Tours at MNH

“Welcome to the Museum of Natural History! Today we are going to explore many millions of years of Iowa’s natural history, so sit back and hold on as we hop in our time machine. In our journey to the past, we will see many different types of plants and animals; some you may be familiar with and some that still exist today!” 

Throughout each tour, whether you in the gift shop or wandering through the gallery, you can hear the “AWWW’s!” and “WHOO’s!” from all the students as they visit each exhibit, especially when they see Dunky, the Dunkleosteus from the Devonian, and Rusty, the Giant Ground Sloth from the Ice Age.

Each year, hundreds of organizations – school groups, church groups, community groups, or small families – from throughout Iowa get a guided tour of our main gallery, Iowa Hall. During this fiscal year (July 2012-June 2013), we’ve currently had over 7300 people, preschoolers to UI students to adults, receive a tour this year. Our furthest group came from Texas!

 If you are interested in scheduling a tour, please contact the museum’s Education Department at uimnh@uiowa.edu or call 319-335-0606. Guided tours are available Tuesday through Sunday with a prior reservation. Tours focus on the exhibits in Iowa Hall, and tours of the Bird and Mammal Galleries are mostly self-guided by the groups. All tours are free. The Museum requests that you call to schedule your tour at least a week before the desired date. March, April, and May tour spots fill up very early!

-Written by Assistant Education Coordinator Ashlee Gloede

Journey to the Field Museum

Last Monday the Museum of Natural History Education Staff took a field trip to the Field Museum in Chicago. For many it was their first visit, others had visited as children but everyone was filled with excitement and anticipation. Driving past the Field Museum one could not help but to look upon in amazement and wonder at the enormous building we would soon explore. Excitement rose as we walked up the grand stairs and through the massive columns, reminiscent of our own building.  Upon arrival one is greeted by two African Elephants and Sue the T-rex as they watch over the lobby and welcome visitors. After taking pictures of Sue we headed straight upstairs to learn more about the largest and most complete T-rex.  It was easy to get lost in the power of such an animal gazing into a face full of teeth that enticed fear and wonder. 

We soon headed to Evolving Planet exhibit that highlights 4 billion years of life on earth. One could easily lose track of time looking at the wonderful displays full of fossils, models, murals and timelines.  Parts of this gallery were very reminiscent of Iowa Hall, as we were welcomed by trilobites, Dunkleosteus, scale trees and ice age beasts. There was even a ground sloth skeleton that immediately drew our attention and was cause for a group photo. After spending a few hours exploring earth’s history we stopped for a quick bite to eat as we arranged our next adventure into ancient Egypt. We began our journey by entering an Egyptian tomb, leading us down a winding staircase into galleries full of artifacts, jewelry, pottery and even real mummies.

Time was quickly escaping us and we had only seen a fraction of what was offered. We soon began to shrink to one one-hundredth of our size as we entered the Underground Adventure. Here we came face to face with larger than life spiders, bugs and other creepy crawlies as we explored their role and importance in soil.  After regaining our normal size we headed off to The Ancient Americas where we concluded our trip immersed in the rich culture and history of our past ancestors.

Our trip to the Field Museum was a fantastic experience! Below are some highlights from the staff as they share their favorite part of the trip.

One of my favorite displays at the Field Museum is the trilobite section of the “Evolving Planet” exhibit. I’m fascinated by the evolution of trilobites, which were small creatures that lived on the ocean floor for hundreds of millions of years. They were also one of the first creatures to evolve eyes. Trilobite fossils are found in Iowa and are shown in the exhibits of Iowa Hall, but the variation that is found around the world is incredible with thousands of species known worldwide. They ranged in size from a few millimeters up to more than 70 centimeters in length, although the ones found in Iowa are usually just a few centimeters long. The display at the Field Museum illustrates the amazing diversity of trilobites and helps us to appreciate this small creature that was so successful evolutionarily but is now extinct.

                   -Sarah Horgen

My favorite part of the museum was visiting the "Inside Ancient Egypt". For a couple reasons, I took a few Ancient Egypt classes for my degree, and as everyone knows I love cats, so seeing the Shine to the Goddess Bastet was very cool.

                   -Ashlee Gloede

My favorite exhibit was the “Evolving Planet” gallery. The collection of fossils and specimens was so impressive! The most intriguing fossil would have to be the Helicoprion fossil. I’ve seen illustrations of this odd creature in books but to see an actual fossil was fantastic.  It is hard to imagine such a weird looking creature once lived millions of years ago.

                   -Miles Dietz

One of my favorite parts of our trip to the Field Museum was the “Underground Adventures” exhibit. There was a lot drama and activity in the space, which made it an engaging experience. Before entering the exhibit, patrons "transmogrify" and I had the feeling of being a kid at Disney or Universal Studios. The animatronics were a nice touch, and there were plenty of creepy-crawlies to find!

                   -Rebecca Pope

What I enjoyed most about the Field Museum was the “Evolving Planet”
exhibits. In particular I was interested in following the evolution of
mammals. It is mind boggling to see the progression from reptile-like
synapsids all the way up to modern humans through the terrific fossil
collection of the museum. I also enjoyed the complete skeletons of the
unique species of mammals that lived during the last the Ice Age. One
of my favorites was the Irish Deer, which you see in the photo.

                   -Drew Ayrit               

My favorite display--although its not easy to choose--was the part concerning the few early human species in the Evolving Planet exhibition. I firmly believe that to better understand who we are we must understand who we aren't and who we could be. To see the homo neanderthalensis and homo sapiens compared, two species of humans who lived alongside each other, made tools, buried their dead ritualistically, and produced objects of purely aesthetic purpose, was fascinating toward that end. Looking at prehistoric human cultures is also awe-inspiring; there's a mysticism to it that I am definitely pulled in by. I would love to go back and spend more time there.

