It's dinosaur and
mastodon time.
Area kids (and
kids at heart) can get their fill of science at the Joseph Moore
Museum of Natural History at Earlham College.
The museum
reopened Monday to the public after a summer renovation project.
The famous
allosaurus and mastodon skeletons, mummy, live snakes and various
displays are available for examination.
Work at the
museum is part of a $3.2 million renovation project at the Dennis
Hall science building. It began in May and was mostly finished in
early September. Improvements included new cooling and heating
systems, floor tiles, lights, ceilings, doors and more.
Students and
faculty have been working to put the exhibits back in order after
removing collections for the renovation.
Visitors might
notice the painting, cleaning and other visual improvements. Other
changes they can feel. Museum director and biology professor John
Iverson said the new climate control should help keep the museum
warmer in winter and cooler in summer.
About 2,500 kids
tour the museum each year, although Iverson expects to surpass that
number this year because of additional school groups scheduled.
"It's a very nice
way to spend a weekday or weekend afternoon and a wonderful place to
bring kids," Iverson said. "If it's a rainy Sunday and you don't
know what to do with the kids, bring them out. You can learn
something and have a good time, too."
Three faculty
members are involved with the museum part time, and about 25
students assist in its operations.
Iverson said
students learn exhibit design, specimen storage, how to give tours
to elementary students and various other tasks.
He said the
students have skills to put on their resumes that they wouldn't gain
at other colleges, where work is mostly done by professors and
graduate students.
"They learn from
top to bottom all of the aspects of the museum," Iverson said.
Iverson said the
faculty facilitate the museum's operation and "steer the boat," but
the students are the power with their enthusiasm and hard work.
Senior biology
major Megan Jenness coordinates tours and said the live snakes and
mastodon are the most popular displays for visitors.
"If you get
people with a knowledge of science, they are impressed with the
quantity and diversity of the collection, especially for a school
Earlham's size," Jenness said.
Senior geology
major Ben Scherzer is helping with the museum for the first time
this semester.
"I've been
surprised we've gotten it done so efficiently, considering how much
there was to do," Scherzer said about getting the museum ready for
the public.
Some of the items
that draw visitors include the 15,000-year-old mastodon skeleton,
collected by Moore, and a giant ground sloth.
The museum's
claim to fame - a giant fossil beaver skeleton - is the only
virtually complete specimen in the world.
The museum's
Ralph Teetor Planetarium will reopen for regularly scheduled star
shows later in the fall.
About Joseph
Moore
Joseph Moore was
an early Earlham College leader. He taught science and religion in
the 1850s and served as president from 1868-1883. Moore had
accumulated a collection of props for his classes in the Richmond
area as well as during his travels. When he died in 1905, the
collection was given his name.
Section: Local
Page: 4, 5B
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Palladium-Item. All rights reserved.
An Egyptian mummy and giant
pre-historic mammals captivate audiences of all ages. See a pre-historic mastodon,
allosaurus skeleton and observe birds and mammals in their natural habitat.
African Mammal Display
- includes skeletons of a mastodon, a giant beaver, a dire wolf, a giant ground sloth, and
an allosaurus, in addition to several other specimens. The long-extinct allosaurus
is the museum's only dinosaur, but it was only 15,000 years ago that the four giant
mammals still lived in Indiana!
