Deseret Museum facts for kids
The Deseret Museum was an important museum located in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was a place where people could learn about science, history, and nature.
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What Was the Deseret Museum?
The Deseret Museum was a museum that showed off many interesting collections. It helped people in Utah learn about the world around them. The museum changed names and owners several times during its history.
Early Beginnings: Salt Lake City Museum
The museum first opened its doors in 1869. It was called the "Salt Lake City Museum and Menagerie." A "menagerie" is like a small zoo, so it probably had some animals too! John Willard Young started this museum. Guglielmo Giosue Rosetti Sangiovanni was the first person in charge of the collections, known as the curator.
New Owners and a New Name
In 1878, the museum's ownership changed. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints took over the museum. Joseph L. Barfoot became the new curator. He managed the museum's collections until 1882.
A few years later, in 1885, a group called the Salt Lake Literary and Scientific Association bought the museum. They decided to give it a new name: the Deseret Museum.
Who Managed the Museum's Collections?
Many people helped run the Deseret Museum. In 1891, James E. Talmage became the curator. He was a very important person for the museum. He had help from J. Reuben Clark Jr. for many years. Later, in 1911, James E. Talmage's son, Sterling B. Talmage, took over as curator.
The Museum's Collections Find New Homes
The Deseret Museum operated as its own place until 1919. At that time, the Temple Square Bureau of Information took over the museum. This meant the Deseret Museum stopped being a separate institution.
What happened to all the amazing things the museum had collected? Many items were moved to other places. Some were displayed at Temple Square. Other parts of the collection went to different institutions around the world. For example, some items went to the LDS University museum and the Daughters of Utah Pioneers museum. This way, the collections continued to be shared and studied.
