Sirindhorn Museum

Sirindhorn Museum sits at Phu Kum Khao in Sahatsakhan district, Kalasin — the excavation site where Thailand’s most significant dinosaur discovery was made, built directly over the original dig. Entry is 100 THB for foreign adults (40 THB for Thai adults), open Tuesday to Sunday, 09:30-16:30, closed Monday.

The find began in 1970, when Phrakhru Wichit Sahatsakhun, abbot of the local Wat Sakkawan, turned up unusually large bones on temple grounds. He had no way of knowing what they were and kept them at the temple for years. In 1978, geologist Varavudh Suteethorn and a team from the Department of Mineral Resources surveyed the site and confirmed the bones were dinosaur fossils; a Thai-French geological survey followed in 1980 and identified them as belonging to a sauropod. The full scale of the find only became clear in 1994, when systematic excavation of the Sao Khua Formation rock — dated to the early Cretaceous, around 130 million years ago — turned up more than 700 fossilised bone fragments from at least seven individual dinosaurs.

The best-preserved skeleton, found lying in situ with its spine erect, ribs intact on both sides, and hip bones undisturbed (though the head, neck, and one front leg had scattered), belonged to a species new to science: Phuwiangosaurus sirindhornae. The Department of Mineral Resources roofed over the dig to protect it as a research and teaching site, which grew into the Phu Kum Khao Dinosaur Museum. HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn granted her name to the museum on 12 October 2006, and it reopened as Sirindhorn Museum with the Princess presiding over the official opening on 9 December 2008.

Insider Tip: Don’t rush past the excavation pit itself — it’s easy to focus on the gallery displays and skip the roofed dig site, but seeing fossilised bone still lying where it was found is the part that photos of the museum’s exhibits can’t replicate.

Inside, the exhibition runs across eight zones, opening with the origin of the Earth and universe before working through geological time toward the Phu Kum Khao dinosaurs themselves and the story of their discovery. The pace suits families and school groups as much as dedicated fossil enthusiasts — descriptions run in Thai and English throughout, and the excavation pit under its protective roof gives the site a sense of scale that a standard museum case can’t match.

Other dinosaur-related sites worth combining with this one include Phu Faek Forest Park, which preserves fossil footprints elsewhere in Kalasin, along with Phutthasathan Phu Sing and Wat Phutthanimit Phu Khao, both also in Sahatsakhan district within a short drive of the museum.