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{{more footnotes|date=April 2023}}
{{Infobox Museum
{{Short description|Natural history museum of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, USA}}
|name = Peabody Museum of Natural History
{{Infobox museum
|image = Yale Peabody Museum 2.JPG
| name = Peabody Museum of Natural History
|imagesize = 220
| image = Yale_Peabody_Museum_(54106346944).jpg
|caption = The exterior of the Peabody Museum
|map_type = USA Connecticut | imagesize = 220
| caption = (2024)
|map_caption = New Haven, Connecticut, USA
|latitude = 41.317538 | map_type = USA Connecticut
| map_caption = New Haven, Connecticut, US
|longitude = -72.919863
| coordinates = {{coord|41.317538|-72.919863|display=inline}}
|established = 1866
|dissolved = | established = 1866
|location = ], ] | dissolved =
| location = ], ], US
|type = {{Museum|Natural}} Natural History | type = {{Museum|Natural}} Natural History
|visitors = | owner = ]
|director = David Skelly (as of July 2014) | director = David Skelly
|curator = | curator =
| publictransit = {{bus icon}} ] 228, 229
|publictransit =
|website = http://peabody.yale.edu/ | website = {{url|peabody.yale.edu}}
}} }}


The '''Peabody Museum of Natural History''' at ] is among the oldest, largest, and most prolific university ] in the world. It was founded by the ] ] in 1866 at the behest of his nephew ], the early ]. Most known to the public for its Great Hall of Dinosaurs, which includes a mounted juvenile '']'' and the {{convert|110|ft|m|sing=on}} long mural, ''The Age of Reptiles''; it also has permanent exhibits dedicated to ] and ] ]; ] ]s, ] ]s; and the ]s, ]s and ] of ]. The '''Peabody Museum of Natural History''' at ] (also known as the '''Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History'''<ref name="PAbout"/> or the '''Yale Peabody Museum'''<ref name="PAbout">{{cite web |title=About Us |url=https://peabody.yale.edu/about |website=Yale Peabody Museum |publisher=Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History |access-date=2023-04-18}}</ref>) is one of the oldest, largest, and most prolific university ] in the world. It was founded by the ] ] in 1866 at the behest of his nephew ], an early ]. The museum is best known for the Great Hall of Dinosaurs, which includes a mounted juvenile '']'' and the {{convert|110|ft|m|adj=mid|-long}} mural '']''. The museum also has permanent exhibits dedicated to ] and ]; ] ]s; ] ]s; local ]s and ]s; and ] of ].


In 2020, the Peabody Museum closed for its "first comprehensive renovation in 90 years."<ref name="PEvolved">{{cite web |title=Envisioning Yale's New Home for Natural History |url=https://peabodyevolved.yale.edu/ |website=Peabody Evolved |publisher=Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History |access-date=2023-04-18}}</ref> It reopened, with more than twice the exhibition space, on March 26, 2024.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cummings |first1=Mike |title=Inspiring wonder again: Peabody Museum reopens |url=https://news.yale.edu/2024/03/26/inspiring-wonder-again-peabody-museum-reopens |access-date=30 March 2024 |work=YaleNews |date=26 March 2024 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Revitalized Yale Peabody Museum to reopen March 26 |url=https://news.yale.edu/2024/03/11/revitalized-yale-peabody-museum-reopen-march-26 |access-date=30 March 2024 |work=YaleNews |date=11 March 2024 |language=en}}</ref>
The Peabody Museum is located at 170 Whitney Avenue in ], ], and is run by almost one hundred staff members. While the original building was demolished in 1917, it moved to its current location in 1925, and has since expanded to occupy the Peabody Museum, the attached Bingham and Kline Laboratories, parts of three additional buildings, and a field station at the ]. The museum also owns ] in the ], which is not opened to the public, but used for experiments. Space is used for storage, work, and classrooms. The Environmental Science Center, completed in 2001 and connected to the museum and the adjacent Kline Geology Laboratory, hosts approximately one-half of the museum's 12 million specimens.