             -Jordan Thompson

-Written by Media and Education Specialist Miles Dietz

International Museums Day – Friday May 18

“Every year since 1977, International Museum Day is held worldwide sometime around 18 May. From America and Oceania to Europe, Asia and Africa, International Museum Day aims to increase public awareness of the role of museums in developing society.

The theme for 2012 is Museums in a Changing World. New Challenges, New inspirations. Today, the world is changing faster than ever. New technology delivers new ideas, gigabytes of information, news of an increasingly unstable climate, all shared by social media. Modern museums must compete for an audible voice against the furious pace of this background.

Museums in a Changing World is recognition that institutions are faced with interpreting, and existing in, a field that is becoming increasingly fluid. Each may face a unique set of goals, interests and audiences.”

                           – International Council of Museums

The Pentacrest Museums and Sycamore Mall have joined forces to celebrate and spread the word about museums. By shopping at the Sycamore Mall on Friday May 18, you will receive a 10% discount in the gift shop of the Museum of Natural History and Old Capitol Museum. You must present your receipt from Sycamore Mall to receive the discount. There will also be a table with free reusable bags, postcards and pencils at the Museum of Natural History in celebration of Museum Day!

-Written by Assistant Education Coordinator Ashlee Gloede

UIESW Rain Garden

On April 28 Museum of Natural History staff helped the UI Engineers for a Sustainable World build a rain garden in Coralville. It finished raining that morning, so the ground was quite soft and easier for digging. Although, with rain comes lots of mud, and some people weren’t prepared for this (only wearing tennis shoes!).

The UI Engineers for a Sustainable World are no strangers to rain gardens; they implanted many around campus in fact.  However this garden was their biggest undertaking, being 2 times as big as any other one they had done before it!

You are probably asking yourself “what exactly is a rain garden?”.  A rain garden is a depressed area landscaped with perennial flowers and native vegetation that allows rainwater runoff from impervious surfaces (roofs, driveways, walkways, parking lots, and yards) the opportunity to be absorbed. This reduces rain runoff by allowing stormwater to soak into the ground. The purpose of a rain garden is to improve both water quality and quantity in nearby bodies of water.

Besides getting stuck in the mud a lot, our main job was to help dig a giant hole. This took several hours, but we did it! Once the garden area was level, we filled it back in with an engineered soil of 70% sand and 30% compost.  

Now the fun part begins – adding all the plants! You select a variety of native grasses and wild flowers to plant. The best plant mixture consists of 30-60% grasses for structure and the remainder being wildflowers for aesthetics. It’s best to get a variety of plant species due to differential blooming.  Then we added the finishing touches of mulch around the plants and garden.

We have had the pleasure of hosting this amazing student group for presentations and now worked closely with them implanting a project. If you would like to learn more information about group, what they are doing and how to get involved visit their website at: http://www.uiesw.org/

Sign of a hard days work!

-Written by Assistant Education Coordinator Ashlee Gloede

Celebration of Birds!

The first time I came into Hageboeck Hall of Birds three years ago, I was quickly overwhelmed.

The Hageboeck Hall of Birds, on the third floor of Macbride, is home to what seems like endless birds.  Wings posed in mid flight, each bird seems to look at something in an unreachable distance.  Owls, gulls, toucans, turkeys, ostrich eggs – all represented here behind glass cases.  With all these birds to look at, where do you start?

After some time in the museum, I’ve learned to start with the owls.  Sometimes I imagine I’m at the owl emporium in Harry Potter, selecting an owl companion to take my messages by post; other times, I’m traveling through a snowy forest.  The owls look haughty, but never mean; to me, they’re old and wise and full of good stories.

After the owls, I like to look at the eagles.  At times, if I listen carefully, I feel like I can hear a national anthem stirring in the warm air of the gallery.  Unlike the owls, who sit and watch the world around them, these guys are driven (to continue the Harry Potter metaphor, the hawks are almost certainly Slytherins).  But they’re also observant – an eagle’s vision is close to four times better than a human’s, and I wonder if they see things in the world that we can’t see, or don’t notice.

I then flit around the different cases – jays, magpies, ravens, and warblers – to find my favorite birds, the sparrows and songbirds.  Sparrows are little and brown, not as striking as the wise old owl or the observant, ruthless eagle.  There are different families of sparrows represented at the museum, and although an experienced birdwatcher could probably tell them apart, to me they’re all still birds that want to sing a song.

Across from the sparrows is a colorful display case of gulls – they remind me of the Australian gulls in Finding Nemo, calling “mine” over and over to assert ownership.  Go a little farther from the gulls and sparrows and you’ll end up in the cyclorama – a 360-degree diorama, one of the last ones out there. If I look carefully, I can stand on an island shore, looking at birds and feeling the cool, salty air.

Photo Courtesy of Kice Brown

And only ten minutes ago, I was buying an owl with Harry Potter.

Every bird, whether it’s a turkey or a sparrow, comes from some place special, whether it’s a forest or your backyard, Australia or Antarctica, often places we’ve never been. Flying above us, birds have seen a much larger share of the world than many of us do; it’s easy to envy a bird for its freedom, its effortless flight.  Visiting Bird Hall lets us see these birds in a way we can’t see when they’re speeding past us or singing from a tree – it lets us appreciate the owl’s quiet strength, the tiny grace of a sparrow. And that’s what I love about it.

On Bird Day, we don’t have to become professional birdwatchers, or bird scientists.  But we can still learn from the birds.  We can learn from their travels and from their inherent beauty, and that matters most.  The next time we hear a bird chirping or watch one past us, we can wonder what stories that bird might tell.  

-Written by MNH Volunteer Catherine Babikian