Natural History Museum of Utah (George Thomas Museum of Natural History)
The Natural History Museum of Utah (NHMU) is a museum located in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The museum shows exhibits of natural history subjects, with an emphasis on Utah and the Intermountain West. The mission of the museum is to illuminate the natural world and the place of humans within it. A new building, named the Rio Tinto Center, opened in November 2011. The museum is part of the University of Utah and is located in the university's Research Park.
The museum was conceived in 1959, when the University of Utah faculty committee decided to consolidate natural history collections from around its campus. The museum was established as the Utah Museum of Natural History on the University of Utah campus in 1963 by the Utah State Legislature.
In 1969, the museum opened in the former George Thomas Library and included specimens from the Deseret Museum, as well as from the Charles Nettleton Strevell Museum that was located in the old Lafayette School on South Temple Street from 1939 until 1947.
The paleontology collections acquired a very important amount of new collected specimens during the 1960s, particularly fossilized remains of dinosaurs. It all began when a young local paleontologist called James Henry Madsen Jr. obtained his Master of Science in 1959 in the University of Utah. The following year, as of 1960, Madsen was hired as an assistant for Professor William Lee Stokes of the Princeton University, who at that time performed the dauntless project to extensively dig the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry. Since the 1920s, it had been firmly established by geologists that this quarry is one of the most important paleontological sites ever found in the United States, and still in the early 1960s literally tens of thousands of disarticulated dinosaur bones were buried in the rock, awaiting to be excavated. Because the bone bed was so vast and contained a so huge quantity of fossilized bones (mainly from Allosaurus fragilis), it seemed obvious to Stokes and Madsen that it was literally impossible for a single unique institution to dig up a number of specimens being realistically representative of the overall total. To accomplish this task, or at least a reasonable part of it, Stokes and Madsen founded the "University of Utah Cooperative Dinosaur Project", thanks to initial funds allowed by the University of Utah and its Department of Geology. The project worked for 16 years in close collaboration not only with museums and institutions within the US, but also with prestigious international museums and research centers. Since financial assistance was brought by all the institutions who had participated in the project, the Dinosaur Project granted them casts or even original composite specimens of the dinosaurs found in the quarry.
In the running time of the "Cooperative Dinosaur Project" (from 1960 to 1976), literally tons of fossilized bones were dug up from the quarry, numerous remains of species as famous as Camarasaurus, Camptosaurus, Ceratosaurus, Stegosaurus, and, of course, Allosaurus, among others (Allosaurus is by far the most represented species, with 44-46 individuals found). In addition to these already known species, two new species were discovered and named: Stokesosaurus (in 1974); and Marshosaurus (in 1976); both of whose holotypes are preciously preserved in the Natural History Museum of Utah.
In 1976, the University of Utah stopped the "Cooperative Dinosaur Project". To continue financing his research, Madsen founded Dinolab, a company that cast and sold skeletons of dinosaurs to museums, institutions, or private buyers. Madsen died in 2009 and Dinolab disappeared in 2014, but thanks to the "University of Utah Cooperative Dinosaur Project" and Madsen's excavations in the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry back in the 1960s and 1970s, the Natural History Museum of Utah now is able to display the largest collection in the world of Allosaurus skeletons, among some additional dinosaur skeletal mounts belonging to other species.
In 1963, Dr. Jesse D. Jennings, a professor and archaeologist, was appointed director of the museum. The "Utah Museum of Natural History" opened to the public in 1969. Jennings was the director for 10 years.
In 1973, Don Hague, the museum's curator and first paid employee became the director. Hague led the museum for nearly 20 years, retiring in 1992.
Dr. Sarah George was the director of the museum for 27 years, from 1992 to 2019. Dr. Jason Cryan has served as the fourth executive director of the museum since March 2020.
In 2011, the museum moved from the old George Thomas Library location at 1390 Presidents Circle into the Rio Tinto Center, in the University of Utah's Research Park 301 Wakara Way, Salt Lake City. The move also resulted in a change of name to the Natural History Museum of Utah.
The museum was conceived in 1959, when the University of Utah faculty committee decided to consolidate natural history collections from around its campus. The museum was established as the Utah Museum of Natural History on the University of Utah campus in 1963 by the Utah State Legislature.
In 1969, the museum opened in the former George Thomas Library and included specimens from the Deseret Museum, as well as from the Charles Nettleton Strevell Museum that was located in the old Lafayette School on South Temple Street from 1939 until 1947.
The paleontology collections acquired a very important amount of new collected specimens during the 1960s, particularly fossilized remains of dinosaurs. It all began when a young local paleontologist called James Henry Madsen Jr. obtained his Master of Science in 1959 in the University of Utah. The following year, as of 1960, Madsen was hired as an assistant for Professor William Lee Stokes of the Princeton University, who at that time performed the dauntless project to extensively dig the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry. Since the 1920s, it had been firmly established by geologists that this quarry is one of the most important paleontological sites ever found in the United States, and still in the early 1960s literally tens of thousands of disarticulated dinosaur bones were buried in the rock, awaiting to be excavated. Because the bone bed was so vast and contained a so huge quantity of fossilized bones (mainly from Allosaurus fragilis), it seemed obvious to Stokes and Madsen that it was literally impossible for a single unique institution to dig up a number of specimens being realistically representative of the overall total. To accomplish this task, or at least a reasonable part of it, Stokes and Madsen founded the "University of Utah Cooperative Dinosaur Project", thanks to initial funds allowed by the University of Utah and its Department of Geology. The project worked for 16 years in close collaboration not only with museums and institutions within the US, but also with prestigious international museums and research centers. Since financial assistance was brought by all the institutions who had participated in the project, the Dinosaur Project granted them casts or even original composite specimens of the dinosaurs found in the quarry.
In the running time of the "Cooperative Dinosaur Project" (from 1960 to 1976), literally tons of fossilized bones were dug up from the quarry, numerous remains of species as famous as Camarasaurus, Camptosaurus, Ceratosaurus, Stegosaurus, and, of course, Allosaurus, among others (Allosaurus is by far the most represented species, with 44-46 individuals found). In addition to these already known species, two new species were discovered and named: Stokesosaurus (in 1974); and Marshosaurus (in 1976); both of whose holotypes are preciously preserved in the Natural History Museum of Utah.
In 1976, the University of Utah stopped the "Cooperative Dinosaur Project". To continue financing his research, Madsen founded Dinolab, a company that cast and sold skeletons of dinosaurs to museums, institutions, or private buyers. Madsen died in 2009 and Dinolab disappeared in 2014, but thanks to the "University of Utah Cooperative Dinosaur Project" and Madsen's excavations in the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry back in the 1960s and 1970s, the Natural History Museum of Utah now is able to display the largest collection in the world of Allosaurus skeletons, among some additional dinosaur skeletal mounts belonging to other species.
In 1963, Dr. Jesse D. Jennings, a professor and archaeologist, was appointed director of the museum. The "Utah Museum of Natural History" opened to the public in 1969. Jennings was the director for 10 years.
In 1973, Don Hague, the museum's curator and first paid employee became the director. Hague led the museum for nearly 20 years, retiring in 1992.
Dr. Sarah George was the director of the museum for 27 years, from 1992 to 2019. Dr. Jason Cryan has served as the fourth executive director of the museum since March 2020.
In 2011, the museum moved from the old George Thomas Library location at 1390 Presidents Circle into the Rio Tinto Center, in the University of Utah's Research Park 301 Wakara Way, Salt Lake City. The move also resulted in a change of name to the Natural History Museum of Utah.
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