The Art of Paleontology Opens March 13th!

“The Art of Paleontology” features the outstanding artwork of world-renowned Paleoartist Mark Hallett. Check out his website at www.hallettpaleoart.com! Stunning bronze casts of 4 saber-tooth cats attacking a Bison latifrons fill the center of the gallery. The exhibit also features elements from IMNH’s Tolo Lake Exhibit to teach visitors about one of the most significant paleontological sites in Idaho.

A Century of Fish Hatcheries

“A Century of Fish Hatcheries,” on loan from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) where it was created by Mick Hoover and Sharon Clark, celebrates the 100th anniversary of the legislative act that created the first state fish hatchery.

Sharon Clark, a Technical Records Specialist, has been with IDFG for 20 years, all at the headquarters, Fisheries Bureau in Boise. She primarily works with grants in the fisheries program, specialized permitting processes, and fisheries related harvest and angler opinion surveys. Clark became interested in Fish and Game history when early in her career she inherited 100-year-old hand-written fish stocking records and reports of the Department.

Mick Hoover has worked at the Mackay State Fish Hatchery for the past 17 years. He is responsible for rearing resident trout and salmon for statewide distribution in lakes, reservoirs, and streams. He is also the staff writer of “Blast From the Past,” a featured story in the quarterly Fish and Game News. Because the Mackay Hatchery was built in 1925 many historical items remained. Hoover saw the potential for creating an historical display at the hatchery, however he was missing a vintage embossed Fish and Game milkcan used for fish transportation. This pursuit, combined with a personal interest in history, led Hoover to begin collecting vintage Fish and Game artifacts, equipment, and documents. This has grown into an extensive collection which is used to provide public exhibits and education regarding the first 100 years of state fish hatcheries. Hoover and Clark have been developing and expanding the collection for the past 5 years and have plans to include other programs in future historical exhibitions and presentations.

Also featured in the Fish and Game exhibit is historical aquaculture equipment which was designed and built out of necessity at the fish hatcheries. This equipment and historical photographs chronicle the 100-year-old practices and techniques used for spawning and egg collection, egg care until hatching, transportation of fish eggs, fish feeding and diet development, and the eventual planting of mature fish via horseback, backpack, truck, boat, airplane, and helicopter with a collection of equipment and historical photographs. The exhibit will also include a 1968 Salem Boat Works wooden drift boat and homemade trailer.

Dinosaur Times in Idaho

Dinosaurs lived in Idaho!

Who were they? How were they related to other dinosaurs? What was Idaho like during the time of the dinosaurs? Visit Dinosaur Times in Idaho and find out!

See real fossils of dinosaurs that lived in southeast Idaho about 100 million years ago. Experience dioramas and murals showing dramatic recreations of Idaho during dinosaur times. Learn about dinosaurs and other creatures that lived in the sea and on land in Idaho before and throughout the times of the dinosaurs.

"Some publications suggest that no dinosaurs come from Idaho, but our exhibit proves this wrong," said Linda Deck, Director of the Museum. "Idaho has some geological beds that are scarce elsewhere, which makes our collection of dinosaur fossils even more important to understanding dinosaur evolution."

Dioramas with cast skeletons of dinosaurs that roamed Idaho are enlivened with mural art by noted dinosaur reconstruction artist Robert Walters. They highlight these dinosaurs and their surroundings in prehistoric Idaho. Topics include specific information on all the dinosaurs discussed and displayed, what Idaho's environment was like during the times of the dinosaurs, where we're likely to find more of this rare and interesting fauna, and why more hasn't been found to date.

Raising The Tolo Lake Mammoth

This exhibit features the remains of a huge bull Columbian Mammoth found in northern Idaho. Expeditions led by Idaho Museum of Natural History paleontologists during 1994 and 1995 recovered more than 400 bones (now in the Museum's research collections) including most of this mammoth and parts of other animals from Tolo Lake, west of Grangeville, Idaho. RAISING THE TOLO LAKE MAMMOTH tells the story of this find from discovery to research using actual Tolo Lake Fossils. The center piece is the reconstructed dig with explanations of excavation methods and descriptions of what research has revealed about the lake and its fossils. Supporting exhibits explore mammoth anatomy, evolution, and the history of mammoths and their relatives in North America. This exhibit was sponsored by the Friends of the Idaho Museum of Natural History. The Museum wishes to thank them for their support and substantial financial contributions.

Living Off the Land

This exhibit focusing on Idaho's Native Peoples features sections on ancient tools and technologies as well as recent objects still used. Learn how they lived on an unforgiving landscape, making use of nature's resources for food, clothing, and shelter. See never-before exhibited artifacts and beautiful objects made by these creative people.

 

The Nature of Idaho

Did you know that giant bison used to roam the Snake River Plain? That the earliest known single-toed horse lived near Hagerman, Idaho? The Nature of Idaho invites visitors to trace, through a variety of fossils, the diversity of life forms in Idaho over the last 600 million years.

The Nature of Idaho encourages the visitor to discover the prehistoric human past, and to walk further down the trail of the past, exploring the archaeological evidence of humans in Idaho for the last 10,000 years. The exhibit also features a display with specimens of Idaho's endangered species and introduces the interactions between animal and plant species in the food web of a high desert habitat. It investigates the many ways that scientists study the diversity of Idaho, both past and present, in order to better understand the nature of Idaho.

Discovery Room

A permanent exhibit area for children and families.
The Discovery Room is a hands-on area where families can see and touch fossils, shells and other specimens from nature. Games, puzzles and Caroms about science are available for use in the Discovery Room. Children can try their hand at using metate and mano or play with masks from around the world.

ISU Tree Walk

Who says Museum exhibits need to be limited to a gallery? The Museum has expanded its offerings to the great outdoors with the opening of the renovated ISU Tree Walk.

The Tree Walk travels clockwise around the Quad, beginning and ending at the Museum. If you travel at a relaxed pace, the walk will take about an hour over mostly level ground. Each of the 36 trees is labeled with common and Latin names and includes an enticing tidbit of information on the label. Labels have been placed on the trunk or on a stand in front of the tree and are readily visible from the main sidewalks.

A complimentary brochure is available from the Museum store and offers a comprehensive look at each tree and contains a helpful map. A free audio CD and player for sight-impaired visitors may be check out from the Museum store and offers a different way to experience the Tree Walk. You can also click here for an on-line guide to the plants and trees included in the Tree Walk.

Natural History Garden