University of Iowa Museum of Natural History facts for kids
Entrance to the University of Iowa Museum of Natural History
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| Former name | University of Iowa Cabinet of Natural History |
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| Established | 1858 |
| Location | 17 N Clinton St. University of Iowa Iowa City, Iowa, US |
| Type | Natural history museum |
| Accreditation | American Alliance of Museums |
| Collections |
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| Collection size | 140,000 objects |
The University of Iowa Museum of Natural History is a cool place to learn about nature and history. It's located on the University of Iowa campus in Iowa City, Iowa. This museum first opened in 1858. Back then, it was called the Cabinet of Natural History.
Today, the museum is inside Macbride Hall. This building is part of the Pentacrest area of the university. The museum has a huge collection of about 140,000 items! These include many birds, eggs, nests, and mammal specimens. You can also see lots of insects and other small creatures without backbones. There are even ancient tools and historical documents.
The museum has different areas, called galleries. These galleries teach you about Iowa's geology and history. You can also learn about different kinds of life and how we affect our environment. The museum spreads out over four floors. Some special collections include old stone tools, bird collections, and items from the Inuit people. There are also items from the Philippines that were shown at the 1904 World's Fair.
Contents
A Look at the Museum's History
The museum started because the Iowa government wanted a place to keep natural history items. These items came from state surveys of nature and geology. This first "cabinet" was in the Old Capitol. That was the only building the university had at the time.
Early Curators and Growth
A scientist named James Hall was the first person in charge, called a curator. But he left the job. Then, in 1859, Theodore S. Parvin became the second curator. During this time, the museum mostly collected geological items.
Later, a geologist named Samuel Calvin became the fourth curator. He asked for more money for the museum's fossil, bird, and mammal collections. Because of this, the Cabinet of Natural History moved to Science Hall in 1885. This building is now called Calvin Hall. Just two years later, it got its new name: the Museum of Natural History.
New Buildings and Expeditions
In 1876, a zoologist named Charles Cleveland Nutting became the curator. He set up cool glass displays of specimens. These displays became very popular on campus. Nutting also led important trips to places like Dry Tortugas, The Bahamas, and Laysan Island. On these trips, they collected many new specimens.
By 1895, the museum had so many items that Nutting needed a bigger building. So, a new Natural Sciences Building was built. It was finished in 1908 and is now called Macbride Hall.
Challenges and Modern Updates
After Homer R. Dill took over as curator in 1926, the museum collected fewer new items. In 1965, the university president thought about closing the museum. But students, teachers, and past students protested, and the museum stayed open!
To help the museum, George D. Schrimper became the curator in 1972. He wanted to make the exhibits more modern and interesting. One big change was creating a new area called Iowa Hall in 1985. By 1992, about 60,000 people visited the museum each year.
What Can You See? Permanent Exhibits
The museum has several exciting exhibits that are always there.
- Diversity of Life: This exhibit shows old displays about how living things interact with their environment. You can see taxidermy, which is how animals are preserved. It also highlights different types of animals.
- Iowa Hall: Located on the first floor, this exhibit tells the story of life in Iowa. You can see models of ancient coral reefs and coal swamps. There's also a model of a giant ground sloth called Jefferson's ground sloth. You can also learn about Paleoindians and the Meskwaki tribe.
- Mammal Hall: On the third floor, this hall shows preserved animals and skeletons of different mammals. These were collected by university staff and students. You can see the skeleton of an Atlantic right whale and a preserved giant panda.
- William and Eleanor Hageboeck Hall of Birds: Also known as "Taking Flight: The World of Birds,” this exhibit is on the third floor. It teaches you about how birds live, their environment, and how they have changed over time. It has over 1,000 bird specimens. Many of these are birds that live in or visit Iowa. A special part is the historic Laysan Island Cyclorama. This gives you a 360-degree view of the birds on Laysan Island from long ago.
- Biosphere Discovery Hub: This is the museum's newest exhibit, opened in 2007. It's inside the Hageboeck Hall of Birds. It explains how humans and their environment affect each other. It also shows how human actions can cause environmental problems.
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A model of an ancient coal swamp in Iowa Hall.
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Displays showing Paleoindian artifacts in Iowa Hall.
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A copy of a Gigantopithecus blacki jaw in Diversity of Life.
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A fossil jaw from Dunkleosteus in Iowa Hall.
Discovering Ancient Sloths in Tarkio Valley
From 2002 to 2010, the museum helped dig up ancient sloth bones. These digs happened near West Tarkio Creek, close to Shenandoah, Iowa. They found at least three Megalonyx jeffersonii sloths.
More recently, they found a fourth ground sloth. This one was a different kind, called Paramylodon harlani. This was the first time this type of sloth was found in Iowa!
