About

The Draper Natural History Museum in Cody, Wyoming, one of five museums at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, immerses visitors in the plants and animals of the Greater Yellowstone region. Families and kids flock to the Draper to explore how bears, elk, wolves, and people interact within this shared ecosystem. Located on the road to Yellowstone, the museum offers a world-class, kid-friendly experience filled with the sights, sounds, and even the smells of nature, along with scavenger hunts through four vivid ecosystems. Opening on June 4, 2002, the Draper became the first American natural history museum established in the twenty-first century, earning international recognition for its innovative, hands-on exhibits. Named for Center trustee and benefactor Nancy-Carroll Draper, who championed its creation, the museum grew from a 1997 Board of Trustees initiative to unite natural science with the humanities, offering a deeper, more holistic understanding of the American West.