The Anniston Museum of Natural History is a museum in Lagarde Park,

Anniston, Alabama Anniston is the county seat of Calhoun County in Alabama and is one of two urban centers/principal cities of and included in the Anniston-Oxford Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 23,106. Acco ...

, exhibiting more than 2,000 natural history items on permanent display, including minerals, fossils, and rare animals in open

diorama A diorama is a replica of a scene, typically a three-dimensional full-size or miniature model, sometimes enclosed in a glass showcase for a museum. Dioramas are often built by hobbyists as part of related hobbies such as military vehicle mode ...

s. In addition to exploring Alabama’s natural heritage, the museum features diorama-style exhibits that begin in pre-history and extend to the North American wilderness and the African savannah. Each of the museum's seven exhibit halls explores a different natural history theme. The Environments of Africa Hall contains more than 100

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

n animals displayed in simulated natural settings. Other highlights include 2,000-year-old

Egyptian mummies The ancient Egyptians had an elaborate set of funerary practices that they believed were necessary to ensure their immortality after death. These rituals included mummifying the body, casting magic spells, and burials with specific grave goods ...

from the Ptolemaic period, a cave-dwelling creatures exhibit and a children’s discovery room. The Dynamic Earth depicts the planet's formation and includes minerals, fossils, gemstones and dinosaurs. Nature Space offers a large learning area with hands-on activities. On the grounds are a wildlife garden, open-air animal exhibits, nature trails and the Berman Museum of World History. A Changing Exhibit Gallery provides fresh exhibits on a regular basis. The museum's history dates from 1930, when H. Severn Regar offered his personal collection of historical objects and biological specimens to the city of Anniston. Included were extinct and endangered species collected by 19th-century naturalist William Werner. This gift formed the cornerstone of the museum’s Birds of the Americas exhibit hall, which features more than 400 specimens of North American birds in their habitats. The museum is an affiliate of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

.Smithsonian Affiliations.
Smithsonian Institution.

References

External links

Anniston Museum of Natural History
{{authority control Museums established in 1976 Natural history museums in Alabama Museums in Calhoun County, Alabama Smithsonian Institution affiliates Egyptological collections in the United States Institutions accredited by the American Alliance of Museums Paleontology in Alabama Buildings and structures in Anniston, Alabama