==Description==
The Peabody has several world-important collections. Perhaps the most notable are the vertebrate paleontology collections, among the largest, most extensive, and most historically important fossil collections in the United States (see ], ], ], ], ], and ]), and the ] Collection of Incan artifacts from ], named for the famous Yale archaeologist who rediscovered this Peruvian ruin. Also notable are the extensive ornithology collection, one of the largest and most taxonomically inclusive in the world, and the associated William Robertson Coe Ornithology Library, one of the best in the United States. The collection of marine invertebrates is additionally extensive, having benefitted from the work of such prolific invertebrate zoologists as ]. Faculty curators for the collections are drawn from Yale's departments of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Geology and Geophysics, and Anthropology. Because these departments maintain a strong tradition of hiring faculty who will perform collections-based research, especially after the renewed support for organismal biology at Yale under President ] and in particular former provost ], nearly all of the collections are under active internal use and enjoy continuous and considerable growth. {{citation needed|date=February 2014}}
The Peabody Museum is located at 170 ] in ] and is staffed by nearly a hundred staff members. The original building was demolished in 1917; it moved to its current location in 1925, and has since expanded to occupy the Peabody Museum, the attached Kline Geology Laboratory, the Class of 1954 Environmental Sciences Center, parts of three additional buildings, and a field station at ]. The museum also owns ] in the ], which is not open to the public; it is used for experiments. The Class of 1954 Environmental Science Center, completed in 2001 and connected to the museum and the adjacent Kline Geology Laboratory, hosts approximately one-half of the museum's 13 million specimens.{{cn|date=April 2023}}


On August 28, 2018, ] announced a contribution of $160 million by ] towards the cost of the renovation of the museum.<ref name=NytRenovationAnnouncment>{{cite news|title=Yale Receives $160 Million Gift for Peabody Museum|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/28/arts/design/peabody-museum-yale-gift.html|work=The New York Times|date=28 August 2018 |access-date=28 August 2018|last1=Libbey |first1=Peter }}</ref><ref name=YaleNewsRenovationAnnouncment>{{cite web|title=Edward P. Bass '67 makes lead gift toward renovating Yale Peabody Museum|date=28 August 2018 |url=https://news.yale.edu/2018/08/28/edward-p-bass-67-makes-lead-gift-toward-renovating-yale-peabody-museum|publisher=Yale University Office of Public Affairs & Communications|access-date=28 August 2018}}</ref> The landmark commitment ranks among the most generous gifts to Yale and is the largest known gift ever made to a natural history museum in the United States,{{cn|date=April 2023}} helping to fund the renewal and expansion of the museum.<ref name="PPlan">{{cite web |title=The Plan |url=https://peabodyevolved.yale.edu/the-plan/ |website=Peabody Evolved |publisher=Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History. |access-date=2023-04-15}}</ref>
== ''Torosaurus'' ==


The galleries were planned to be open through June 30, 2020 (the Great Hall of Dinosaurs was open through January 1, 2020), but had to close in March due to ] and did not reopen until the conclusion of renovations in 2024.<ref name="PPlan"/><ref name=EvolvedSupport>{{cite web|title=Peabody Evolved: Support|url=http://peabodyevolved.yale.edu/support|publisher=Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History|access-date=28 August 2018}}</ref> The renovation more than doubled the exhibition space, added 10 classrooms, and included a new education center for K-12 students.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cummings |first1=Mike |title=Inspiring wonder again: Peabody Museum reopens |url=https://news.yale.edu/2024/03/26/inspiring-wonder-again-peabody-museum-reopens |access-date=30 March 2024 |work=YaleNews |date=26 March 2024 |language=en}}</ref>
The museum has erected the first full-scale reproduction of a '']'' on Whitney Avenue next to the entrance. The 3&nbsp;m (9&nbsp;ft) tall, 7&nbsp;m (21&nbsp;ft) long, 3.33 ] (7,350 ]) statue was sculpted in clay and cast in bronze, and set on a 4&nbsp;m (13&nbsp;ft) tall granite base. The reproduction of ''T. latus'' is scientifically faithful of ''T. latus'', and its skin is based on the fossilized skin impressions left by a '']'' (a closely related ]).<ref>The ''Torosaurus'' Project.</ref>


