Oracle Natural Science

Maryann Barbon

2023-12

I love this store! It's not huge but it is full of awesome stuff! It has a little bit of everything from bones to furs, crystals to bug pinning kits. I wasn't expecting to spend much when I came in so I just picked up a spider specimen and piece of pyrite when I was in but I will most certainly be a repeat customer.

Nathanael Mena Mijangos

2024-03

An absolutely amazing shop if your looking to purchase animal pieces and taxidermy. There's also a few crystals and other botanical notions as well. Absolutely magical.

Mickey Alice Kwapis

2024-02

Alessandra has done such a beautiful job curating her shop in its new location. You can find all kinds of natural history items, take classes to learn how to preserve your own specimens, and they even do custom pet memorials through services like skeletal articulation and freeze-dry taxidermy. When my cat was ill she helped me make a plan to work with her just in case he really took a turn (I'm a taxidermist but definitely don't want to work on my own pets) which is really helpful for clients dealing with anticipatory grief and helps ensure your project goes as smoothly as possible when it's time (ie getting them in a freezer asap). I have sent many of my own clients her way for articulation projects and every time, she does a fantastic job.If you ask nicely when you visit, you can even see the shop's colony of dermestid beetles that help clean the skeletons over the course of many months! There are no shortcuts and she won't bleach or boil the bones as many others do, which causes degrading. As a professional in the industry this is one of the most beautiful "oddities" shops I've ever visited and I look forward to coming back.

Drue McKelvey

2024-02

This review is for anyone looking to get pet memorial work done by Alessandra.Working with Alessandra during the afterlife of my beloved cats has been nothing but upset, heartbreak, and disappointment. I’ve been in tears more times than I can count. She obviously has too much going on to give the proper care and focus to her afterlife clients as they deserve. If you follow her socials you will see that she not only does memorials, but also runs a physical shop, teaches classes, makes art, travels to conventions, etc. Her focus is too divided for this type of sensitive work.I had two cats pass within months of each other and I mistakenly left them in the care of Alessandra. I wanted to get both posed as full skeletal articulations so they could remain together in the afterlife. I hated the idea of burial or cremation. I put a $100 deposit down for each of them and was told it would take anywhere from 12-15 months. She claims this is due to chemical shortages from the COVID shutdowns, but it’s clearly because of her lack of time management from doing too many things.Just a few months into waiting I receive a devastating call from Alessandra. She was out of town at a convention and her assistant “accidentally” had the body of one of my cats cremated. She said she still had the head though as she had started to process their skulls first. She offered to put my cat’s skull on some random stray cat’s skeleton instead. I told her no, and to cremate the body of the second as well, even though this was against my original beliefs. I wanted her to create a memorial using the two skulls instead since they couldn’t be together whole.I assumed that after making a mistake that huge and breaking our original written contract that she would prioritize my memorial and I would get to bring my cats home sooner. Seemed like the proper business thing to do in my opinion, but I guess I was wrong. I didn’t hear anything again for months. Coming up on the 15 month mark I reached out and Alessandra told me it was looking like things would be more like a 2 year wait time total for all clients.So, a few more months go by and she says they are finally ready to come home. She sends me a progress picture, then sends me a tracking number, and upon arrival of my memorial I regret to inform that I received a poorly packaged box of more devastation. The two skulls were supposed to be raised over a bed of flowers and crystals and sitting underneath a glass cloche. What I received was my cat’s skulls lying upside down on a complete mess of dried flower crumbs underneath a cloche. One of my cat’s main front canines had busted off and shattered. It took me a couple of hours to sift through the mess of flower crumbs and find only half of the tooth to glue it back into place.Now I have to order more dried flowers, and crystals from elsewhere; there weren’t even crystals in her broken version, to assemble myself and create the memorial my cats deserve. I am absolutely heartbroken over this entire experience and would not recommend Alessandra’s work to anyone seeking comfort in their pet’s afterlife. There are other memorialists out there who will give you the proper time, care, and attention that you deserve after the loss of your loved ones.Alessandra either needs to drop some of her other hobbies to focus more on her clients, or stop offering pet memorials completely since it doesn’t seem to be her main focus anyway.I wish to those reading this better comfort and care than I received during my time of mourning.

Wendi Pittman

2020-05

I could spend hours in this store. The atmosphere is calming and relaxing. Quinn is so welcoming and friendly. There is so much to see. This is a must visit in Kansas City!

