone who recently visited the bass pro museum there are several repeat displays. Notable when I fact checked their prehistoric displays regarding the bear dog and the early human life expectancy and causes death google says otherwise.. The gift shop at the end is insane for charging $70-150 for sweatshirts that say Top of the Rock and are 100% polyester made in China. Nothing in the gift shop is made in America which is surprising for the prices and the fact each item is a reflection of either the museum/Missouri or Native America culture.

This museum is an absolute gem! So many relics. We spent a few hours here marveling at everything. I loved the doc holiday and civil war aspects! And there was SOOOO much Native American stuff! Did you know that Branson, MO inspired the Beverly Hillbillies and is the "live show capital of the world"?! Branson's story begins in the late 19th century when Reuben S. Branson, a postmaster and general store owner, established a post office in the area in 1882. The community began to grow due to the promise of free land to the area's natural beauty/resources. In 1902, the Missouri Pacific Railroad accelerated growth causing Branson to grow tremendously. In 1894, William Henry Lynch bought Marble Cave (renamed "Marvel Cave") and began charging visitors to tour it. Hugo and Mary Herschend leased the cave for 99 years in 1950. The Herschend Family modernized the cave and in 1960, the Herschends opened Silver Dollar City, a re-creation of a frontier town that featured 5 shops, a church, and a log cabin, with actors that played out the feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys. Harold Bell Wright published his novel about the Ozarks, The Shepherd of the Hills, in 1907. The novel became an international best seller establishing Branson as a tourist destination. The Old Mill Theater began its first outdoor production based on the novel in 1960: The Shepherd of the Hills Outdoor Drama. Mayor of Branson for 12 years, Jim Owen built the 1st theater in 1934, originally called "The Hillbilly Theater." 1959 saw the completion of Table Rock Dam on the White River, which created Table Rock Lake. The Mabe Brothers started a band would become the first music show in Branson in 1961: Baldknobber Hillbilly Jamboree. In 1962, Paul Henning, inspired by a Boy Scout camping trip to the Ozarks, created The Beverly Hillbillies, which ran as a CBS television sitcom until 1971.

What an outstanding museum! The largest collection of Native American artifacts anywhere! It's clean, well organized and very comfortable. The entire museum includes Native American, Ozarks, Civil War and more!

Wow, what an unexpected surprise! I was expecting a small museum crammed into a basement of a restaurant but this museum was actually fantastic! It is much, much larger than I thought it would be. The collections are wonderful and organized in a well thought out manner. Make sure you plan your time wisely in order to see it all. Don't think you can see it all in an hour like did. If you are staying on property you can take the shuttle here and back.

Look at my pictures to determine if I enjoyed this place. It's almost too much. The vistas, architecture, history, tasteful placement & installation of artifacts and art. And the abundance of what Johnny Morris has collected is just overwhelming. It's a must stop for anyone who loves America and preservation of our land, flora and fauna. I believe it's one of the top 10 museums in the nation.

Highly recommended. Wow! South of Branson at Ridgedale, Missouri and not far from Table Rock Lake you'll find "Top of the Rock", an outdoor attraction with a golf course, tours by golf cart through caves and running water areas, and indoor venues such as the Big Cedar Lodge. Perhaps the biggest surprise for many visitors is is the sweeping, dramatic Ancient Ozarks Natural History Museum set into and near the Big Cedar Lodge. This museum is chock full of native American crafts, clothing, weapons and depictions of post-Ice Age creatures that lived in the area long ago. The attention to detail by the curators is painstaking; the depictions and layout of the museum the outcome of careful thought. Most displays are behind glass and difficult to photograph without capture of a reflection -- hence the limited photos here. This place in and of itself is worthy of the price of admission to Top of the Rock. Go and enjoy.

This was a very nice representation of Indian artifacts. Very large museum. We really enjoyed it. So Much to see.

Very hot. Little shade. No moving. Just sitting on the trail. Not fun all. Hard pass.

What an amazing experience, this Museum is huge and so unique and in a beautiful area. It's actually underground and full of so much it will take you about 3-4 hours if you really love museums and learning everything you can. The staff was amazing and so knowledgeable definitely grab a staff member if you see one and ask anything. We were killing time until the Osage Restaurant opened and we are so glad we did. Definitely pop in if you are in the area you won't regret it.

Would highly not recommend if you have children. We came on Christmas Day after having a great experience at Christmas Nature at Night golf tour (highly recommend that one) .. we hopped on the shuttle and sang Christmas carols and were dropped at the museum. We were met by an older gentleman who kicked our little crew out . None of the kids were being unruly or wild. We left feeling absolute disgust. My 8 year old nephew told the shuttle driver on the way back to our car that he hopes no one else kicks us out again on Christmas. Never again. Zero stars.

1. Very interesting. 2. Very long. If you are truly reading and want to take it all in, it's 2 days. 3. One way in... one way out. With exception of the emergency exits. We had no idea how long it was... and while there are some benches, our older parents got tired. 4. Needs more resting area... a map would have been very helpful. 5. The only restaurant here opens at 4:00.. so if you want to eat come after lunch and plan to stay late. The property was beautiful!!!

What a pleasant surprise we found in this museum. Could have spent many more hours here than we did! I believe they said it's about 1/2 mile long. We were so impressed by the quality and quantity of the exhibits. We highly recommend you leave yourself at least a good 2-3+ hours or you will not have a chance to really see it all.

Amazing experience! Give yourself at least a couple of hours to tour this 35,000 square foot masterpiece of a museum at the notable Top of the Rock at Big Cedar Resort in Ridgedale, Missouri. The quality of the exhibits here are outstanding. The museum is artfully arranged to showcase the history of Ozark animals and native tribes. There is a plethora of eye-catching displays including arrowheads, pottery, tools, weapons, clothing, adornments, canoes, artwork and dioramic depictions. Many animal artifacts bring to life creatures such as a giant ground sloth, a hell-pig(as scary as it sounds), a terror bird (which is, in fact, terrifying) and bears. When you first enter the building, you'll be greeted my a massive skeleton of a wooly mammoth and the museum is below. The Native American collection is truly awe-inspiring and highlights the conservation spirit of the many tribes. The clothing displays capture the artistry in beading and adornments. I could have spent many more hours touring and reading the descriptions in the exhibits. In addition to the Native American displays, there are sections dedicated to the Wild West, the Civil War, and Abraham Lincoln. The collection even includes a lock of Lincoln's hair, his funeral flag and clothing from Mary Todd Lincoln. When you finish at the museum, make sure to check out the gift shop, the gorgeous chapel, grab a drink in the wine cellar, a stone grotto which will thrill any Poe fan, check out the gorgeous mountain views from many outside patios complete with fireplaces and an infinity pool. Multiple restaurants, and a Lost Canyon Cave and Nature trail. On this visit it was drizzling and foggy, but the view was still breathtaking. Top of the Rock will not disappoint. You can park (the parking fee comes with a voucher good at restaurants, bars and museum) and take a shuttle to the venue or use the valet parking option.

AMAZING!! Nothing else to say except that this is an absolute must visit place!!! The scenery the atmosphere, the museum.... Definitely going to revisit!!

I was shocked at how HUGE this museum is. You can spend all day here if you wanted. There is so much to see. A nice history of America with extensive exhibits on the Native Americans all the way down to the civil war.

This place was impressive. We went with two children, so we went through pretty fast unfortunately. However, this is a large collection of American artifacts from pre-settlement up to the Civil War. The size of the collection and artifacts is surprising with a majority of it being Native American. Wish we had more time in there to explore and read the information.