In November 2021, Yale University announced that admission will be free "in perpetuity" once construction is complete.<ref name="YaleFree">{{cite web |title=Renovated Peabody Museum to offer free admission — forever |url=https://news.yale.edu/2021/11/10/renovated-peabody-museum-offer-free-admission-forever |website=YaleNews |publisher=Yale University |access-date=2023-04-18 |language=en |date=10 November 2021}}</ref>
==Exhibits==
]
Permanent exhibits include:


The Peabody has several world-important collections. Perhaps the most notable are the vertebrate paleontology collections which are among the largest, most extensive, and most historically important fossil collections in the United States (see ], ], ], ], ], and ]), and the ] Collection of ] artifacts from ], named for the famous Yale archaeologist who rediscovered the ] ruin. Also notable are the extensive ornithology collection, one of the largest and most taxonomically inclusive in the world,{{cn|date=April 2023}} and the associated William Robertson Coe Ornithology Library, one of the best in the United States. The collection of marine invertebrates is also extensive, having benefitted from the work of prolific invertebrate zoologists including ]. The Yale Herbarium is part of the Peabody Museum.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://peabody.yale.edu/collections/botany|title=Botany {{!}} Collections : Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History|date=2010-11-09|website=peabody.yale.edu|access-date=2020-04-25}}</ref>
* The Great Hall of Dinosaurs with the skeleton of a ''Brontosaurus''.<ref>{{cite news |author= Kelly Glista |title=Those Old Bones? It Really Is A Brontosaurus |url=http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-brontosaurus-is-back-0415-20150414-story.html |quote= |pages= |work=Hartford Courant |location= |date=April 14, 2015 |accessdate=2015-04-26 }}</ref><ref name=TMB2015>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.7717/peerj.857| title = A specimen-level phylogenetic analysis and taxonomic revision of Diplodocidae (Dinosauria, Sauropoda)| journal = PeerJ| volume = 3| pages = e857| year = 2015| last1 = Tschopp | first1 = E. | last2 = Mateus | first2 = O. V. | last3 = Benson | first3 = R. B. J. }}{{open access}}</ref>


Faculty curators for the collections are drawn from Yale's departments of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Geology and Geophysics, and Anthropology. Because the departments maintain a strong tradition of hiring faculty to perform collections-based research, especially after the renewed support for organismal biology at Yale under President ] and in particular former provost ], nearly all of the collections are under active internal use and enjoy continuous and considerable growth. {{citation needed|date=February 2014}}
** '']'' is a {{convert|110|ft|m|sing=on}} long depiction of dinosaurs in their natural habitats. It was painted by ], and is located in the Great Hall of Dinosaurs.

* ''Fossil Fragments: The Riddle of Human Origins'' is a new exhibit dedicated to human evolution.
== ''Torosaurus'' ==
]
The museum has erected the first full-scale reproduction of a '']'' on Whitney Avenue next to the entrance. The 3&nbsp;m (9&nbsp;ft) tall, 7&nbsp;m (21&nbsp;ft) long, 3.33 ] (7,350 ]) statue was sculpted in clay and cast in bronze, and set on a 4&nbsp;m (13&nbsp;ft) tall granite base. The reproduction of ''T. latus'' is scientifically faithful of ''T. latus'', and its skin is based on the fossilized skin impressions left by a '']'' (a closely related ]).<ref>The ''Torosaurus'' Project.</ref>

