Can you dig it? OKC’s Museum of Osteology
Make no bones about it: the Museum of Osteology in Oklahoma City, Okla., has a lot of skeletons in its closets – and on display as well. In fact, the facility is literally rattling with the remains of over 8,000 specimens across 1,500 species, making it the largest privately held osteological collection in the world.
Skulls unlimited
The origins of the Museum of Osteology can be traced to 1973 when 7-year-old Jay Villemarette found a dog skull while walking in the woods. He showed the specimen to his father, who saw the young boy’s enthusiasm and encouraged his osteological and archeological pursuits. Over the next five years, Jay’s collection grew so much that he was able to enter it in his sixth-grade science fair as well as the Oklahoma State Fair, where he ultimately took fifth place.
After graduating from high school and marrying his wife, Kim, in the mid-1980s, the newlyweds turned Jay’s unusual hobby into Skulls Unlimited – a business that sold genuine and recreated skulls to academic institutions, museums, nature centers, zoos and others. It wasn’t long before the little mom-and-pop shop became a leading supplier of bone-related specimens.
However, Jay’s personal collection continued to grow by leaps and bounds and included some of the rarest animals on Earth. With the help of his family, he decided to create a place where he could share it with the public, use it for educational purposes and even take it on the road in touring exhibitions.
In 2010, the Villenmarette family opened the Museum of Osteology at 10301 S. Sunnylane Road, Oklahoma City. Today, it is the only skeleton museum in the U.S. and one of the largest such institutions in the world.
The wonders within
Visitors to the Museum of Osteology will find lots to see and do in the gallery, which has over 450 real animal skeletons on display. They can get up close and personal with over a dozen animal skulls in the Explorer’s Corner; walk under a 40-foot whale skeleton; view live flesh-eating beetles; stand toe-to-toe with a 14-foot giraffe; take pictures alongside bones belonging to a grizzly bear, hippo, elephant, rhino and more; complete a scavenger hunt; and win a prize from the museum’s gift shop. The museum also hosts a number of special events throughout the year including a DIY Skullarium make-it-take-it class, educator open houses, owl pellet dissection labs, animal crime scene investigation classes and forensic nights for both kids and adults.
“If you like shows like ‘Law & Order,’ you will love this museum. Especially when you get to solve a case with real skulls,” said Vicki Lampert-Dallas in an online review.
Virginia Bell said she and her family had a great time at the Junior Forensic Night event a few months ago.
“My young bone enthusiast prowled every inch of the place examining every skeleton, reading the plaques, and he even got to pet Sir Indiana Bones, the museum’s resident cat and official mascot. He says we have to come back and do another case.”
Dave Moylan of Applegate, Calif., said anyone who takes the time to visit will have an amazing experience. He said that the museum offers insight into the structure of many of Earth’s creatures as well as a history of what makes each unique.
“We met Jay, the founder, a wonderful man with one of the most unique talents and a penchant for sharing his love. I recommend the museum to anyone,” he said in a Facebook review.
In January, the team at Skeletons: Museum of Osteology began work assembling more than 150 crates that will showcase a new traveling exhibition called “Skeletons: The Wonders Within.” Specimens in the collection include a giant anteater, Nile crocodile, vampire bat and ostrich. The collection is traveling across the continent making stops at a number of science centers, natural history museums, zoos and aquariums.
As the only exhibit of its kind, “Skeletons: The Wonders Within” will change the way folks look at animals forever and is made possible through collaborative efforts of the Science North in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada; Skulls Unlimited; and the Museum of Osteology; as well as Arizona Science Center in Phoenix. Jay said he is excited about the touring exhibition and sees it as a testament to his childhood fascination, which grew into a vocation.
“This is the realization of my lifelong dream, to share the wonders of wildlife, science and osteology with the world,” he said. “Let the bones tell the tales and let the fascination begin!”
If you go…
Skeletons: Museum of Osteology is located at 10301 S. Sunnylane Road Oklahoma City, OK
Phone: (405) 814-0006
Website: www.skeletonmuseum.com
Admission: Adults (12 and up) $14, Children (3-11) $12
A young museum visitor takes time to complete a scavenger hunt. (Photo provided by SKELETONS: Museum of Osteology) 
Rescue cat Indiana Bones serves as the office cat for SKELETONS: Museum of Osteology; he is also a good ambassador for the museum, showing off its offerings. (Photo provided by SKELETONS: Museum of Osteology) 
The Museum of Osteology is a popular destination for field trips. (Photo provided by SKELETONS: Museum of Osteology) 
Rescue cat Indiana Bones serves as the office cat for SKELETONS: Museum of Osteology; he is also a good ambassador for the museum, showing off its offerings. (Photo provided by SKELETONS: Museum of Osteology) SKELETONS: Museum of Osteology contains more than 8,000 specimens across 1,500 species. Pictured are a few of the museum’s larger specimens. (Photo provided by SKELETONS: Museum of Osteology)
