Humboldt State University Natural History Museum

Humboldt State University Natural History Museum

The museum at its original location
Location within California
Location Arcata, California, United States
Coordinates 40°52′20″N 124°05′05″W / 40.872255°N 124.084819°W
Type natural history museum
Collection size 2,000[1]
Director Jeffrey White[2]
Website www.humboldt.edu/natmus/

Humboldt State University Natural History Museum (also known as HSU Natural History Museum) is a natural history museum in Arcata, California in the United States.

History

Wells Fargo Bank donated the original location of the museum to Humboldt State University (HSU).[2]

Around 2010, the university was unable to continue to fund the operations of the museum. The museum closed. Eventually, the Humboldt Science Mathematics Center/Redwood Science Project took over the management and the museum reopened. Jeffrey White became the Executive Director. Museum administrators sought grants and public support in order to sustain itself. In 2013, it was announced that the museum would move from its original location into the location where it is currently located. The new building was donated by Redwood Capital Bank. It is 2,700 square feet in size.[2] The museums former building is now a Redwood Capital Bank location.[3]

Collections

The museum has over 2,000 natural history objects.[1] Collections include Native American cultural objects.[4] They have a large fossil collection, called the Maloney Fossil Collection,[5] including sand dollars and Busycon contrarium from the Pliocene and a Chlamys from the Miocene.[6]

Exhibitions

Students from HSU assist in the design and curation of exhibitions at the museum.[2] Many exhibits are interactive. Visitors can touch a meteorite, fossils, and dinosaur bone casts.[7] Most of the exhibitions focus on the natural history of the region surrounding the museum.[8]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 TourBook Northern California. Heathrow: American Automobile Association. 2013. p. 45.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Varley, Ula. "HSU Natural History Museum On The Move". Mad River Union. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  3. ↑ Sims, Hank. "Redwood Capital, Humboldt State Cut Deal to Move and Preserve HSU’s Natural History Museum". Lost Coast Outpost. Lost Coast Communications. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  4. ↑ Carl Waldman; Molly Braun (2009). Atlas of the North American Indian. Infobase Publishing. p. 397. ISBN 978-1-4381-2671-5.
  5. ↑ Mildred Brooke Hoover (1948). Historic Spots in California. Stanford University Press. p. 106. ISBN 978-0-8047-7817-6.
  6. ↑ Reed Wicander; James Monroe (25 May 2012). Historical Geology. Cengage Learning. p. 18. ISBN 1-285-40140-9.
  7. ↑ Kim Kavin (17 November 2008). The Everything Family Guide to Northern California and Lake Tahoe: A complete guide to San Francisco, Yosemite, Monterey, and Lake Tahoe - and all the beautiful spots in between. Adams Media. pp. 151–. ISBN 1-4405-2187-5.
  8. ↑ Karen Misuraca; Todd Keith (19 July 2011). Fun with the Family Northern California, 8th: Hundreds of Ideas for Day Trips with the Kids. Globe Pequot. p. 289. ISBN 978-0-7627-6878-3.