Museum of the Earth

Last updated
Museum of the Earth
Museum of the Earth Logo.png
Museum of the Earth.jpg
USA New York location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location of the Museum of the Earth in New York
Established2003
Location1259 Trumansburg Road, Ithaca, New York
Coordinates 42°27′59″N76°32′10″W / 42.466306°N 76.536203°W / 42.466306; -76.536203
Visitors30,000
DirectorWarren D. Allmon
Architect Weiss/Manfredi
Website museumoftheearth.org
Ithaca Discovery Trail

The Museum of the Earth is a natural history museum located in Ithaca, New York. The museum was opened in 2003 as part of the Paleontological Research Institution (PRI), an independent organization pursuing research and education in the history of the Earth and its life. Both PRI and the Museum of the Earth are formally affiliated with Cornell University. [1] [2] The Museum of the Earth is home to Earth science exhibits and science-related art displays with a focus on the concurrent evolution of the Earth and life.

Contents

History

In the spring of 1994, the PRI Board of Directors approved the proceedings for the initial planning of a museum to operate in accordance with PRI's mission. With initial state financial support of $2 million, PRI began the design process for the Museum of the Earth in January 1999. Construction of the museum began in 2001 and was finished by 2003, after several delays, costing a total of more than $11 million. [3] The museum officially opened to the public on September 29, 2003. [4] : 98 

Architectural Design and Awards

The Museum occupies an 18,000-square-foot (1,700m2) addition to the PRI complex on Ithaca's West Hill. The building was designed by New York architectural firm Weiss/Manfredi to be evocative of a gorge, with two wings divided by a central open-air court. [4] : 88 

The design for the museum won the American Institute of Architects's regional Excellence in Design Award and Honor Award for Architecture" in 2004. [5]

Exhibits

The museum's permanent exhibits include North Atlantic Right Whale #2030; Rock of Ages, Sands of Time; and A Journey Through Time.

North Atlantic Right Whale #2030

North Atlantic Right Whale #2030 Whale2030.JPG
North Atlantic Right Whale #2030

North Atlantic Right Whale #2030 was killed after becoming severely entangled in fishing gear in May 1999. Rescuers attempted to free her, but she fought them off, swimming hundreds of miles before ultimately succumbing to her injuries. [6] Director Warren D. Allmon expressed interest in acquiring the skeleton after being notified on October 21, 1999 by the National Marine Fisheries Service that the 44-foot (13 m) right whale had been spotted dead off the coast of Cape May, New Jersey. [4] : 92  PRI was informed that they could take the skeleton if they assisted with flensing the 30-ton carcass. Three days later, the bones arrived at PRI, [7] where they were buried in a bed of horse manure for several months in order to remove the remaining flesh and oil. After cleaning, North Atlantic Right Whale #2030 was mounted on a steel armature in a greenhouse on-site. The museum building was left open on the northeast end so that the whale could be brought through for installation. In November 2002, the skeleton was transported into the building via crane and mounted in the atrium lobby. [8]

By 2004, a permanent exhibit about the whale had been installed, funded by a grant from the Nelson B. Delavan Foundation. The exhibit includes baleen specimens as well as a short film by David Brown featuring footage of the unsuccessful attempts to rescue #2030 from the fishing gear that ultimately killed her.

Rock of Ages Sands of Time

Rock of Ages Sands of Time mural Rocksands.jpg
Rock of Ages Sands of Time mural

Rock of Ages, Sands of Time is a series of 544 mural paintings by artist Barbara Page. Each of the 544 11✕11" masonite tiles represents 1 million years, encompassing the last 544 million years of history, from the Cambrian Explosion to the present day. Each tile features life-size images of fossils from its respective interval of time, both two-dimensional and in low bas-relief, displayed on a background representing the common rocks and sediments of the time. [4] : 89  The images are based on actual specimens from PRI's collections. The entire mural is approximately 500 feet long and is displayed along a ramp leading visitors from the lobby to the lower-level exhibits. [9] A book contains reproductions of each painting and describes their scientific context in detail. [10]

