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San Diego Natural History Museum
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Location within San Diego |
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| Established | 1874 [1] |
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| Location | 1788 El Prado, Balboa Park San Diego, CA 92101 United States |
| Type | Natural history museum |
| Public transit access | Buses : MTS Local#7, MTS Rapid#215, Trolley : City College Stop, transfer to #7 |
| Website | www .sdnhm .org |
San Diego Natural History Museum (Thenat)
">San Diego Natural History Museum. (Thenat).
It's possible to be really interesting in the real world. San Diego Natural History Museum is the place to explore the natural history of Southern California, from the past to the present. TheNAT has something for everybody, from rattlesnakes to flesh-eating insects to fossils to dinosaurs to pendulums that show the earth is spinning. Visitors will be impressed by the unique, interactive exhibitions that span across five floors. The museum features a giant-screen theater with daily showings, as well as rotating exhibitions that bring nature to life.
Permanent offerings include Fossil Mysteries and Coast to Cactus in Southern California, which together serve as a walk through the region's prehistoric past and biological present. This journey covers 75 million year from the time that dinosaurs existed to today. You will learn about our amazing home as you go. Skulls presents 200 of our most intriguing animal skulls. Extraordinary Ideas from Ordinary People: A History of Citizen Science encourages people to visit the Research Library and explore the treasures it has, which includes artwork, rare books, historical documents, and historic documents. A variety of programs are offered for nature lovers, both adults and children. These include interesting talks and guided hikes.
Many permanent exhibits are housed at the NAT, such as Coast to Cactus and Fossil Mysteries and Skulls. The Subaru Giant Screen Experience presents the latest presentations to visitors at San Diego Natural History Museum. The stadium-style, 300-seat theatre delivers premium viewing on large screens.
San Diego Natural History Museum is committed in sustainable operations and maintenance that lead to LEED Certification.
LEED(r), and its related logo, is a trademark owned by the U.S. Green Building Council(r) and is used with permission.
History
Allosaurus at the San Diego Natural History Museum The San Diego Natural History Museum grew out of the San Diego Society of Natural History, which was founded on October 9, 1874.
George W. Barnes founded the Natural History Society.
It is also the oldest science institution in California and the second-oldest west of the Mississippi.
San Diego Society of Natural History served as the main source of information on the region's natural resources in its early years. E. W. Morse, a former president of San Diego's Lyceum of Natural Sciences, gave the Society a lot at Sixth Avenue, between B and B streets. On a portion of the lot that the Society owned, the Hotel Cecil was built. The Society first met there in June 1912.
The San Diego Society of Natural History appointed Kate Stephens, an authority in marine and terrestrial mollusks, to be its curator.
These were the personal collections of Frank Stephens, her husband and mammalogist/ornithologist Frank Stephens. Frank donated nearly 2000 bird-and mammal specimens for the Society in 1910.
Katherine and Frank Stephens, in June 1912, installed their first Museum exhibits for the Society at the Hotel Cecil. They were open to the public during selected afternoons.
Exposition Buildings, Balboa Park
Many of the supporters of 1915 Panama-California Exposition Balboa Park were interested in buying buildings from this Exposition. Because Balboa Park was not owned by the City of San Diego, this made it difficult.
G. S. Thompson suggested in June 1916 that a private museum corporation have the legal right to be allowed to occupy buildings owned by the city. The museum authority must ensure exhibits remain free and accessible to the public at all times. The Museum eventually took over three buildings at the Exposition in Balboa Park. None of these were ideally suited for museum purposes. In 1917, the Society paid $500 to the Panama-California Exposition Corporation for the vacant Nevada State Building. San Diego Natural History Museum was created when the Society moved its expanding collections and library into this building.
Frank Stephens was first director from 1917 to 1918.
The Board stated that its mission is to "educate and help people understand and love nature."
The institution created educational outreach programs using the specimens in its collection.
Many buildings built at the Exposition were temporary in nature. Two-story Nevada building with arcades and flanking wings along with Spanish-Renaissance trimming was not constructed to last. The museum obtained permission from the Park Commission to move to the 1915 Foreign Arts Building, which it remodeled in 1920. When the Foreign Arts Building proved too small, the museum expanded into the 1916 Canadian Building (previously the 1915 Commerce and Industries Building). This space opened to the general public on December 9, 1922. The museum's intention was to eventually combine the buildings.
William Templeton Johnson Building, Balboa Park
Clinton G. Abbott served as the museum's director from 1922 to his death in 1946. While Abbott was the director of the museum, it was able build long-term quarters and then move out.
