Cal Poly Humboldt Natural History Museum

Cal Poly Humboldt Natural History Museum is a natural history museum on the campus of the California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt in Arcata, California in the United States.

Cal Poly Humboldt Natural History Museum
The museum at its original location
Cal Poly Humboldt Natural History Museum is located in California
Cal Poly Humboldt Natural History Museum
Location within California
LocationArcata, California, United States
Coordinates40°52′20″N 124°05′05″W / 40.872255°N 124.084819°W / 40.872255; -124.084819
Typenatural history museum
Collection size2,000[1]
DirectorJulie Van Sickle[2]
Websitenatmus.humboldt.edu

History

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Wells Fargo Bank donated the original location of the museum to Humboldt State University (HSU).[3]

Around 2010, the university was unable to continue to fund the operations of the museum. The museum closed. Eventually, the Humboldt Science Mathematics Center/Redwood Science Project took over the management and the museum reopened. Jeffrey White became the executive director and Julie Van Sickle the Manager. Museum administrators sought grants and public support in order to sustain itself. In 2013, it was announced that the museum would move from its original location into the location where it is currently located. The new building was donated by Redwood Capital Bank. It is 2,700 square feet in size.[3] The museum's former building is now a Redwood Capital Bank branch location.[4]

Collections

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The museum has over 2,000 natural history objects.[1] Collections include Native American cultural objects.[5] They have a large fossil collection, called the Maloney Fossil Collection,[6] including sand dollars and Busycon contrarium from the Pliocene and a Chlamys from the Miocene.[7] Other exhibits include the Life Through Time exhibit, a series of thirteen display cases that illustrates the beginnings of the Earth from its earliest history to the present day. [8] There are also online exhibits available to view, and the museum hosts Science and Nature youth summer camps where credentialed teaching NHM staff and students of the school who have been trained through the college's internship program will teach children about various scientific disciplines.[9]

Exhibitions

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Students from CPH assist in the design and curation of exhibitions at the museum.[3] Many exhibits are interactive. Visitors can touch a meteorite, fossils, and dinosaur bone casts.[10] Most of the exhibitions focus on the natural history of the region surrounding the museum.[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b TourBook Northern California. Heathrow: American Automobile Association. 2013. p. 45.
  2. ^ "Location & Contact Natural History Museum". Natural History Museum. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Varley, Ula. "HSU Natural History Museum On The Move". Mad River Union. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  4. ^ Sims, Hank. "Redwood Capital, Humboldt State Cut Deal to Move and Preserve HSU's Natural History Museum". Lost Coast Outpost. Lost Coast Communications. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  5. ^ Carl Waldman; Molly Braun (2009). Atlas of the North American Indian. Infobase Publishing. p. 397. ISBN 978-1-4381-2671-5.
  6. ^ Mildred Brooke Hoover (1948). Historic Spots in California. Stanford University Press. p. 106. ISBN 978-0-8047-7817-6.
  7. ^ Reed Wicander; James Monroe (25 May 2012). Historical Geology. Cengage Learning. p. 18. ISBN 978-1-285-40140-9.
  8. ^ "Exhibits | Natural History Museum". natmus.humboldt.edu. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  9. ^ "Summer Youth Camps 2024". Mad River Union. 2024-04-28. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  10. ^ Kim Kavin (17 November 2008). The Everything Family Guide to Northern California and Lake Tahoe: A complete guide to San Francisco, Yosemite, Monterey, and Lake Tahoe - and all the beautiful spots in between. Adams Media. pp. 151–. ISBN 978-1-4405-2187-4.
  11. ^ Karen Misuraca; Todd Keith (19 July 2011). Fun with the Family Northern California, 8th: Hundreds of Ideas for Day Trips with the Kids. Globe Pequot. p. 289. ISBN 978-0-7627-6878-3.