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San Diego Natural History Museum
At summer's close, over 80,000 people had discovered the answer in Fossil Mysteries.
Since the opening of Fossil Mysteries, the San Diego Natural History Museum has
experienced record membership and attendance-and with good reason. Mitchell Johnson,
a lead Visitor Services Associate, says, "Lately, it's hard to close up the Museum! Kids cry on
their way out of Fossil Mysteries; they just want to stay."
The foundation of this exhibition lies in the regional expertise of the Museum research staff. Congruent with the Museum's regional mission, the Paleontology Department collects and researches specimens in southern and Baja California. Fossil Mysteries is the expression of the last 25 years of specimen collection, often from salvage work in construction zones. As San Diego went through a boom in growth, the knowledge of this region's prehistoric past also boomed. As the only San Diego-based consulting group specializing in the collection, salvage, preparation, and curation of paleontological resources in San Diego, the Museum's PaleoServices Department has been on the forefront of discovery. Virtually every fossil specimen in Fossil Mysteries-plant and animal-was found in this bioregion. The Museum's paleontological research dovetailed into permanent exhibition discussions and focus groups. Nancy Owens Renner, exhibit developer, explained how the exhibition concept developed. "We've been testing ideas ever since we started talking about building a permanent exhibition for the new building in 2001. "In fact, we first tested topic ideas with the public-we want our exhibitions to speak to the public's needs and be relevant. Answers like: 'this Museum is the only source for prehistoric information;' and 'knowledge of the area's deep history informs what we know about the region today,' kept cropping up. That's when we decided to go forward with Fossil Mysteries as the first phase of our permanent exhibitions plan." Fossil Mysteries, a look back in time at our region's prehistoric era, is the result of the old adage that the end result is greater than the sum of its parts. Executive Director Dr. Michael Hager lauded the collaboration between the paleontology staff, the exhibit designers, and the education staff for Fossil Mysteries. "Our active research department makes us exceptional, and we want to let the public know about our scientific endeavors. At the same time, we know that this material needs to be interpreted for the public-it needs to be accessible and relevant. This exhibition excels in that way, and is helping San Diegans build a sense of place." Exhibition Curator and Curator of Paleontology Dr. Tom Demere, when asked about synthesizing the science and art of exhibitions, said, "It's been a struggle, actually, but maybe that's the way it should be-dynamic interaction is good." In addition to internal collaboration, the Museum sought input from scientists all over the world. "Our fellow researchers were exceptionally generous with our Museum. Their support and interest in our project are a wonderful reminder that this institution participates in a global community committed to natural history research and education," commented Content Specialist Lynett Gillette. The team dove into the preparations, but the challenge of creating an exhibition is vast. Deputy Director of Public Programs Jim Stone sums up the amount of work involved in terms of man hours. "An incredible number of staff hours went into the building of Fossil Mysteries-probably in excess of 40,000 hours. That doesn't include the work of outside artists and contractors." Tim Murray, director of exhibits, remarked, "With over three dozen contractors, subcontractors and other 'hired guns' (specialists of some sort) all with various needs and requirements, the challenge was making sure that all the players had the latest, most accurate information so that they could do their jobs. 
"...this institution participates in a global community committed to natural history research and education." |
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