Natural History Museum of Utah

Natural History Museum of Utah
Name	Natural History Museum of Utah
Established	1963
Location	Salt Lake City, Utah
Type	Natural history
Director	Kirk Johnson

Natural History Museum of Utah is a museum located in Salt Lake City, Utah, associated with the University of Utah and situated near Liberty Park and the Utah State Capitol. The museum displays regional paleontology collections, anthropology artifacts, and natural science exhibitions that connect to the Great Basin, Colorado Plateau, and Rocky Mountains. It serves as a research center affiliated with the Utah Museum of Natural History (1963–2011) heritage and contributes to regional and national projects such as collaborations with the Smithsonian Institution, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Natural History Museum, London.

History

The institution traces roots to the 1963 founding of the Utah Museum of Natural History (1963–2011), which involved partnerships with the University of Utah, the Utah State Historical Society, and local civic groups connected to the Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret News. Major paleontological expeditions in the 1970s linked the museum to fieldwork at Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry, Dinosaur National Monument, and Field Station: Robbers Roost with collaborations involving researchers from Brigham Young University, the University of Wyoming, and the University of California, Berkeley. A capital campaign in the 2000s engaged the Utah Legislature, the Sandy City municipal government, private donors tied to the Mormon Church network, and foundations such as the Gates Foundation and the National Science Foundation to relocate collections and construct a new facility near Red Butte Garden. The 2011 move inaugurated exhibits co-developed with curators from the Denver Museum of Nature & Science and consultants from the California Academy of Sciences and marked renewed emphasis on outreach tied to statewide initiatives including the Utah Centennial and the Utah Humanities Council.

Architecture and Facilities

The museum's building, designed by Marmol Radziner in collaboration with Ennead Architects and landscape architects influenced by Isamu Noguchi concepts, is sited on the University of Utah campus adjacent to Red Butte Garden and oriented to vistas of the Wasatch Range and Salt Lake Valley. Sustainable design features reference standards from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and sought LEED certification similar to projects by the California Academy of Sciences and the National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian), while terraces and exhibits echo planning approaches used at the Rockefeller Center and the Getty Center. The facility houses climate-controlled storage, preparation labs modeled after those at the Field Museum of Natural History, and a research wing equipped for comparative anatomy studies in the tradition of the American Museum of Natural History collections and the University of Michigan Museum of Paleontology.

Collections and Exhibits

Permanent and rotating exhibitions showcase holdings in paleontology, anthropology, botany, and ornithology with notable specimens comparable to discoveries at the Morrison Formation, the Green River Formation, and Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry. Displays feature casts and original fossils associated with taxa studied by researchers from Yale Peabody Museum, Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, and Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, including Mesozoic dinosaurs, Cenozoic mammals, and paleoecological assemblages connected to the Laramide Orogeny and the Pleistocene megafauna research conducted alongside teams from the University of California, Los Angeles and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Anthropological galleries interpret cultural materials linked to the Ute Tribe, the Navajo Nation, the Shoshone, and collaborations with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and tribal museums like the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture. Special exhibitions have been loaned by institutions such as the Royal Tyrrell Museum, the Natural History Museum, London, and the Field Museum.

Research and Education

The museum operates an active research program in partnership with the University of Utah departments of Earth and Planetary Sciences (University of Utah), Anthropology, and Biology, and collaborates on grants from the National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Staff and affiliated researchers publish in journals including Science (journal), Nature (journal), and the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology and maintain field projects at sites like Hanksville-Burpee Quarry and the Uinta Basin. Educational initiatives align with curriculum standards promoted by the Utah State Board of Education, involve teacher workshops coordinated with the Salt Lake City School District, and host graduate fellowships modeled after programs at the Smithsonian Institution and the American Association of Museums.

Outreach and Community Programs

Public programming includes school tours developed with the Utah Office of Education, family events sponsored in partnership with the Salt Lake County parks system, and traveling exhibitions circulated through networks like the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the American Alliance of Museums. Community collaborations reach tribal partners such as the Goshute Tribe and the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah for co-curation projects, and the museum participates in statewide initiatives with the Utah Division of Arts & Museums and the Utah Science Technology and Research (USTAR) program. Volunteer and docent programs mirror models from the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Science, Boston to engage civic organizations including the Rotary International and the Junior League.

Administration and Funding

Administration is overseen by a board with representation from the University of Utah governance structures, local government figures from Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County, and leaders affiliated with philanthropic entities such as the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation and the Kimball Art Center donor network. Funding streams include endowments, capital grants from the State of Utah Legislature, corporate sponsorships similar to partnerships with Delta Air Lines and AT&T at other museums, and earned revenue from ticketing and memberships corporate members patterned after the Museum of Science, Boston patron programs. Fiscal oversight follows nonprofit standards promoted by the Council on Foundations and audit practices used by major institutions including the Smithsonian Institution.

Category:Museums in Utah