A Journey Through Time

A Journey Through Time leads visitors through four billion years of history, from the Big Bang to the present day, with an additional focus on the future as shaped by human effects and dependence on the Earth. The exhibit explores the scientifically technical areas of geologic processes, evolution, and biodiversity, as well as the cultural contexts of such understanding, and features a diverse selection of fossils from PRI's collections, including the largest complete fossil eurypterid ever found. [4] : 95  The exhibit includes three main sections devoted to the Devonian of Central New York, the Triassic and Jurassic of Connecticut, Newark, and the Hudson Valley, and the Quaternary glaciation. Highlights include the Hyde Park Mastodon, the Discovery Labs, coral reef aquaria, a glacier exhibit, four audio-visual object theaters featuring short films narrated by geologist and Cornell President Emeritus Frank H.T. Rhodes, Steggy the Stegosaurus and Amelia the Quetzalcoatlus , and a garden that mimics the landscape of the northeastern United States during the Ice Age, with tundra vegetation, polished gravel, and glacial erratic boulders. [11]

The Hyde Park Mastodon

The Hyde Park mastodon Hyde Park Mastodon.jpg
The Hyde Park mastodon

The Hyde Park mastodon was discovered in 1999 when a local family noticed some unusual-looking logs during a pond excavation of their backyard in suburban Hyde Park, New York. Upon further investigation, they were identified as the bones of an American mastodon (Mammut americanum). [12] In June 2000, PRI staff along with volunteers from several organizations and universities began draining the site and discovered more mastodon bones. [13] The excavation took approximately 6 weeks and more than 95% of the bones were discovered, including both tusks, the skull, and the major limb bones, making the Hyde Park mastodon one of the most complete and well-preserved skeletons of its kind ever discovered. The specimen was most likely an older male weighing as much as 10,000–15,000 pounds (4,500–6,800 kg). During the excavation, PRI recovered 22,000 pounds (10,000 kg) of matrix from the site and turned to volunteers to help sort through it in what is known as the Mastodon Matrix Project. [14]

Post-excavation, the specimen was shipped first to the University of Michigan Museum of Paleontology, where it was studied and a cast of the bones was created, then to Alberta, Canada, where an armature for the skeleton was assembled. In September 2003, the Hyde Park mastodon was put on display at the Museum of the Earth. [12]

Discovery Labs

The Museum of the Earth's Discovery Labs, which provide opportunities for hands-on learning and exploration, include the Prep Lab, where scientists can be observed preparing specimens for research and display; the Fossil Lab, where visitors can search for and identify fossils in local shale; and the Dino Zone, which is a dinosaur-themed play and learning area for young children. [15]

Coral reef aquaria

The coral reef exhibit, located in the Ice Age section of A Journey Through Time, features Indo-Pacific and Caribbean reefs. Both aquaria were designed to be accurate and educational while simultaneously emphasizing environmental sustainability and conservation. [16]

Glacier exhibit

The glacier exhibit, built to commemorate the Museum of the Earth's 10th anniversary, allows visitors to learn about glaciology and the impact of glaciers on the Finger Lakes region through an interactive walkthrough ice cave. [17]

Steggy the Stegosaurus

Steggy the Stegosaurus Steggy the Stegosaurus.tiff
Steggy the Stegosaurus

Steggy the Stegosaurus is a permanent gift to the Museum of the Earth from the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. The life-size papier-mâché model was originally constructed by Milwaukee Papier-Mâché Works, Inc. for the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition and was displayed in the Smithsonian Institution for over a century. [18] In 2015, the sculpture was restored and transferred to the Museum of the Earth. It currently resides next to the Dino Zone, in the museum's Jurassic area. [19]

Amelia the Quetzalcoatlus

In 2016, Amelia the Quetzalcoatlus was permanently transferred to the Museum of the Earth alongside Steggy the Stegosaurus from the National Museum of Natural History. The model pterosaur was named in honor of Amelia Earhart after a monthlong naming competition during its installation and currently resides alongside Steggy in the Jurassic area of A Journey Through Time. [20]

Educational Programs

The Museum of the Earth aims for a broad audience, with features intended to appeal to both children and adults, scientists and non-scientists. As part of its association with Cornell University, the museum also offers resources for educators. [21]

Cecil A. Physis

The statue of Cecil near the entrance to the museum Cecil A. Physis 2.jpg
The statue of Cecil near the entrance to the museum

