University of Michigan Museum of Natural History
The University of Michigan Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States.
University of Michigan Museum of Natural History | |
 The Hall of Evolution | |
| Location | 1105 N University Ave, Ann Arbor, Michigan |
|---|---|
| Website | lsa |
| Part of | University of Michigan Central Campus Historic District (ID78001514[2]) |
| Designated CP | June 15, 1978 |
A unit of the university's College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, the current building is located on the university's Central Campus and has 45,000 square feet of exhibit space in the Biological Sciences Building. The natural history collections began in 1837, and for many years the museum was based in the Alexander Ruthven Museums Building, dating to 1928, that it shared with three research museums (Anthropology, Zoology, Paleontology).[3] The museum also used to be administered through the same organization as the University Herbarium. The public exhibit museum was founded in 1956,[4] and today has more than 100,000 visitors annually.[3]
The museum is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit organization.[3] It employs 23 full-time staff and between 50-70 paid student docents.[3]
The museum re-opened in its new location at 1105 North University Avenue, in the University of Michigan Biological Sciences Building in April 2019.[5]
Exhibits
The museum has four major permanent exhibits:
- The Hall of Evolution on the second floor displays exhibits on evolution and prehistoric life, including fossils, models, and dioramas of dinosaurs, ancient whales, mastodons, and other organisms. It is the largest collection on prehistoric life in Michigan.
- The Michigan Wildlife Gallery on the third floor displays exhibits on birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, plants, and fungi native to the Great Lakes. There are taxidermy specimens, exhibits on habitats, and displays about regional environmental problems. A mastodon trackway, the largest on display in the world, is part of this exhibit.
- The Anthropology Displays feature exhibits on anthropology, and include artifacts from human cultures around the world.
- The Geology Displays on the fourth floor feature a collection of the several rocks and minerals.
Two galleries display exhibits on "Evolution & Health" and archaeological research work in the U-M Museum of Archaeological Anthropology. The first floor Rotunda Lobby currently displays "The Invisible World of Mites."
Gallery
Lobby rotunda in the Alexander Ruthven Museums Building
The Michigan Wildlife Gallery in the Alexander Ruthven Museums Building
The Michigan Wildlife Gallery in the Alexander Ruthven Museums Building
The Michigan Wildlife Gallery in the Alexander Ruthven Museums Building
Previous Michigan Wildlife Gallery: Opossums
Previous Hall of Evolution: Permian Period
Previous Hall of Evolution: Triassic Period
Previous Hall of Evolution: Cretaceous Period
Previous Hall of Evolution: Oligocene Epoch
Replica of an Archaeopteryx fossil
References
- "UM Museum of Natural History shines in new home".
- "NPS Focus". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. Retrieved July 13, 2010.
- UM Museum of Natural History shines in new home, The Detroit News
- "History". University of Michigan Museum of Natural History. The University of Michigan. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
- Barry, Lisa (January 22, 2019). "A Sneak Peek Inside U Of M's New Museum Of Natural History Before It Opens To The Public". www.wemu.org. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
External links
