A Natural Curiosity
The Story of the Bell Museum
Since its humble start in 1872 as a one-room cabinet of curiosities, the University of Minnesota’s Bell Museum of natural history has become one of the state’s most important cultural institutions. Drawing on a wealth of materials unearthed during the museum’s recent move, this gorgeously illustrated book chronicles the remarkable discoveries and personalities that have made the Bell Museum what it is today.
The book is beautiful, with full-color pages packed with illustrations and photos.
Racket
From its humble start in 1872 as a one-room cabinet of curiosities, the University of Minnesota’s Bell Museum of natural history has grown to be one of the state’s most important cultural institutions. Within its walls are displayed the natural wonders of Minnesota and the world beyond, a standing invitation to explore, understand, and appreciate our natural environment—and, for visitors of all ages, both seasoned observers and curious onlookers, to experience the delight of discovery. A Natural Curiosity is a tale well told, a lively ride across 150 years of important scientific advancement.
Drawing on a wealth of materials unearthed during the museum’s recent move to its new building, this gorgeously illustrated book chronicles the remarkable discoveries, moments, and personalities that have made the Bell Museum what it is today. Among the stories of ornithologists, botanists, tycoons, and conservationists, readers will encounter the magnificent dioramas created by renowned artist Francis Lee Jaques, the adventures behind some of the Bell’s more curious specimens (like the bones of Philippine orangutans and moonrats, a high-flying moose, and a simple fungi sample that saved a man’s life), and the dramatic accounts of the critical advances made by the museum in wildlife telemetry, conservation biology, and scientific learning—all in defense of our planet’s threatened biodiversity. In a photographic finale, readers will be treated to a tour of the new, reimagined museum, complete with the planetarium that inspired one Minnesota boy to become a NASA astronaut.
From its conception as part of a state-mandated geological and natural history survey, to its most recent ventures into technology, environmental science, and DNA sequencing, the Bell Museum has informed, explained, and expanded our relationship to the natural world. Its story, engagingly told in A Natural Curiosity, reveals and explores the profound changes undergone by society, science, and the natural landscape over the museum’s lifetime.
Awards
Minnesota Book Award — Finalist, Nonfiction category
The book is beautiful, with full-color pages packed with illustrations and photos.
Racket
Drawing on a wealth of materials unearthed during the museum’s recent move to its new building, this gorgeously illustrated book chronicles the remarkable discoveries, moments, and personalities that have made the Bell Museum what it is today.
The Timberjay
The story of this natural history museum is well told in the lavishly illustrated volume.
Minnesota Alumni
This volume documenting the 150-year history of the University of Minnesota's Bell Museum is a must for your coffee table so you can easily dip into the stories behind our state's only natural history museum.
MSP Home & Design
A Natural Curiosity serves as a well-written and abundantly illustrated introduction to the history of the Bell Museum.
H-Net Reviews
Contents
Foreword
Ford W. Bell
Introduction
Bell Museum Timeline
1. A Museum is Born, 1872–1940
Documenting Minnesota: The Geological and Natural History Survey
The Menage Expedition: How Orangutan Bones Landed in the Bell Museum Collections
Josephine Tilden: Paving the Way for Women in Science
T. S. Roberts: Naturalist, Doctor, Director
Making a Museum for the Public: The Early Dioramas
2. Growing an Institution, 1920s–1950s
The Many Talents of Walter Breckenridge
Early Public Education: Reaching “the whole people . . .”
James Ford Bell: The Man Behind the Name
Heyday of the Dioramas: Windows into Nature
Taking Flight: The Artistic Journey of Francis Lee Jaques
3. Wildlife Explorations, 1940s–1980s
At the Poles: Arctic and Antarctic Research
The Bride Wore . . . Boots?
Migrations: The Life and Times of Dwain Warner
Tracking Nature: The Rise of Wildlife Telemetry
Mystery of the Missing Toads
4. The Museum in the Environmental Era, 1960s–1990s
Touch and See: Pioneering Hands-On Learning
Public Programs: From Education to Engagement
Interpreting Nature: The Student Guide Program
From Student Guide to College Professor
Making Movies: Reaching a Bigger Audience
Honeybees on the Roof: Sweetening Science Education
Widening the Inquiry: Bringing together Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
Nature vs Nurture: Frank McKinney and the Evolution of Animal Behavior
Minnesota’s Rarest: Naming the State’s Endangered Flora and Fauna
Flight of the Peregrine: Bud Tordoff and the Return of an Endangered Species
Art and Natural History: The Evolution of a Legacy
Science through the Lens of Art: Resident Artists at the Bell
Change Comes to the “Eternal” Museum: Temporary and Traveling Exhibits
5. Rediscovering the Collections, 1980s–2022
Collections offer Clues to Environmental Challenges
A Botanical Treasure: The University of Minnesota Herbarium
The DNA Revolution Comes to the Bell Museum
Re-thinking the Tree of Life
Bell Museum Scientists on the Global Stage
Biodiversity Research: Understanding Life’s Threatened Diversity
100 Years Later: Minnesota Updates its Natural History Survey
Collections Go Online
6. A Museum for the Twenty-first Century, 1990s–2022
Saving an Endangered Museum: Surviving and Thriving in a University Setting
From the Earth to the Cosmos: The Journey of Minnesota’s Planetarium
The Ride of His Life
The Road to a Re-Imagined Museum
Designing with Nature: The Bell Museum’s New Home
Moving Minnesota: Dioramas in a New Habitat
The Experience: A Journey through Time
Afterword
Denise Young
Acknowledgments
Appendixes
The Bell Dioramas
Select Exhibitions at the Bell Museum
Publications of the Bell Museum
Select References
Contributors
Index
