The Idaho Museum of Natural History (IMNH) is the official state natural history museum of

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

, located on the campus of

Idaho State University , mottoeng = "The truth will set you free" , established = , former_names = Academy of Idaho(1901–1915)Idaho Technical Institute(1915–1927)University of Idaho—Southern Branch(1927–1947)Idaho State ...

(ISU) in

Pocatello Pocatello () is the county seat of and largest city in Bannock County, with a small portion on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in neighboring Power County, in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Idaho. It is the principal city of the ...

. Founded in 1934, it has collections in

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...

vertebrate Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () ( chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, ...

paleontology Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

earth science Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth. This is a branch of science dealing with the physical, chemical, and biological complex constitutions and synergistic linkages of Earth's four spheres ...

, and the

life sciences This list of life sciences comprises the branches of science that involve the scientific study of life – such as microorganisms, plants, and animals including human beings. This science is one of the two major branches of natural science, the ...

. Additionally, it contains an

archive An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...

of documents and

ethnographic Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...

photographs.

History

The founding of the IMNH can be traced back to 1934 when a group of dedicated professors and researchers decided to collect, preserve, and display the region's natural and cultural heritage. The Museum was originally established as the Historical Museum at the Southern Branch of the University of Idaho. In the beginning, the Museum's collection consisted of 5,000 objects that were primarily anthropological, archaeological, and historical artifacts that were donated by the Pocatello Chamber of Commerce, faculty, and supporters of the university's Southern Branch. The Museum was governed by a 17-member Historic Museum Committee until the mid-1950s when it was renamed the Idaho State College Museum. By 1963, the Idaho State College was renamed

and the Museum changed its name to the Idaho State University Museum. In 1977, the museum shifted its focus toward natural history, the Ray J. Davis Herbarium, and zoological collections. A majority of the collections were transferred from the Idaho State University Department of Biological Sciences to the museum. Also during this time, the Idaho State University Museum acquired historical collections from the Idaho State Historical Society, the Bannock County Historical Society, and the Idaho State University Library. In May 1977, the Idaho State Board of Education adopted a resolution requesting that Governor John V. Evans designate the Idaho State University Museum as the Idaho Museum of Natural History (IMNH) and signed into law on July 1, 1977. In 1986, the Idaho State Legislature confirmed the IMNH as Idaho's official state museum of natural history.

Mission statement

The Idaho Museum of Natural History actively nurtures an understanding of and delight in Idaho's natural and cultural heritage. As the official state museum of natural history, it acquires, preserves, studies, interprets and displays natural and cultural objects for Idaho residents, visitors and the world's community of students and scholars. The Museum also supports and encourages Idaho's other natural history museums through mentoring and training in sound museological practices.

Collections

IMNH houses over 500,000 specimens in collections. The Museum collects, preserves, and documents the natural history of Idaho and the Intermountain West. Collections are divided into three areas:

earth sciences Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth. This is a branch of science dealing with the physical, chemical, and biological complex constitutions and synergistic linkages of Earth's four sphere ...

, and

. A majority of the artifacts found at IMNH have been recovered and analyzed by staff and students of Idaho State University.

Anthropology

Anthropology is the study of human

cultural diversity Cultural diversity is the quality of diverse or different cultures, as opposed to monoculture, the global monoculture, or a homogenization of cultures, akin to cultural evolution. The term "cultural diversity" can also refer to having different cu ...

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...

human biology Human biology is an interdisciplinary area of academic study that examines humans through the influences and interplay of many diverse fields such as genetics, evolution, physiology, anatomy, epidemiology, anthropology, human ecology, ecology, hum ...

, and

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

. The anthropology collection focuses on Idaho, but is not limited to the region. The collection represents a number of human artifacts which range from the Late

Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...

in Idaho to modern bead working traditions. These collections emphasize the diverse range of research and educational opportunities within the anthropological collections.

Earth Science

The earth science collection focuses on the natural history of rocks,

minerals In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2 ...

, and

fossils A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in ...

. Specimens within the earth science collection focus on a number of different studies including

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

paleobotany Paleobotany, which is also spelled as palaeobotany, is the branch of botany dealing with the recovery and identification of plant remains from geological contexts, and their use for the biological reconstruction of past environments (paleogeogr ...

, and comparative osteology.

Life Science

The life science collection comprises a number of life science studies including the study of living organisms such as plants, animals, and human beings. The Museum's life science collection is one of the most complete collections of the biological makeup of Idaho. The Ray J. Davis Herbarium houses over 70,000 pressed plants,

bryophytes The Bryophyta s.l. are a proposed taxonomic division containing three groups of non-vascular land plants (embryophytes): the liverworts, hornworts and mosses. Bryophyta s.s. consists of the mosses only. They are characteristically limited i ...

, fungi, and

lichens A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus, fungi species in a mutualism (biology), mutualistic relationship. The anthropology displays within the gallery represent the peoples of Idaho both past and present. The displays represent how the peoples of Idaho lived, survived, and used the landscapes, ecosystems, and geology of Idaho. The exhibits contain

material, archaeological material, replicas, historic and modern photographs, and historic audio recordings in several Native Idahoan languages.

Earth Science

The Earth Science exhibits provide insight into Idaho's

, trackways of Idaho, and Ice-age

megafauna In terrestrial zoology, the megafauna (from Greek μέγας ''megas'' "large" and New Latin ''fauna'' "animal life") comprises the large or giant animals of an area, habitat, or geological period, extinct and/or extant. The most common threshold ...

. The Idaho Geology exhibits display a number of artifacts from minerals to fossils. The geology exhibits allow individuals to discover and learn about the geology of Idaho by providing individuals with hands-on activities. Trackways exhibits display ancient footprints left in sandstone by animals. Footprints that can be found in these exhibits vary from spiders, dinosaurs, and early mammals. The Ice-age Megafauna exhibits display the areas fossil history. These exhibits allow individuals to discover the skeletons of large

prehistoric Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...

creatures such as saber tooth cats, giant bison, and the Hagerman horse.

Life Science

The Life Science exhibits highlight the diverse

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

and

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...

of the Snake River plains. Some of the artifacts that are currently on display include a diverse array of rodents, including flying squirrels, kangaroo rats, beavers, and marmots. Other artifacts on display include owls and sage groups. The Life Science exhibits also display a diverse collection of native reptiles, amphibians, and fish of Southern Idaho. Lastly, the Ray J. Davis Herbarium allows IMNH to display a wide arrangement of native plants, some of which are extinct. Plants that are on display include the yellow glacier lily, camas, syringe, and many more.

Role of Idaho State University

The IMNH was established under Idaho Statutes with the intention of:

Recognizing the importance of our natural heritage to citizens of the state of Idaho, and the need for a state museum of natural history which would preserve and interpret natural history objects and which would provide educational services about our natural heritage for both residents and visitors through its own facilities and by supporting and encouraging local municipal natural history museums throughout the state of Idaho, there is hereby created and established at Idaho State University a state museum of natural history to be known as the Idaho Museum of Natural History, where tangible objects and documents reflecting our natural heritage may be collected, preserved, studied, interpreted, and displayed for educational purposes.

Under Idaho Statute, IMNH is intended to display Idaho's natural history. However, IMNH is also used for academic purposes. The museum allows students the opportunity to conduct research on many of the artifacts that are in the museums collection.

References

External links

Idaho Museum of Natural History Official Website
{{authority control Museums established in 1934 Museums in Pocatello, Idaho Natural history museums in Idaho 1934 establishments in Idaho Paleontology in Idaho