Fick Fossil & History Museum

"My wife and I were driving from Colorado to Nebraska, and we stopped at Oakley to rest and spend the night. We certainly weren't looking for a natural history museum when we arrived, and we are glad we "discovered" this gem. The Ficks were avid fossil collectors and they put on display an interesting selection of prehistoric artifacts. If/when you find yourself in Oakley, Kansas, you should plan to visit this family museum for a few hours. It's a hoot!"

"This museum is attached to the library. It has so much to see. History of the town and area, art and lots of fossils and rocks. The Fick's own property by Monument Rocks which is where they discovered the fossils on display here. As well as over 20,000 shark teeth. Mrs. Fick started making art from the fossils and teeth since there were so many. Very interesting stuff. It's also free. Definitely worth a look around. They do close for lunch so make sure to account for that. I would recommend stopping here before going to Monument Rocks to get the history of the area first and making that trip even more meaningful."

"I saw the signs for the museum on a drive and decided to make a stop. I am so glad I did! This is such a cool little museum. The lady behind the desk was so kind and she even gave my daughter a shark tooth. It's free to enter and has a variety of natural, cultural, and artistic artifacts. The 3D paintings made from fossils are creative. There is also a library on the other side of the building so it's a great place to spend an afternoon."

"We had intended on making this a quick stop to fill the day, but ended up spending a while here. It is bigger than you might think and is full of so many interesting and somewhat unrelated things- yes the fossils are there, but there's also a ton of art by Ms Fick made FROM fossils (small bivalves and shark teeth) that is super creative. There are rocks, minerals, historical buildings with dressed up mannequins that fit the period, old tools like sod cutters and ice saws, an old fire engine and a crazy collection of pencils. We thought it was fabulous and captured our attention. It shares a building with the library which is also really nice! I bought many books on the same table, my boys enjoyed a little bit of computer time, and I chatted up the librarian about the Seed Savers books after finding a seed catalog. Super creative."

"Great little museum. About an hour or so to see everything if you look closely; 45 minutes for a solid perusal. Had a little gift/souvenir section and very sweet staff. Supported and sustained by local donors and discoveries but had a large number of pieces from other states and regions. Took two teenage sons and my 20 year old, all had a great time. We will definitely be back."