Natural History Museum of Utah

The Natural History Museum of Utah, in the Rio Tinto Center on the University of Utah's hillside, is the best museum in the state and a standout on a national level. The building itself is part of the draw: a stack of angular, copper-and-zinc-clad volumes that echo the canyons and cliffs of the Colorado Plateau, opened in 2011 and designed to feel as though it grew from the foothills. Inside, the museum tells the story of Utah and the region through geology, paleontology, biology and anthropology, and it does so with confidence, using dramatic skeleton mounts, interactive galleries and a layout that moves from the planet's deep past to the present. The highlights include one of the most important collections of Jurassic and Cretaceous dinosaurs in the world, drawn from Utah's rich fossil beds, with skeletons displayed in lifelike poses and a working paleontology lab where staff and volunteers prepare new finds behind glass. Other galleries cover the state's ecosystems from alpine to desert, the Native peoples whose cultures have shaped the region for thousands of years, and the geology that created Utah's famous red-rock country. The top-floor terrace and cafe have views over the city and the lake, which make the museum worth a visit even on a short schedule.

Utah's role in the story of dinosaurs is hard to overstate. The state's rocks span a huge span of time, and its Jurassic formations are among the world's richest sources of dinosaur fossils, including the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry, which has yielded the remains of dozens of Allosaurus, which is Utah's state fossil.

The museum draws on this record to display giant long-necked sauropods, fearsome predators and armored plant-eaters, as well as the more recently discovered species that Utah paleontologists keep adding to the list. A visit with children becomes a kind of treasure hunt, and the lab windows let them see how bones come from rock to display.

The cultural galleries are equally valuable. They present the Native nations of Utah, the Ute, Paiute, Goshute, Navajo and Shoshone peoples among them, through their own voices, objects and stories, a thoughtful counterpoint to the pioneer narrative that dominates much of Salt Lake's tourism. Look also for exhibits on the Great Salt Lake and the changing climate, which place the lake's story in a wider context. Galleries and special exhibitions change from time to time, so check what is on before you go.

The museum cafe offers lunch with a view, and the shop stocks excellent fossils, books and gifts. It is a first-rate rainy-day or winter-day option and a natural fit for a morning before a Jazz game or a day on the slopes.