Cheryl Polson

2023-10

This shop is beautiful. The staff is very friendly and willing to help, answer questions and listen. Their custom oil blended perfumes are wonderful. Nice oddities. Very good vibe in this shop

Citellus Research Club

2022-05

My wife and I went in and bought a few wet specimens and a bismuth crystal. This place is soooo cool, and the staff are all incredibly helpful! I highly recommend checking this place out!

Anna Furstenau

2023-10

When my pup was dying I reached out to Alessandra for a memorial consult that ultimately led to me entrusting her with my souldog’s remains. What a great choice that was.The initial consultation was handled over the phone, where I was asked thorough, comprehensive questions regarding my expectations. I have an email chain of 70 or so messages regarding specifics of the memorial, from start to finish. Alessandra also went above and beyond reaching out to someone outside of Oracle to meet my specific wants for my memorial.Despite pandemic related delays and unforeseen circumstances, I was kept in the loop consistently and knew what to expect when. Communication was stellar at every turn.The memorial itself is perfect. She did an amazing job at articulating my doggo’s skeleton and I could not be happier with the way that it turned out. 10/10 do recommend.

Shelby

2023-11

Amazing place so fun to go I buy something everytime I stop by the people there are so nice and they have a great selection or crystals, bones, taxidermy, bugs and more

Alexis Gibson

2023-05

My partner and I dropped off my beloved dog for skeletal articulation this week and left feeling even more confident that we chose the right person to care for him and give us the best result possible.While we were there I bought a necklace and some earrings made out of vertebrae and scapula that are absolutely beautiful and a badger skull.I would highly recommend stopping in and checking out her shop!

Inchy K (Inchy)

2023-12

Lovely selection of taxidermy with great prices! I got a chipmunk I’m in love with last time I went.

Lex C.

2022-05

I’m absolutely in love with this place. From the informative, welcoming friendly staff that I could speak with for hours, to the great quality selection in store. I cannot express enough how grateful I am to have stopped by this gem. The friendly ladies who work there where non-judgmental and welcoming of me being new and completely uneducated to taxidermy and the origins behind them. I felt like I was invited to come back again, which I absolutely will be coming back. Fabulous environment and people, and of course quality products made with compassion, precision, and passion.

Wind Waker

2023-05

I was dying to go to this shop when I discovered it’s existence and am all about shopping local and had plans to purchase some taxidermy there, but the Tarot lady just ruined it for me on two separate occasions. We tried for 2-3 weeks but the universe interfered. Finally made it out there, was supposed to be the highlight of my week… we get there an hour before closing but the doors are closed. Staff are inside moving things around but won’t come to the door. We stand there for a while, I am looking like a begging puppy trying to get their attention, and they just ignore us. I keep tapping at the door. Finally this lady comes and won’t open the door even though they’re all masked and it’s mid-2022. I explain I’ve been dying to see the shop, can we come in. No they say, they are preparing for an event. Meanwhile my husband is saying nowhere on their website does it say they’d be closing early today. She says sorry and walks away. We go back a week or two later, and another girl is there and talks with us nicely and answers questions. When I ask about the bug club, which I’ve been wanting to subscribe to, she doesn’t know the answer and asks the Tarot lady to talk to me. The Tarot lady is again all sullen and says she knows nothing about what I’m asking about and gives me a card to email the owner and ask her my question. It wasn’t so much what happened but how it happened, both times we were treated like no one cared that we were there and excited about their products… oh well. A major part of shopping for this stuff locally was to share enthusiasm and a sense of community, but since no one cared we were there, I guess I’ll buy my bugs on Etsy and frame them at home with guidance from YouTube. If I want to share enthusiasm, I guess I’ll go to the toy shop in KC Kansas that has taxidermy, where they’re super nice.

Local Barista

2023-05

Oracle is a uniquely beautiful shop in KC. They specialize in taxidermy pieces like rabbit feet, bones, bird skulls, bugs and more! They receive all of these through ethical sources ensuring that no products were killed for the purpose of selling. I am sure this is not everyone’s cup of tea but if you’re into the mystical, it is a must see!

Van Palmer

2023-05

My favorite shop for bones, crystals, books, and more! We just bought two large pieces for our living room and they look amazing! Everyone here is very knowledgeable and kind.