Cecil A. Physis, a Coelophysis , is the Museum of the Earth's official mascot. A bronze, life-size statue of Cecil, created by Brazilian sculptor Yure Berkley Lima de Alenca, can be seen near the museum's entrance. [22] Dinosaur fossils in the Central New York region are rare, the only known ones being small footprints attributed to Coelophysis, so the species is said to be “New York’s only known dinosaur.” A stylized running Coelophysis features prominently on the logos of PRI and the Museum of the Earth. The museum's collections also include three Coelophysis footprints preserved in slabs of rock. [4] : 95 

Discovery Trail

The Museum of the Earth is part of Ithaca's Discovery Trail, which features the museum and seven other educational institutions in the area: the Cayuga Nature Center, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the Cornell Botanic Gardens, the History Center, the Johnson Museum of Art, the Sciencenter, and the Tompkins County Public Library. The Discovery Trail was established in 1999. [23]

Related Research Articles

<i>Stegosaurus</i> Thyreophoran stegosaurid dinosaur genus from Late Jurassic period

Stegosaurus is a genus of herbivorous, four-legged, armored dinosaur from the Late Jurassic, characterized by the distinctive kite-shaped upright plates along their backs and spikes on their tails. Fossils of the genus have been found in the western United States and in Portugal, where they are found in Kimmeridgian- to Tithonian-aged strata, dating to between 155 and 145 million years ago. Of the species that have been classified in the upper Morrison Formation of the western US, only three are universally recognized: S. stenops, S. ungulatus and S. sulcatus. The remains of over 80 individual animals of this genus have been found. Stegosaurus would have lived alongside dinosaurs such as Apatosaurus, Diplodocus, Camarasaurus and Allosaurus, the latter of which may have preyed on it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natural History Museum, London</span> British museum established in 1881

The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. The Natural History Museum's main frontage, however, is on Cromwell Road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jurassic National Monument</span>

Jurassic National Monument, at the site of the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry, well known for containing the densest concentration of Jurassic dinosaur fossils ever found, is a paleontological site located near Cleveland, Utah, in the San Rafael Swell, a part of the geological layers known as the Morrison Formation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UW–Madison Geology Museum</span> Natural history museum at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

The UW–Madison Geology Museum (UWGM) is a geology and paleontology museum housed in Weeks Hall, in the southwest part of the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus. The museum's main undertakings are exhibits, outreach to the public, and research. It has the second highest attendance of any museum at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, exceeded only by the Chazen Museum of Art. The museum charges no admission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paleontological Research Institution</span> U.S. non-profit organization

The Paleontological Research Institution, or PRI, is a paleontological organization in Ithaca, New York, with a mission including both research and education. PRI is affiliated with Cornell University, houses one of the largest fossil collections in North America, and publishes, among other things, the oldest journal of paleontology in the western hemisphere, Bulletins of American Paleontology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum</span> Natural history museum in Fukui Prefecture, Japan

The Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum, located in Katsuyama, Fukui, Japan, is one of the leading dinosaur museums in Asia that is renowned for its exhibits of fossil specimens of dinosaurs and paleontological research. It is sited in the Nagaoyama Park near the Kitadani Dinosaur Quarry that the Lower Cretaceous Kitadani Formation of the Tetori Group is cropped out and a large number of dinosaur remains including Fukuiraptor kitadaniensis and Fukuisaurus tetoriensis are found and excavated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Science Center</span> Museum in Hemet, California, United States

The Western Science Center (WSC), formerly the Western Center for Archaeology & Paleontology, is a museum located near Diamond Valley Lake in Hemet, California. The WSC is home to a large collection of Native American artifacts and Ice Age fossils that were unearthed at Diamond Valley Lake, including "Max", the largest mastodon found in the western United States, and "Xena", a Columbian mammoth, as well as dinosaur fossils recovered from New Mexico.