Guy Fleming Laurence M. Huey Laurence M. Klauber in 1925 were also notable naturalists, curators from this period. Concerns about safety at the museums' buildings were raised after a nearby blaze. Community leaders saw the importance of a permanent museum, adequate in size, that could withstand both fire and earthquakes.
Ellen Browning Scripps was a key benefactor in the construction project.
William Templeton Johnson, San Diego’s best-known architect was given the task of designing its museum building in Balboa Park's East Prado. Johnson, who was known for designing the Fine Arts Gallery (now San Diego Museum of Art), and the San Diego Trust & Savings Bank among many other buildings, had a great reputation. The museum building combined Spanish and Moorish touches. Yellow and blue tiles mark a row of arches under a balustrade; surprisingly, given the Spanish influences, the building did not have a tiled roof.
Ellen Browning Scripps gave $125,000 to enable the construction of the permanent headquarters. Public subscriptions also made it possible. But, it was impossible to raise the total amount for the building during the Great Depression. At the south end, the only units of the building could be completed. The wing to the north was not possible. For 60 years, the east and north exterior façades were left unpainted as temporary walls that could be expanded in future. It was dedicated to the public on January 14, 1933.
World War Ii
The Society was notified on March 8, 1943, that the United States Navy wished to take over the Natural History Museum for hospital use at once, becoming the infectious diseases ward. This facility underwent some renovations. An elevator was added to accommodate hospital gurneys. There is also a nursing station that can be used between floors. Both features remain in use today. The U.S. Navy took over the museum building during World War II, causing damage to exhibits and collections.
San Diego State College took the librarian of the main library with them. Other fragile items were quickly packed and crated and relocated to 32 other locations. Exhibits which were too heavy to move were placed in the north wing, on the main level. A small area of basement access was allowed to Clinton G. Abbott (Director) and four other staff members.
Major renovations were started on July 1, 1949 after staff were permitted to occupy the building.
Forced to look at all collections and exhibits by this rehabilitation process, the board adopted a firm policy to restrict collections to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Despite financial hardship, the museum continued to grow with San Diego postwar. The American Alliance of Museums awarded the museum its accreditation in 1974.
2001. The Postmodern Expansion
View down from the lobby to interior atrium
The atrium from the north showing the blue whale and entry to the library.
Michael Hager was appointed President and CEO in 1991.
Robert F. Smith led the museum in a strategic planning exercise that focused its collection strategy on Southern California and Baja California. The process also resulted the establishment of the Biodiversity Research Center of Southern California. A collaborative Environmental Science Education Center, the Biodiversity Research Center of Southern California was established for Mexico and the United States.
A new design and construction doubled the area of the 1933 structure, which was originally 65,000 square foot (6,000m2) large, to around 150,000 square footage (14,000m2). This new facade in Postmodern design was installed on the front door. It also features a glassed courtyard. The project architects were Richard Bundy and David Thompson Architects Inc.
The expansion also provided new space for the museum's research, educational, and administrative activities.
Research Library
Extraordinary Ideas From Ordinary People: A History Of Citizen Science. San Diego Natural History Museum Research Library.
Library collections include the complete natural history library, rare book collection and Klauber Herpetology Library. In addition, the Library's art collection includes treasures such as the botanical watercolors of A. R. Valentien and wildlife paintings by George Miksch Sutton Allan Brooks . The Library's archives include a large collection of historical photographs and many important field notes collections, such as those of herpetologist Laurence Klauber (available online at the Internet Archive), Frank Stephens Laurence M. Huey (available at the Internet Archive), Charles Russell Orcutt The library director curates the Museum's permanent exhibition Extraordinary Ideas from Ordinary People: A History of Citizen Science, which draws from the rich resources of the library's varied collections.
San Diego Zooarchaeology Laboratory
The San Diego Zooarchaeology Laboratory (SDZL) identifies faunal assemblages from archaeological sites in San Diego County, the western United States, and the ancient Near East, referencing the San Diego Natural History Museum's scientific collections. SDZL was established in 2010 and contains over 46,000 specimens of birds, as well as 22,650 mammal specimens. There are over 1400 partial and 7,000 complete bird skulls. The SDZL collections have 90% of all bird families, representing 1,605 species. Over 1,000 complete mammal skeletons and 20,000 skulls are currently housed, and the collections continue to grow. Expertise in marine invertebrates and paleontology is provided by in-house scientists. The SDZL provides an interpretation and perspective about the antiquity of the use animals. It collects, documents, and shares information from the scientific community on zooarchaeology. The SDZL also offers training for students and volunteers on zooarchaeological methods and techniques.