==Exhibits==
]'']]
] inside the entrance hall]]
Permanent exhibits before renovations have included:
* The Great Hall of Dinosaurs (this exhibit will be in the same place with same mural after renovation) with the skeleton of a ''Brontosaurus''.<ref>{{cite news |author= Kelly Glista |title=Those Old Bones? It Really Is A Brontosaurus |url=http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-brontosaurus-is-back-0415-20150414-story.html |work=Hartford Courant |date=April 14, 2015 |access-date=2015-04-26 }}</ref><ref name=TMB2015>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.7717/peerj.857| title = A specimen-level phylogenetic analysis and taxonomic revision of Diplodocidae (Dinosauria, Sauropoda)| journal = PeerJ| volume = 3| pages = e857| year = 2015| last1 = Tschopp | first1 = E. | last2 = Mateus | first2 = O. V. | last3 = Benson | first3 = R. B. J. | pmid=25870766 | pmc=4393826| doi-access = free}}{{open access}}</ref>
** '']'' is a {{convert|110|ft|m|adj=mid|-long}} depiction of dinosaurs in their natural habitats. It was painted by ], and is located in the Great Hall of Dinosaurs.
* ''Fossil Fragments: The Riddle of Human Origins'' is a new exhibit dedicated to ].
* The Birds of Connecticut Hall has 722 specimens, representing more than 300 of the 382 documented species in the state of Connecticut. * The Birds of Connecticut Hall has 722 specimens, representing more than 300 of the 382 documented species in the state of Connecticut.
* There are eleven dioramas on the plant and vertebrate ecology of Connecticut. They were designed by J. Perry Wilson, F. Lee Jaques, and Ralph C. Morrill. * There are eleven dioramas on the ecology of Connecticut with plants and vertebrates. They were designed by ], F. Lee Jaques, and Ralph C. Morrill.{{cn|date=April 2023}}
* The Hall of Mammalian Evolution. Here shows ''The Age of Mammals'' mural, also painted by Rudolph F. Zallinger. * The Hall of Mammalian Evolution includes ''The Age of Mammals'' mural, also painted by Zallinger.{{cn|date=April 2023}}
* An extensive collection of minerals, primarily from Connecticut. * An extensive collection of minerals, primarily from Connecticut
* Native American artifacts from Connecticut. * Native American artifacts from Connecticut
* The Hall of Ancient Egyptian Artifacts. * The Hall of Ancient Egyptian Artifacts
* The museum has displayed one of the longest known preserved ]s, approximately {{convert|4|m|ft|abbr=on}} in length.<ref name=YBC>{{cite journal|title=New Peabody hall offering high-tech lessons about Earth and space|journal=Yale Bulletin & Calendar|date=June 9, 2006|volume=34|issue=30|url=http://www.yale.edu/opa/arc-ybc/v34.n30/story3.html|access-date=2013-12-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141106212409/http://www.yale.edu/opa/arc-ybc/v34.n30/story3.html|archive-date=November 6, 2014}}</ref>


==Staff== ==Staff==
{{Asof|2024}}, the director of the Peabody Museum is David Skelly, a ] of ] and a professor of ] in the Department of ] & ], and the ]. He was named director in 2014.<ref>{{cite news |title=A Peabody kid becomes the museums director |url=https://yalealumnimagazine.org/articles/3928-a-peabody-kid-becomes-the-museums-director |access-date=30 March 2024 |work=yalealumnimagazine.org |language=en}}</ref>


The Peabody Museum has curators representing ], botany, ], ] ], invertebrate ], ] zoology (with individual curators for ], ], ], and ]), ], vertebrate paleontology; ] and ]; and historical ]s.{{cn|date=April 2023}}
The current director of the Peabody Museum is David Skelly, the ] of ] and a Professor of ] in the Department of ] & ]


There are almost 100 full-time and part-time staff, including curators, assistant curators, curators emeriti, curatorial affiliates, and ]s. Curators and assistant curators are also ] members in related departments.<ref name=PeabodyStaff>{{cite web|title=Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History: Administrative Staff|url=http://peabody.yale.edu/about-us/administrative-staff|publisher=Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History|access-date=28 August 2018}}</ref><ref name=PeabodyCollectionsStaff>{{cite web|title=Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History: Collections Staff|url=http://peabody.yale.edu/collections/collection-contacts|publisher=Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History|access-date=28 August 2018}}</ref>
The Peabody Museum has curators representing ], Botany, ], ] ], Invertebrate ], ] Zoology (with individual curators for ], ], ], and ]), ], Vertebrate Paleontology, ] & ], and Historical ]s.