<i>Bulletins of American Paleontology</i> Academic journal

Bulletins of American Paleontology is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the Paleontological Research Institution and issued biannually that features monographs and dissertations in the field of paleontology and other related subjects. Founded by Gilbert Harris in 1895, it is the oldest continuously-published paleontological periodical in the Western Hemisphere, and one of the oldest in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cayuga Nature Center</span> Educational institution in New York, US

The Cayuga Nature Center (CNC) is an educational institution addressing nature and environmental issues. It is located on the west side of Cayuga Lake in Tompkins County, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paleontology in Michigan</span>

Paleontology in Michigan refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Michigan. During the Precambrian, the Upper Peninsula was home to filamentous algae. The remains it left behind are among the oldest known fossils in the world. During the early part of the Paleozoic Michigan was covered by a shallow tropical sea which was home to a rich invertebrate fauna including brachiopods, corals, crinoids, and trilobites. Primitive armored fishes and sharks were also present. Swamps covered the state during the Carboniferous. There are little to no sedimentary deposits in the state for an interval spanning from the Permian to the end of the Neogene. Deposition resumed as glaciers transformed the state's landscape during the Pleistocene. Michigan was home to large mammals like mammoths and mastodons at that time. The Holocene American mastodon, Mammut americanum, is the Michigan state fossil. The Petoskey stone, which is made of fossil coral, is the state stone of Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paleontology in New York</span>

Paleontology in New York refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of New York. New York has a very rich fossil record, especially from the Devonian. However, a gap in this record spans most of the Mesozoic and early Cenozoic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paleontology in Alabama</span>

Paleontology in Alabama refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Alabama. Pennsylvanian plant fossils are common, especially around coal mines. During the early Paleozoic, Alabama was at least partially covered by a sea that would end up being home to creatures including brachiopods, bryozoans, corals, and graptolites. During the Devonian the local seas deepened and local wildlife became scarce due to their decreasing oxygen levels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paleontology in Nebraska</span>

Paleontology in Nebraska refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Nebraska. Nebraska is world-famous as a source of fossils. During the early Paleozoic, Nebraska was covered by a shallow sea that was probably home to creatures like brachiopods, corals, and trilobites. During the Carboniferous, a swampy system of river deltas expanded westward across the state. During the Permian period, the state continued to be mostly dry land. The Triassic and Jurassic are missing from the local rock record, but evidence suggests that during the Cretaceous the state was covered by the Western Interior Seaway, where ammonites, fish, sea turtles, and plesiosaurs swam. The coasts of this sea were home to flowers and dinosaurs. During the early Cenozoic, the sea withdrew and the state was home to mammals like camels and rhinoceros. Ice Age Nebraska was subject to glacial activity and home to creatures like the giant bear Arctodus, horses, mammoths, mastodon, shovel-tusked proboscideans, and Saber-toothed cats. Local Native Americans devised mythical explanations for fossils like attributing them to water monsters killed by their enemies, the thunderbirds. After formally trained scientists began investigating local fossils, major finds like the Agate Springs mammal bone beds occurred. The Pleistocene mammoths Mammuthus primigenius, Mammuthus columbi, and Mammuthus imperator are the Nebraska state fossils.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paleontology in New Mexico</span>

Paleontology in New Mexico refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of New Mexico. The fossil record of New Mexico is exceptionally complete and spans almost the entire stratigraphic column. More than 3,300 different kinds of fossil organisms have been found in the state. Of these more than 700 of these were new to science and more than 100 of those were type species for new genera. During the early Paleozoic, southern and western New Mexico were submerged by a warm shallow sea that would come to be home to creatures including brachiopods, bryozoans, cartilaginous fishes, corals, graptolites, nautiloids, placoderms, and trilobites. During the Ordovician the state was home to algal reefs up to 300 feet high. During the Carboniferous, a richly vegetated island chain emerged from the local sea. Coral reefs formed in the state's seas while terrestrial regions of the state dried and were home to sand dunes. Local wildlife included Edaphosaurus, Ophiacodon, and Sphenacodon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paleontology in the United States</span>

Paleontology in the United States refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the United States. Paleontologists have found that at the start of the Paleozoic era, what is now "North" America was actually in the southern hemisphere. Marine life flourished in the country's many seas. Later the seas were largely replaced by swamps, home to amphibians and early reptiles. When the continents had assembled into Pangaea drier conditions prevailed. The evolutionary precursors to mammals dominated the country until a mass extinction event ended their reign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of paleontology in the United States</span>

