For a town of just under 2,000 people, Malta, Montana boasts an impressive collection of dinosaur bones. The small town is home to the Great Plains Dinosaur Museum, one of the fourteen stops on the Montana Dinosaur Trail where you can take a deep dive into understanding the giants that once inhabited the planet.

The Great Plains Dinosaur Museum takes you back millions of years to a time when these creatures roamed the earth, including parts of present-day Montana. Here you will come face to face with a diverse collection of dinosaur fossils including triceratops, stegosaurus, camarasaurus, a horned dinosaur called a maltaceratops, a unique species of raptor, and several remarkably preserved duck-billed dinosaurs called hadrosaurs. You’ll be on a first name basis with a few resident dinosaurs as well. Leonardo and Roberta, both duck-billed dinosaurs are pleased to meet your acquaintance.

Leonardo has an interesting story. When it was discovered in 2000, most of its body was still covered in fossilized skin. Though it wasn’t just skin and bone that was preserved for millions of years. Scientists discovered evidence of Leonardo’s last meal in his stomach. It turns out, its last meal was plants. Leonard is the most complete fossil of its kind in the world.

Though it’s hard to imagine a world where Leonardo and Roberta existed beyond the walls of this museum, a timeline photographic display from the first discovery of Roberta to complete uncovering and excavation help you piece together her story. The Great Plains Dinosaur Museum features many other fossils as well, including those of plants, invertebrates, fish, turtles, and crocodiles from the Jurassic and Cretaceous time periods. Field studies and educational programs are offered throughout the summer for those wanting to dig deeper into paleontology.