There are almost 100 full and part-time staff, including curators, assistant curators, curators emeriti, curatorial affiliates, and ]s. Curators and assistant curators are also ] members in related departments.


==History== ==History==
]
]
]
Othniel Charles Marsh was an undergraduate and later the Professor of Paleontology at Yale University. His education was paid for by his wealthy uncle George Peabody, who began to donate much of his accumulated wealth to various educational institutions at the end of his life. At the request of his nephew, he founded Yale's Museum of Natural History in 1866 with a gift of $150,000.
]
] exhibit]]
] was an undergraduate and later the Professor of Paleontology at Yale University. His education was paid for by his wealthy uncle ], who began to donate much of his accumulated wealth to various educational institutions at the end of his life. Marsh and his teams discovered dozens of new genera of dinosaurs and other fossil animals, including '']'', '']'', and '']''. At the request of Marsh and to house some of his discoveries, Peabody founded Yale's Museum of Natural History in 1866 with a gift of $150,000.{{cn|date=April 2023}}


Yale's collection at the time was mostly minerals, collected by the ] and ] ]. Marsh was one of the museum's first three curators, and when Peabody died in 1869 he used his inheritance to fund expeditions which greatly increased the museum's collections. His primary interest was ]s, and during the infamous period in paleontological history known as the ], he discovered 56 new species of dinosaur and shipped literally tons of fossils back from the ]. His finds also included fossils of vertebrates and invertebrates, ]s of prehistoric animals, and archaeological and ] artifacts. Yale's collection at the time was mostly minerals, collected by the ] and ] ]. Marsh was one of the museum's first three curators and when Peabody died in 1869, he used his inheritance to fund expeditions bringing back specimens which greatly increased the museum's collections. His primary interest was ]s. During the infamous period in paleontological history known as the ], he discovered 56 new species of dinosaur and literally shipped tons of fossils back from the ]. His finds also included fossils of vertebrates and invertebrates, ]s of prehistoric animals; and archaeological and ] artifacts.


The museum officially opened to the public in 1876. In 1917, it was demolished and replaced by the ] dormitory. Due to ], most of the collections were put in storage until December 1925, when the current building was dedicated. The new building had a great, 2-story hall designed specifically to hold Marsh's dinosaurs. The museum officially opened to the public in 1876. In 1917, it was demolished and replaced by the ] dormitory.{{cn|date=April 2023}} When ] began most of the collections were put in storage until December 1925, when the current building was dedicated.{{cn|date=April 2023}} The new building had a great, 2-story hall designed specifically to hold Marsh's dinosaurs.


Some other significant events include: Some other significant events include:
* In 1930, donation of the ] Oceanographic Collection, including the work of artist ].<ref name=PeabodyYale>{{cite web|title=Harry Payne Bingham|url=http://peabody.yale.edu/collections/archives/biography/harry-payne-bingham|website=peabody.yale.edu|publisher=Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History|access-date=30 August 2015}}</ref><ref name=YalePeabodyBronson>{{cite archive |first= |last= |item= |type= |date= |series= |file= |box= |collection=Wilfrid Swancourt Bronson Archives |repository=Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History |institution=Yale University |location= |collection-url=https://archives.yale.edu/repositories/15/resources/11149}}</ref><ref name=Slack>{{cite book|last1=Slack|first1=Nancy G.|title=G. Evelyn Hutchinson and the Invention of Modern Ecology|date=2010|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-16138-0|page=125 of 457 }}</ref>

