UMNH Annual Special Event

What's in the Basement?

Find Out on Saturday, October 17, 2009

9:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Included in Museum admission
Start your adventure by 4:30 for the most fun!

The Utah Museum of Natural History has over one million artifacts housed in special storage, objects that are rarely seen by the public.
Once each year, we open the "Employees Only" doors and invite
you to join us behind the scenes!

At What's in the Basement, get face-to-face with 100 curators, researchers, education specialists and volunteers who are
on-hand to share background stories on featured objects and
the questions scientists have about them.

UMNH Admission, Directions, and Parking

New Dinosaur Discoveries

Over the past decade, the UMNH Paleontology team has led
the first systematic research project of dinosaur paleontology in
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. 

At What's in the Basement, meet the Paleontologists and get
a sneak peek at new dinosaur species that they have discovered
during their exploration.

UMNH Paleontology and Dinosaurs of Utah

Special Dinosaur Activities

• Step inside our working Paleontology Lab to see how dental
  tools and thousands of hours unearth fossils from past worlds.
  
  
• Meet UMNH paleontologists Randy Irmis and Mark Loewen,
  talk with them about their research, and take a close look
  at some of the world's oldest dinosaur bones.
  
  
• In the basement, tour the Paleontology Collection with
  collections manager Mike Getty to see thousands of
  dinosaur bones and other fossils, including Allosaurus from
  the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry.

What's So Special About the Basement?

Of the more than 1.2 million objects held in the Museum's
collection, 99 percent are not on display, but held in catalogued storage. The vast collection includes dinosaur and mammal fossils, animal skulls, ceramic pots, moccasins, ceremonial masks, insects, and over 100,000 pressed plant specimens.

Objects held by the Museum range from a few hundred to millions
of years old! What's in the Basement takes you into the behind-the-scenes world of the state natural history museum, and lets you be
a part of managed collections, scientific research, and pure wonder!

UMNH Collections Departments

Something for Everyone

What's in the Basement offers activities for all ages.

• The Kids Academy offers hands-on activities that let children work and explore like scientists.
  
  
• Adults will appreciate the opportunity to discuss objects and research with experts, and seeing how community volunteers are involved in every aspect of the Museum.

UMNH Admission, Directions, and Parking

What's Happening at UMNH this Month