Nikk Cochran Selik

2023-05

I ordered an oracle deck that was no longer being printed by the author. They had it for a very reasonable price and shipped it to Chicago for free. I really appreciated the handwritten note saying that this was one of their favorite decks. Thanks!

Helen Byers

2023-06

I commissioned ORACLE for a cat articulation memorial, and due to covid, it took a bit longer than anticipated, but it was worth the wait. Max is as beautiful as ever and he is something I've always dreamed of. 21 years of unconditional cat love, turned Into an amazing piece of art to continue to love. THANK YOU ALASSANDRA!

Na Na

2021-05

I wrote a nasty review on this place a while ago. I was wrong to do so. This small business is fantastic. It was my fault for not double checking the website to make sure it was open on the days I had tried to go. So I want to give Oracle a real review. This place is great. They have beautiful skeletons and preserved animals. These are sustainably sourced. So nobody was hurt when getting these bones. I think that's the biggest thing that makes me love this place. Cruelty is absent and I can enjoy these treasures that nature gives us. But what I must say is a contender for my favorite is how beautifully this shop is set up. Every object is treated with respect. This whole shop looks like a still life or vanitas painting. There isn't an animal pelt, crystal, or skeleton that feels crammed on a shelf. When I walk in it feels as if the owner herself has selected everything in the shop and placed it with intention. It's beautiful and respectful. This is something so rare and I adore it. Please, visit this place. They are clean and taking covid very seriously. You won't regret visiting this small, beautiful, and respectful shop.

ryon matthews

2021-05

The perfect shop to pop into for knowledge and personalized gifts. The gals are so sweet and attentive and helped create the perfect small gift for my daughter that’s starting to show interest in astrology. Shops like this warm my heart, thank you!!

Laura Bozarth

2022-05

Awesome place, I love this shop. I would definitely recommend stopping by and supporting this local shop.They do beautiful work and I love that they strive to get their specimens humanely.Staff is very nice and always willing to help out and provide information.

Christoph Jones (Christoph Jones)

2017-05

This place is super rad! Great specimens, the vibe in the store is amazing. This is a must stop every time I'm in KC. The lady that runs the place is a blast to talk to, she's funny and knows her business!

Katie Manring

2018-05

There aren’t many places like this in KC, so it’s absolutely worth noting this is a must see for local or passers-by lovers of the unusual. They have everything from bird skulls to beads, crystals to carcasses carefully prepared for display. So many things to see and experience and the staff is as delightful as the array of unique finds.

Bobinamarie

2022-05

Love this shop, beautifully crafted art. Definitely worth your time. Great place to find gifts, for nature and science lovers.

Brittnee Nicole

2018-05

I freakin' love this place sooo much!! It's one of those hidden gems located in the crossroads arts district that offers oddities that you can't just find anywhere. The customer service is always on and they are willing to give you their full attention when asked help or anything in general. If you're looking for an untraditional gift for that idiosyncratic friend this is the place to go...or just go anyway for the cool findings!

Azzi Lenhart

2022-05

Great shop! I ended up getting 2 paws (coyote&armadillo) some beaver bones and my little chick Rupert. Everything was affordable prices and great quality.

Rita Brinkerhoff

2016-05

Jane, Carrie and Alessandra have created a beautiful space full of beautiful things! With an ever-changing inventory of articulated skeletons, taxidermy dioramas, locally-made jewelry, and stones of all types, there is always something new to see. All of their taxidermy is either antique or from animals who died of natural causes, which is really awesome. Definitely a must-see if you are in the neighborhood!

Gabe Brison

2018-05

One of my favorite places in KC. Always love talking to the people there, and it's such a great place for incense, stones, and beautiful things from nature. Great place to take someone visiting from out of town too.

Eric Grabb

2017-05

This place is awesome to browse through. They have all kinds of taxidermy, rocks, and flora oddities. They also offer palm and Tarot readings on occaision. The owners work the register and are super helpful. One the hottest spots on First Fridays.

whitney walker

2023-05

They definitely take advantage of them being the only kind of shop like this in kc. Prices are way to high, for what they sell they could definitely come down alittle.

Jill McKeever

2016-05

Oracle is like a natural history museum where everything is for sale. I know that they are careful and thoughtful about their sourcing and as someone who is sometimes sensitive around taxidermy, I feel very comfortable, not overwhelmed, by the display. Everything in here is beautiful and you won't find it anywhere else in Kansas City. They also made me a custom framed moth arrangement that is gorgeous.