Utah Museum of Natural History

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The Utah Museum of Natural History in Salt Lake City shows exhibits of the Earth's natural wonders. The mission of the museum is to educate the public of science and the Earth, to preserve biological diversity, honor Utah's native cultures, and more.

1 Collections and Research
2 EXHIBITS
3 EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS
4 OUTREACH
5 ROLE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH
6 External Link

[edit] Collections and Research

Collections and all they encompass constitute the soul of our Museum. They are the fundamental source of information for all of our varied educational activities, from scholarly research to primary school outreach. They form the conceptual basis for all of our permanent exhibits, as well as temporary and traveling exhibits and programs. Healthy collections are not static; they must grow if they are to improve. As our collections grow, we simultaneously strive to enhance the care they receive and increase their levels of use.

Because the Museum's collections emphasize a region that is a major center of diversity for all fields of natural history, they are priceless scholarly resources of international importance. They also hold great significance for Native American communities, natural history groups, artists, and the general public.

Anthropology

Archaeological collections of 3/4 million objects
Associated records from more than 3,800 sites
Ethnographic collections including more than 2,000 objects representing most
North American Indian Peoples

Biology

30,000 specimens of mammals
20,000 birds
18,000 lower vertebrates
22,000 mollusks
180,000 insects
123,000 plant specimens in the Garrett Herbarium, many with viable seeds and spores

Geology

3,600 minerals
250 rocks
2,000 plant and 6,000 vertebrate fossils
14,000 vertebrate fossils, including the famous Cleveland-Lloyd Jurassic dinosaur collections, as well as important lower Cretaceous dinosaurs from the Museum's Long Walk Quarry.

Collections Use UMNH collections are used in studies on geological, biological and cultural diversity, and the history of living systems and human cultures in our region. Museum curators and associates conduct research that yields additional specimens and new insights, resulting in professional publications and presentations. Many visitors use our collections on site, including University students and faculty from departments of Anthropology, Biology, Geology, and Geography, as well as scientists from other institutions and agencies. We also loan a large number of specimens to other institutions. Our primary goal is to increase the information content of our collections while providing the widest possible access to that information.

[edit] EXHIBITS

The public is first introduced to the collections of the museum through our interpretive exhibits. Exhibits are an educational tool immeasurable in their impact; they range from strictly viewing experiences to hands-on interactive to enveloping visitors in a habitat that they might not otherwise experience.

The Museum's exhibit areas occupy almost 23,000 square feet on the first and second floors of the George Thomas Building. The exhibits target three broad areas of the natural sciences: geology/paleontology, anthropology, and biology. The permanent exhibits are housed in six major halls, each with a topical theme; the Dumke gallery is available for temporary or traveling exhibits.

COOPER HALL OF ANTHROPOLOGY

3,850 square feet
Renovated in 2003 to include Utah’s First Nations exhibit components originally developed for the 2002 Cultural Olympiad
Ethnographic highlights include pieces of the Tony Taylor collection and objects purchased by UMNH Collectors Council
Archeological interpretation of Utah’s prehistoric cultures and sites in the Great Basin and Colorado Plateau
Spectacular 60-foot replica of the 4,000-year-old pictograph panel from Utah's Horseshoe Canyon

EARTH SCIENCE GALLERIES

Geology/Paleontology Hall

6,500 square feet
Features four cast skeletons of Jurassic dinosaurs from central Utah
Allosaurus (dinosaur brain endo cast)
Two large murals, many sculptures, and 11 skeletons of fossil mammals
Depictions of geological phenomena and the formation of rocks with touch specimens
Henry Mountain exhibit installed September 2003 with sound and touch exhibits

Norton Hall of Minerals

2,240 square feet
450 world-class mineral specimens, including touchable amethyst geode and coal
"Romney Mine," a walk-in recreation of a 19th century Park City lead-zinc-silver mine
Mining heritage of Utah, spotlighting mining areas and districts
Workable Geiger counter

LIFE SCIENCE HALLS

6,320 square feet
Full-size marsh and mountain dioramas
Displays of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates of Utah
“America’s Public Lands”, an exhibit produced by the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, Forest Service and Utah Parks and Recreation

DUMKE GALLERY

2,700 square feet
Changing exhibit gallery
UMNH Changing exhibits have included:
"Kid Stuff," children's clothing, toys, cradle boards from Native American cultures
Hunters of the Sky," biology and place in human cultures of birds of prey
“Utah’s First Nations”, an exhibition developed by the Utah Museum of Natural History in collaboration with Utah’s seven tribes as an official venue of the 2002 Cultural Olympiad
"Art and the Animal”, an adjudicated exhibition of fine art produced by the Society of Animal Artists
“In Response to Place,” photographs of America’s last great places produced by The Nature Conservancy
“Dinosaur Tales”, a look at the science behind the stories featuring hundreds of original fossil specimens and recent scientific findings from the collection of UMNH

QUINNEY DINOSAUR DISCOVERY HALL

2,240 square feet
Hands-on dinosaur dig
Magnetic Masiakasaurus puzzle for toddler fun
Working fossil preparation lab where visitors can speak with staff and volunteers
Wall mural of prehistoric life painted by the children of Utah
World’s largest magnetic Memory Game
Cozy reading and discovery area for families

[edit] EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS

The educational programs at the Utah Museum of Natural History are one of the primary means by which the Museum interprets its extensive collections and teaches hands-on-science for the public. Educational programs put the collections into their proper context and give participants the opportunity to understand the cultures and environments from which they come and the scientific disciplines they represent.

