If you're interested in how the world used to be than there are few better places to visit in the Madison area than the Geology Museum. While we may have moved on to working with a slurry mixer on a construction site and robotics in factories this will show you many of the tools from hundreds of years ago. There is also a large collection of bones and fossils that were discovered within the state. Here is some of the history of this museum and some basic information if you're thinking of visiting with your family or as part of a conference with those who repair rotary valves across the country.
The Geology Museum at the University of Wisconsin Madison Campus was one of the first things that the Board of Regents discussed in their initial meeting in 1848. But it was not until Science Hall was built in 1877 that the geology department got a home on the third floor of the building. This location only lasted for seven years until there was a fire in the building that destroyed many of the original collections, including the bones of General Sherman's horse. The museum reopened with the new Science Hall in 1886 but the collections were not able to grow much because of a lack of funds and staff.
In 1933, during the heart of the depression, the current curator Gilbert Rassch came up with a brilliant idea to create miniature models of dinosaurs, mastodons, and mammoths and displayed them on the walls of the museum and this started to bring in the public and increase the collections. If you are visiting the museum as part of your vacation from working in SEO Canada based than you can still see these models in the Vertebrae Room.
To this day one of the most impressive parts of the museum is the Boaz mastodon, which was discovered by some children on their family farm in the late 1800s. About half of the skeleton is real, while the other half was reconstructed on site. There is also an exhibit that explores the different topography of the globe and one devoted to rocks and minerals. You can also see what is to be found in the inside of a cave and view a black light display. There are many different examples of fossils and lots of learning tools for student tours or those who are just interested in history from used woodworking machinery to animal life.
The museum is open six days a week and you can explore the museum on your own or take a guided tour. If you're looking for a day where you can see everything from pieces of dinosaurs to the first hand garden tools and hunting supplies used by man than this is the perfect museum for you.
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