Natural History Museum of Utah facts for kids
The Rio Tinto Center, home of the museum since 2011
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| Established | 1969 |
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| Location | 301 Wakara Way, Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Type | Natural history |
| Visitors | About 250,000 annually |
The Natural History Museum of Utah (NHMU) is a cool museum in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It shows off amazing exhibits about the natural world, especially focusing on Utah and the surrounding Intermountain West area. The museum's main goal is to help people understand nature and where humans fit into it. A brand new building, called the Rio Tinto Center, opened in November 2011. The museum is part of the University of Utah and is located in the university's Research Park.
Contents
Museum History: From Idea to New Home
The idea for the museum started in 1959. That's when a group of teachers at the University of Utah decided to bring together all the natural history collections from different parts of the campus. The museum was officially created by the Utah State Legislature in 1963 and was first called the Utah Museum of Natural History.
In 1969, the museum opened its doors to the public. It was located in the old George Thomas Library building. The museum included items from other older museums, like the Deseret Museum.
Discovering Dinosaurs: The Cooperative Dinosaur Project
The museum's collection of paleontology (which is the study of fossils) grew a lot in the 1960s, especially with dinosaur fossils! It all began when a young paleontologist named James Henry Madsen Jr. finished his studies at the University of Utah in 1959.
In 1960, Madsen started working with Professor William Lee Stokes from Princeton University. They began a huge project to dig up fossils at the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry. Geologists had known since the 1920s that this quarry was one of the most important fossil sites in the United States. In the early 1960s, thousands of dinosaur bones were still buried there, waiting to be found.
Because there were so many bones, especially from Allosaurus fragilis, Stokes and Madsen realized one museum couldn't dig them all up. So, they started the "University of Utah Cooperative Dinosaur Project." The University of Utah helped fund this project. For 16 years, the project worked with museums and research centers from all over the world. In return for their help, these institutions received casts or even real dinosaur bones from the quarry.
During the "Cooperative Dinosaur Project" (from 1960 to 1976), tons of fossilized bones were dug up! They found remains of famous dinosaurs like Camarasaurus, Camptosaurus, Ceratosaurus, Stegosaurus, and, of course, many Allosaurus (about 44-46 individuals!). They also discovered two new dinosaur species: Stokesosaurus (in 1974) and Marshosaurus (in 1976). The very first examples (called holotypes) of these new species are kept at the Natural History Museum of Utah.
The University of Utah stopped the "Cooperative Dinosaur Project" in 1976. James Madsen then started his own company, Dinolab, which made and sold dinosaur skeletons to museums and collectors. Thanks to Madsen's work, the Natural History Museum of Utah now has the largest collection of Allosaurus skeletons in the world!
Museum Leadership and New Location
In 1963, Dr. Jesse D. Jennings, an archaeologist, became the museum's first director. He led the museum for 10 years. In 1973, Don Hague became the director, leading the museum for almost 20 years. Dr. Sarah George was the director for 27 years, from 1992 to 2019. Since March 2020, Dr. Jason Cryan has been the museum's director.
In 2011, the museum moved from its old location to the new Rio Tinto Center. This new building is located in the University of Utah's Research Park. When it moved, the museum also changed its name to the Natural History Museum of Utah.
The Rio Tinto Center is a huge building, about 163,000 square feet (15,143 square meters), set on a 17-acre (6.9-hectare) campus. It's located in the beautiful foothills of the Wasatch Mountains. The building was designed by Ennead Architects and GSBS, and the exhibits were created by Ralph Appelbaum Associates.
Museum Collections and Research
The Natural History Museum of Utah has over 1.6 million objects in its collection! These objects are used for research and education. The collections mainly focus on the natural history of Utah. Researchers from all over the world can access these collections. Most of the items come from public lands in the western United States.
These collections help scientists study the variety of life (biological), rocks and land (geological), and human cultures. They also help us understand the history of living things and human societies in Utah. The museum aims to grow its collections and make this information available to as many people as possible.
The museum has a huge collection of objects related to anthropology (the study of human societies and cultures), with about one million items.
- There are about 750,000 archaeological objects (things found from past human cultures).
- There are also records from over 3,800 archaeological sites.
- The ethnographic collection (objects from living cultures) includes more than 2,000 items.
The museum's paleontology collection includes 12,000 vertebrate fossils (animals with backbones), 4,000 invertebrate fossils (animals without backbones), and 7,000 plant fossils. The entomology collection has 140,000 insect specimens. The vertebrate zoology collection includes 30,000 mammals, 20,000 birds, and 18,000 reptiles. The mineralogy collection has 3,700 minerals. The botany collection has 123,000 plant specimens. Finally, the malacology collection has 25,000 mollusk specimens (like snails and clams).
Permanent Exhibitions: Explore the Natural World
The museum has ten amazing permanent exhibitions that you can explore:
- Past Worlds: Discover ancient life, including dinosaurs!
- Great Salt Lake: Learn about Utah's famous salty lake.
- Life: Explore the diversity of living things.
- Land: Understand Utah's unique landscapes and geology.
- First Peoples: Learn about the native cultures of Utah.
- Gems and Minerals: See sparkling rocks and precious minerals.
- Native Voices: Hear stories and see art from Native American communities.
- Sky: Look up and learn about the stars and space.
- Our Backyard: Explore the nature right outside your door.
- Utah Futures: Think about what the future holds for Utah's natural world.
The museum also has a special gallery that features different temporary exhibitions throughout the year.
Educational Programs: Learn and Discover
The museum's Education & Community Engagement Department creates many programs to help people learn. These programs are often connected to what students learn in school.
- Self-Guided and Partner Field Trips: Students can explore the museum with their chaperones.
- Junior Science Academy: Classes for fourth and fifth graders held at the museum, linked to school lessons.
- Child and Family Programs: After-school, Saturday, and summer classes for kids in kindergarten through sixth grade, covering natural history and science topics.
- Adult Programs: Workshops, talks, and special events for grown-ups.
Outreach: Bringing the Museum to You
The museum also reaches out to communities beyond its walls:
- Museum on the Move: Museum educators visit fourth-grade classrooms across the state, teaching about five different topics.
- Teaching Toolboxes: Teachers can borrow special boxes filled with learning materials for two weeks.
- Youth Teaching Youth: This program works with Glendale Middle School. Young people from challenging backgrounds are trained to teach elementary school classes using special kits. These middle schoolers then lead all the classroom outreach in the Salt Lake School District. As they get older, they can even get internships at the museum or university.
- Traveling Treasures: Another way the museum shares its collections with others.
The Museum's Role at the University of Utah
The Natural History Museum of Utah is an important part of the academic life at the University of Utah. Its collections offer many chances for research and provide a learning laboratory for students. Museum programs also teach students about different parts of museum work, like designing exhibits, public relations, and creating educational materials.
The museum keeps collections that were gathered by the university's Anthropology, Biology, and Geology departments. These collections are available for teachers, graduate students, and undergraduates to use for research and teaching.
The museum also offers training for public school teachers, where they can earn university credit. This helps teachers improve their skills and can even lead to salary increases. The museum also partners with the university's Genetic Science Learning Center for teacher training.
The museum's meeting rooms can also be rented by groups from both the university and outside organizations.