The educational programs are organized by the Education Department. Development of school programs is closely tied to the public school system's core curriculum and is strongly coupled to the Museum's exhibit program. Highlights of the Museum's educational programs include:

School Tours: Almost 20,000 children participate in tours of the exhibits annually. This program includes self-guided groups and docent-led tours moving among demonstration carts throughout the galleries.
Junior Science Academy: A series of workshops for fourth grade students tied to the core curriculum and held in the Museum. Approximately 2,200 students were served by JSA last year. Last year, this extremely popular program was fully booked the first day registration opened.
A la Carte Classes: Weeklong workshops for grades 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7 on a variety of topics from geology to genetics. Almost 1,000 students were served last year.
Youth programs: After-school, Saturday, and summer classes for young people, primarily in grades K-6, covering all aspects of natural history and science. Last year, several thousand participated.
Adult and family programs: Workshops, lectures, and special events intended for an adult and/or family audience in geology, archeology, and biology. Last year, almost 2,500 individuals participated in adult and family programs, which included field trips.
Youth Teaching Youth: For almost ten years the Museum has partnered with Glendale Middle School to run this remarkable program in which youth from at-risk environments are trained to instruct elementary school classes using outreach kits. These middle school youth conduct all classroom outreach in the Salt Lake School District. As these students graduate to high school, they are offered internships in a variety of disciplines at the Museum and throughout the University. Through the comprehensive mentorship offered through YTY, students are exposed to a wide variety of educational and career opportunities, expanding their horizons and demonstrating the value of education in life choices. Students who complete the program are proving to have a 50% higher rate of high-school graduation and college attendance.

[edit] OUTREACH

Museum on the Move: A total of 21 kits containing specimens, activities, graphics, text panels and teacher instruction are circulated to schools statewide. The material in the kits is generally specific to Utah phenomena and is tied to science core curriculum standards. Topics addressed by the kits include rocks, minerals, soils, fossils, archeology, earthquakes, insects, animals, and dinosaurs. Docents commonly accompany the kits to local schools to provide the interpretive services.
Field Crates
1. Schools, libraries, nature centers and community centers
2. Content tied to science core curriculum
3. Trunks on minerals, dinosaurs, entomology and biology
4. Federal funds received to expand topics
Traveling Treasures
1. Partnership with Zion's Bank
2. Travels statewide to bank branches
Openings in local branches are combined with local school programs, Scientist in the Classroom and, in some cases, community receptions with local leaders
Teacher Toolkits
Organized around natural science subjects and called “Box of Bats”, “…of Rocks”, “…of Fossils”, “…of Bison”, “…of DNA”, “…of Bones”
Content tied to core curriculum
Teachers are able to check boxes out or use them in conjunction with Field Crates in remote sites
Federal funds received to expand topics
Scientist in the Classroom
Led by scientists from the Museum, university and community
Scientists present current science topics to elementary and middle school students statewide
Federal funds received to expand and develop training materials

[edit] ROLE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH

The Museum is an integral part of the academic life of the University of Utah, as evinced by its position under the Sr. Vice President for Academic Affairs. The collections offer research opportunities and provide a unique learning laboratory for students at all levels. Museum programs train students in all aspects of museum studies: educational outreach, exhibit design and fabrication development, public relations, and curriculum development.

The Museum is a repository for collections that were accumulated by the University's departments of Anthropology, Biology, and Geology. The collections are held in trust for faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates who have access to the collections for research and teaching purposes.

Two joint faculty/curator positions with the departments of Anthropology and Geology & Geophysics exist. Additional joint positions are being pursued with the departments of Biology and Anthropology. Joint curators have active research programs, train students and develop content for public programs.

Museum programs, such as lectures and seminars are extremely popular in the University community; lectures have been co-sponsored over the years with a variety of university departments including the Department of Anthropology, Red Butte Gardens and Arboretum, the Tanner Humanities center, and the College of Mines and Earth Sciences.

University faculty provide expertise in developing content for exhibitions. Recent examples include the reinstallation of the Anthropology Hall with input from the Department of Anthropology. Geology & Geophysics faculty are doing the same for the on-going reinstallation of the Geology Hall.

In-service training is offered by the Utah Museum of Natural History Education Department; university credit can be earned with these courses, leading to salary lane changes for public school teachers. These courses are coordinated with the Academic Outreach and Continuing Education and the Department of Teaching and Learning. As the founder of the University’s Genetic Science Learning Center, the Museum continues to partner in its teacher training program.

The Museum's meeting rooms are heavily used by a variety of campus groups such as the Board of Trustees, the Emeritus Faculty Board, the Council of Academic Deans, the Equal Opportunity Commission, the President's Commission on the Status of Women and the Development Office.

Museum staff provide service to a wide variety of University committees and organizations. These include the Grievance Board, Community Relations Council, Women’s Week, Council of Academic Deans, President’s Commission on the Status of Women, various administrative search committees, among others.