The history of paleontology in the United States refers to the developments and discoveries regarding fossils found within or by people from the United States of America. Local paleontology began informally with Native Americans, who have been familiar with fossils for thousands of years. They both told myths about them and applied them to practical purposes. African slaves also contributed their knowledge; the first reasonably accurate recorded identification of vertebrate fossils in the new world was made by slaves on a South Carolina plantation who recognized the elephant affinities of mammoth molars uncovered there in 1725. The first major fossil discovery to attract the attention of formally trained scientists were the Ice Age fossils of Kentucky's Big Bone Lick. These fossils were studied by eminent intellectuals like France's George Cuvier and local statesmen and frontiersman like Daniel Boone, Benjamin Franklin, William Henry Harrison, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington. By the end of the 18th century possible dinosaur fossils had already been found.

This timeline of paleontology in Michigan is a chronologically ordered list events in the history of paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dippy</span> Diplodocus fossil

Dippy is a composite Diplodocus skeleton in Pittsburgh's Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and the holotype of the species Diplodocus carnegii. It is considered the most famous single dinosaur skeleton in the world, due to the numerous plaster casts donated by Andrew Carnegie to several major museums around the world at the beginning of the 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mace Brown Museum of Natural History</span> Natural history museum in South Carolina

The Mace Brown Museum of Natural History is a public natural history museum situated on the campus of The College of Charleston, a public liberal arts college in Charleston, South Carolina. Boasting a collection of over 30,000 vertebrate and invertebrate fossils, the museum focuses on the paleontology of the South Carolina Lowcountry. As an educational and research institution, the museum provides a unique resource for teaching and internationally respected research activities conducted at The College of Charleston. Admission to the museum is free, and donations are welcome. The museum has the holotype specimens of Coronodon, Cotylocara, and Inermorostrum, as well as the reference specimen of Ankylorhiza tiedemani

References

  1. ↑ "About". Paleontological Research Institution. Retrieved 2012-03-23.
  2. ↑ Broad, William J. "Academic Rift Is Healed, and Paleontology Gains". 3 May 2005. New York Times. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  3. ↑ "PRI History". Paleontological Research Institution. Retrieved 2012-03-23.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Allmon, Warren D. (2007). The First 75 Years: A History of the Paleontological Research Institution. Ithaca: Paleontological Research Institution.
  5. ↑ "Awards". Weiss/Manfredi. Retrieved 2012-03-23.
  6. ↑ James, Rebecca (1999-10-25). "Bone By Bone". Syracuse Post Standard.
  7. ↑ Gold, Martha (1999-10-25). "PRI Welcomes Whale Remains". Ithaca Journal.
  8. ↑ LaMattina, Diana (2002-11-18). "Volunteers Work Their Fingers to the Bone". Ithaca Journal.
  9. ↑ "Rock of Ages, Sands of Time". Paleontological Research Institution.
  10. ↑ Barbara Page and Warren Allmon (2001). Rock of Ages, Sands of Time. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN   978-0226644790.
  11. ↑ "A Journey Through Time". Paleontological Research Institution. Retrieved 2012-03-09.
  12. 1 2 Rothbaum, Rebecca (2000-08-23). "Mastodon Find Hailed". Poughkeepsie Journal.
  13. ↑ "Research/Excavation". Paleontological Research Institution. Retrieved 2012-03-09.
  14. ↑ Parry, Wynne. "Mastodon Hair". Live Science. Retrieved 2011-05-22.
  15. ↑ "Discovery Labs". Paleontological Research Institution. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
  16. ↑ "Coral Reef Aquaria". Paleontological Research Institution. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
  17. ↑ "Glacier Exhibit". Paleontological Research Institution. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
  18. ↑ Olsson, Juliana (2015-07-06). "How to Make a Stegosaurus". National Museum of National History Unearthed. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
  19. ↑ "Steggy the Stegosaurus comes to PRI!". Paleontological Research Institution. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
  20. ↑ "Amelia the Quetzalcoatlus". Paleontological Research Institution. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
  21. ↑ "Outreach". Paleontological Research Institution. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  22. ↑ "New York Dinosaurs". RoadsideArchitecture.com. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
  23. ↑ "Discovery Trail Organizations". Discovery Trail.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.