University of Kansas Natural History Museum facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Dyche Hall, University of Kansas
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Museum of Natural History, Dyche Hall, the University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas
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 Location in Kansas
Location in the United States
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| Location | 14th St. and Oread Ave., University of Kansas campus, Lawrence, Kansas |
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| Built | 1901 |
| Architect | Root & Siemens; Bennett, Henry |
| Architectural style | Romanesque |
| NRHP reference No. | 74000829 |
| Added to NRHP | July 14, 1974 |
The University of Kansas Natural History Museum is a cool place to explore nature! It's part of the University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute, which studies all kinds of life on Earth.
You can find the museum's exhibits inside Dyche Hall. This building is on the main campus of the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas. The museum is open to visitors from Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. On Sundays, it's open from noon to 4 p.m.
Dyche Hall is a special building. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 14, 1974. It's famous for its unique Romanesque style. The outside is made from local Oread Limestone. Its windows, columns, and arches are carved from Cottonwood Limestone. Dyche Hall also has one of only three Victory Eagle statues in Kansas. These statues were once markers on the historic Victory Highway.
About the Museum
The University of Kansas Natural History Museum has more than 350 different exhibits. It's known for many amazing displays. One of the most famous is the Panorama of North American Wildlife. Part of this panorama was shown at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. This display helped get the money needed to build Dyche Hall and the museum. The building was constructed between 1901 and 1903.
Dyche Hall was designed to look like a church in France. It was built to hold the Panorama in a special area near the entrance. The museum is also famous for Comanche. This horse was the only survivor on the U.S. Cavalry side of the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
Amazing Exhibits to See
You can see many incredible fossils at the museum. There are huge plesiosaurs, mosasaurs, and pterosaurs. These fossils come from the Kansas Chalk.
Newer exhibits include displays of different mammal skulls. You can also learn about the parasites of sharks and rays. Another interesting exhibit shows pre-Columbian archaeology from Costa Rica. This means artifacts from before Christopher Columbus arrived.
What is the Biodiversity Institute?
The Biodiversity Institute is a world leader in studying life on Earth. It has over 10 million specimens. These include plants, animals, fossils, and old archaeological items.
Scientists at the Institute study how living things are related. They also look at how life has changed over time. They use these collections to understand evolution and past cultures. They also help predict environmental changes.
The Institute's collections are spread across six buildings. These buildings are all on the University of Kansas campus. In 2006 and 2007, some collections moved to a new building. This included the insect collection and parts of the bird and mammal collections.
See also
- Camarasaurus
- Entomology
- Glass Frog
- Presbyornis
- Charles Duncan Michener
- Michael S. Engel
- List of oldest buildings on Kansas colleges and universities
