Base-pairing lays the foundation for RNA secondary and tertiary structures. The conformational changes of RNA, which to a great extent hinge on the dynamics of base pairs, are often linked to the diverse functions of RNA in cells. NMR is a uniquely powerful experimental tool for studying the conformational dynamics of biomacromolecules, while molecular dynamics (MD) simulations can provide a complete and detailed picture of molecular motions when verified by NMR observables. Over the past several years, we have used NMR spectroscopy, as well as full-atom and coarse-grained MD simulations, to characterize base pair motions spanning a wide spectrum of time scales. Our work highlights the highly complementary nature of NMR and MD, and demonstrates the remarkable potential of using both methods jointly in visualizing RNA conformational dynamics.