Museo del Desierto

Coahuila is one of the richest dinosaur states in Mexico, and the Museo del Desierto in Saltillo exists to show why. Opened in 1999, it runs four pavilions across a large modern building: the first on the fossil record, dominated by full skeletons and casts of species excavated in the state, including hadrosaurs, tyrannosaurids and the horned dinosaurs whose bone beds around General Cepeda have produced internationally significant finds; the second on the desert as an ecosystem, with living cacti, geology and the biology of aridity; the third on human occupation, from prehistoric hunter-gatherers and rock art to ranching; the fourth on conservation, with a prairie-dog colony, wolves, bison and other species from the northern deserts in outdoor enclosures. The presentation is genuinely good - clear, modern, strong for children and honest about ongoing excavation - and the museum runs field programmes at the fossil sites. For anyone crossing the north on the highway, it is the single best three-hour stop between the border and the Bajio.

History

The museum was conceived in the 1990s, when important finds in geology, anthropology and palaeontology were being made in the region, and was designed by the architect Francisco López Guerra; it was inaugurated on 25 November 1999 (Wikipedia, Desert Museum (Mexico)).

What you'll find

• The dinosaur halls - Coahuila skeletons and casts.
• The desert pavilion - cacti, geology and adaptation.
• The human history rooms - rock art to ranch life.
• The live animals - wolves, bison and prairie dogs outside.

When to go

Any day but Monday; mornings for the coolest outdoor sections. Two to three hours covers all four pavilions comfortably.

Practical notes

Labels are Spanish-first with some English. The outdoor sections bake in summer afternoons. It is family-oriented; solo adults with no dinosaur interest may find two pavilions enough.

Nearby

Saltillo's sarape workshops and cathedral are in the centre; the General Cepeda fossil sites lie west toward Parras.

Key facts