What’s up everybody?
Well, we had a little impromptu adventure this week. I should say that I had one, since Erin had to work and wasn’t able to join me. To be honest, she didn’t even know that I had went. I guess that I should have told her but like I said it was an impromptu adventure and I didn’t even know that I was going. I had some time off of work and had nothing better to do and I had recently heard a radio advertisement for the Natural History Museum of Utah. I hadn’t been there in a very long time, so I jumped in the car and was on my way.
The Natural History Museum of Utah is housed in the Rio Tinto Center on, or just off of, the University of Utah Campus. 301 Wakara Way Salt Lake City Utah, 84108 if you want the exact address. If you are familiar with the area it is right next door to Red Butte Garden.
The History Museum first opened in 1969. At that time it was housed in the George Thomas Building located on the U of U campus. If my memory serves me correctly, I believe it was off of Presidents Circle. Like I said, it has been awhile since I was there. The idea behind the museum was to consolidate the artifacts that had been placed throughout the University. Over the years the collection has grown. It now contain over 1.6 million artifacts.
In 2011 the Museum moved to the state-of-the-art Rio Tinto Center. I will have to tell you, it is a really cool building. I’m not big on architecture, but its quite a site to behold. The building is made to blend in with the surrounding hills. It is easily recognizable by its 42,000 square foot copper roof. The intricate pattern of horizontal bar of varying sizes are made resemble the layered rock formation that are found throughout Utah. The copper is mined from Utah’s very own Kennecott Copper Mine.
I Don’t know about you, but for me when I think about history I think about human history. I often forget about the natural side of history that makes up our planet. Humans are only a small part of the picture. We have made an impact but there is so much more to our planet than just us. Natural History Museums give us a chance to get more in-depth than what we are used to.
The NHMU has plenty of permanent exhibits to explore but they also have an area that is dedicated to rotating exhibits. At the that I was there, they had an exhibition on animal movement. If you think of it, animals are incredible and highly adapted to the world around them. In this exhibit we get to look at muscle and bone structure and how its adaptation help animal in their daily routines of survival. I found the display about birds wings fascinating. I’ve never really took the time to look closely at them. Even though they seem like they would all be built the same way, they are actually all very different in the way they work. I wish I could explain it a little better than I am but oh well. Unfortunately this exhibition is no long there. It was in it last week while I was there. I’m sure that it has been replaced by something that is just as interesting.
Maybe its the kid in me, but my favorite part of the whole museum was the Past Worlds exhibit. It also happens to be the first exhibit that you encounter as you enter the museum. I will admit that I did spend the majority of my time here. Past Worlds is filled with dinosaur fossils found through out Utah and the surrounding areas.
Most of the fossils came from the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry, located in central Utah. The Quarry itself is surrounded by mystery. It has the densest concentration of Jurassic animal fossils ever to be found in one place. Most of them came from the fearsome Allosaurus. There are currently three major hypothesis on what caused this high density, but nobody really knows the truth of what happened.
At the end of this exhibit is a display that shows the waterline of Lake Bonneville. You may or may not have heard of Lake Bonneville, it is a ancient lake that used to cover a large portion of Utah. It was over a thousand feet deep and stretched high in to the mountains. It lasted until about 15,000 years ago when the lake finally broke through to the Snake River and drained a large portion of it. Changing temperatures would eventually dry up the remnants of the lake. All that remains of the ancient lake is: the Great Salt Lake, Utah Lake, and Sevier Lake. The shorelines can still be seen in the mountain surrounding the city. Its hard to believe that the Salt Lake Valley used to be covered by a thousand feet of water.
I don’t want give away all the secrets of the museum. There is still plenty for you to explore if you choose to visit the Natural History Museum of Utah. I had a lot of fun learning about the history of what is now Utah and I hope you will to.
Thanks for stopping by. Until next.
Josh
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