When the lights go dark on a movie set for the last time, what happens to the props?
Sometimes they’re destroyed or repurposed, but some memorabilia finds their way to private collectors and museums around the world. If the movie is popular enough, its props end up as pop culture artifacts that are replicated as their own art pieces.
Seeing these artifacts in person gives Oklahomans a link to the film industry and the cultural impact of the stories we tell. Here’s where to visit five of them without leaving the state.
See the Dorothy device from ‘Twister’
Linda Wade, owner and director of the Twister The Movie Museum, grins as the lights flash on framing the Dorothy I prop July 6, 2024, in Wakita, Oklahoma. The prop from the 1996 blockbuster “Twister” is one of the Wakita museum’s prized possessions.
Visitors to the Twister The Movie Museum in Wakita can find many props and “Twister”-related memorabilia.
One of the most interesting pieces, however, is a screen-used model of Dorothy I. Based on an actual scientific instrument, Dorothy was used by the characters to release hundreds of small sensors into a tornado to measure its effects.
The prop is one of four used during the making of the Oscar-nominated 1996 blockbuster “Twister.”
Twister The Movie Museum
Hours: Open April through August on Tuesday through Saturday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.;
Location: 101 W Main, Wakita
Cost: Free, but donations are welcome
Cute ‘Jurassic World: Rebirth’ dino on display in Norman
The fossilized skull of Aquilops americanus, a small, early relative of Triceratops, is displayed during Aquilops Day at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History on Saturday, July 19, 2025, in Norman, Oklahoma. The Sam Noble Museum is home to the only known fossil specimen of the Aquilops, a small, early relative of Triceratops that is featured in the blockbuster movie “Jurassic World Rebirth.”
Although this little fella wasn’t on screen for 2025’s “Jurassic World: Rebirth,” the film’s creators used the only Aquilops americanus fossil ever found to design Dolores, a puppy-sized dinosaur companion that rides in the child character’s backpack.
If you want to see the original Dolores, check out the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History. The fossilized skull is currently on display in the museum’s Hall of Ancient Life.
Dolores the Aquilops was seen at the “Jurassic World Rebirth” New York Premiere in June 2025. A fossilized aquilops scull is on display in Oklahoma.
Before it made its movie debut in “Jurassic World Rebirth,” Aquilops americanus — which means “American eagle face” — was originally discovered in 1997 by paleontologist Scott Madsen, a member of an expeditionary team to Montana led by Rich Cifelli, who was then curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Sam Noble Museum.
Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History
Hours: Open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Location: 2401 Chautauqua Avenue, Norman
Cost: $12 for adults with child, senior, military and student discounts
Visit Chickasha’s leg lamp statue
The oddball prop from “A Christmas Story” was a leg-shaped lamp that could fit in your living room, but this replica is a 50-foot-tall statue that honors the classic movie.
An inflatable version of the leg debuted in 2020, but it was too “fra-gee-lay” to survive Oklahoma’s wind. A second permanent statue was erected two years later in time for Christmas.
Chickasha Leg Lamp
Hours: Outdoor art display, always open
Location: 1 St. & Chickasha Avenue, Chickasha
Classic western movie props housed in OKC
The Western Performers Gallery at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum is chock-full of movie memorabilia and personal belongings of movie stars like John Wayne.
Along with vintage posters, the museum has cowboy gear featured in classic western movies from Hollywood’s Golden Age of cinema. Visitors can see Tom Mix’s white Stetson, Gene Autry’s boots and a riding suit worn by Barbara Stanwyck in the TV series The Big Valley.
National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum
Hours: Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.
Location: 1700 NE 63 St, Oklahoma City
ADVERTISEMENTCost: $25 for adults with child, senior, military and student discounts
Tulsa’s Outsiders House Museum
The Outsiders house is pictured on Saturday, May 6, 2022. This home was the set of the 1983 Francis Ford Coppola movie The Outsiders filmed in Tulsa.
Can a house be a movie prop? See for yourself at the The Outsiders House Museum in Tulsa.
The museum opened in 2019 after renovations by a fan of the movie that was filmed there. The house was a main setting for characters in “The Outsiders,” directed by Oscar winner Francis Ford Coppola, which was filmed in Tulsa and adapted from Oklahoma author S.E. Hinton’s iconic 1967 novel of the same name.
It has been restored to its previous condition and now houses memorabilia from the film that starred C. Thomas Howell, Ralph Macchio, Matt Dillon, Diane Lane, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez and Tom Cruise.
The Outsiders House Museum
Hours: Check social media. Open most Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m.; private tours available
Location: 731 N St. Louis, Tulsa
Cost: $10 per person, with discounts for school trips
Oklahoman reporter Brandy McDonnell contributed to this article.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Jurrasic World to Twisters: 5 movie artifacts to see in Oklahoma
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com ’
