USU Eastern Prehistoric Museum facts for kids
| Former name | College of Eastern Utah Prehistoric Museum |
|---|---|
| Established | 1961 |
| Location | Price, Utah |
| Type | Science, Natural History |
The Prehistoric Museum, USU-Eastern is a super cool museum in Price, Utah. It teaches you all about ancient times! This museum helps people learn about prehistory through awesome exhibits, fun programs, and by studying old things. It's located in a special area called Castle Country. This spot is close to many places where scientists find dinosaur bones and ancient tools. These include the San Rafael Swell and canyons like Nine Mile Canyon.
Contents
Museum History: How It Started
The Prehistoric Museum opened in 1961. It was a team effort between the old College of Eastern Utah and the town of Price. The museum officially welcomed visitors on June 3, 1961. It began in a small room on the second floor of the Price Municipal Building.
As the museum grew, it moved into the old city gym in 1971. Later, in 1990-91, the museum got more money to expand a lot. A new part was added, which became the Hall of Dinosaurs! Over the years, the museum has grown to be a huge 25,000-square-foot (2,300 m2) building. It also has a 6,000-square-foot (560 m2) lab for preparing fossils.
Since 1990, scientists have been doing fieldwork and digging up fossils. They have found 12 new types of dinosaurs! They've also found over 7,000 other fossil pieces. In the 1990s, many more visitors came to the museum. They traveled along the Dinosaur Diamond Scenic Byway to see the amazing dinosaur finds.
Today, the museum is very important. It holds over 750,000 prehistoric items from all over Utah.
What Makes the Museum Special?
The Prehistoric Museum is nationally recognized. This means it's one of the best museums around! Less than 10% of museums get this special award.
The museum is also a special place where ancient items are kept safe. It has more than 700,000 archaeological artifacts. These are some of the biggest and most important collections in the country! Many of these items were left by the ancient Fremont people. Some of their artifacts, like the famous Pilling Figurines, are known worldwide.
The museum also has an amazing collection of fossils. These include brand new dinosaur species never seen before!
Cool Things You Can See
The museum focuses on items found right in the region. Here are some of the awesome things you can explore:
- Fremont Culture: See exhibits about the ancient Fremont people. You can find copies of their rock art and the famous Pilling Figurines.
- Ice Age Utah: Learn about Utah during the Ice Age. Discover what animals lived there and how early humans survived.
- The Huntington Mammoth: This is one of the best-preserved fossil elephants ever found! It's a real highlight.
- Dinosaurs: Meet Utahraptor and a dozen other new dinosaurs. These are unique finds that add to what we know about dinosaurs around the world!
Exhibits to Explore
The museum has two main galleries. One gallery shows off paleontology and geology. This is where you can see fossils and learn about Earth's history. The other gallery focuses on archaeology. Here, you'll find ancient tools and artifacts. Both galleries use real fossils and items found in the area.
Some past exhibits have included:
- The Other Side of Utah: This was an annual art exhibit. It showed art that reflected the Utah area.
- Rock Art Exhibit: This exhibit included a restored pictograph panel. This amazing ancient painting came from Horseshoe Canyon in Canyonlands National Park.
See also
- Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry — You can see specimens from this famous dinosaur site on display at the USU Eastern Prehistoric Museum.