* In 1931, the mounting of Marsh's ''Brontosaurus'' was finished, after 6 years of work.{{cn|date=April 2023}}
* 1930, donation of the ] Oceanographic Collection, including the work of artist ].<ref name=PeabodyYale>{{cite web|title=Harry Payne Bingham|url=http://peabody.yale.edu/collections/archives/biography/harry-payne-bingham|website=peabody.yale.edu|publisher=Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History|accessdate=30 August 2015}}</ref><ref name=YalePeabodyBronson>{{cite web|title=Wilfrid Swancourt Bronson Archives|url=http://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/ypm.ypmar.000051|publisher=Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History|accessdate=30 August 2015}}</ref><ref name=Slack>{{cite book|last1=Slack|first1=Nancy G.|title=G. Evelyn Hutchinson and the Invention of Modern Ecology|date=2010|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=0300161387|page=125|pages=457|accessdate=30 August 2015}}</ref>
* In 1947, ] finished painting dinosaurs in their natural habitats in his {{convert|110|ft|m|adj=mid|-long}} mural ''The Age of Reptiles'', after {{frac|3|1|2}} years of work.
* In 1931, the mounting of Marsh's ''Brontosaurus'' was finished, after 6 years of work.
* In 1959, Bingham Laboratory was completed.{{cn|date=April 2023}}
* In 1947, ] finished painting dinosaurs in their natural habitats in his {{convert|110|ft|m|sing=on}} long mural ''The Age of Reptiles'', after 3-1/2 years of work.
* In 1959, Bingham Laboratory was completed. * In 1963, Kline Geology Laboratory was completed.{{cn|date=April 2023}}
* In 1972, the Birds of Connecticut Hall opened.{{cn|date=April 2023}}
* In 1963, Kline Laboratory was completed.
*1985 - The Museum acquired the specimens of ] following the shutdown of its paleontology program.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2010-11-10|title=Princeton Specimens {{!}} Vertebrate Paleontology : Collections : Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History|url=https://peabody.yale.edu/collections/vertebrate-paleontology/princeton-specimens|access-date=2021-02-24|website=peabody.yale.edu}}</ref>
* In 1972, the Birds of Connecticut Hall opened.
* In 2001, The interdisciplinary Environmental Science Facility was constructed. It houses collections space for the museum and laboratory space for several curators. * In 2001, the interdisciplinary Class of 1954 Environmental Science Center was constructed on the site of the former Bingham Laboratory. It houses collections space for the museum and laboratory space for several curators.
* In 2005, the Peabody unveiled its 21-foot life-size bronze sculpture of ''Torosaurus''—one of O.C. Marsh's famed dinosaur discoveries. The 7,350-pound sculpture sits on a 13-foot, 70-ton base of ] ].
* In 2018, the Peabody announced a $160 million transformative gift toward a redefining renovation that will greatly expand its research capabilities, education and collection centers, and its exhibition galleries.
* In 2020, the great hall closed at the beginning of the year, the rest of the museum closed in March, and many artifacts were transported to West Haven campus in December.<ref name="PPlan"/>


== Popular culture == == Popular culture ==
* The museum was featured in '']'' episode "]." In the episode Mr. Burns has a relationship with Lily Bancroft and produce an illegitimate son played by ]. He flashes back to 1939 for his 25th graduation class reunion. They make love in the museum, specifically in an exhibit featuring eskimos and penguins.<ref>] Retrieved July 8, 2012</ref> * The museum was featured in '']'' episode "]". In the episode Mr. Burns has had a relationship with Lily Bancroft and produced an illegitimate son (voiced by ]). He is shown in a flashback to 1939 for his 25th graduation class reunion. They make love in the museum, specifically in an exhibit which features ] and penguins.<ref>] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060115061945/http://www.snpp.com/episodes/4F05.html |date=2006-01-15 }} Retrieved July 8, 2012</ref>


== Footnotes == == Footnotes ==
Line 77: Line 94:


== References == == References ==
* {{cite web | title = The ''Torosaurus'' Project at the Yale Peabody Museum | publisher = Peabody Museum of Natural History | date = 2005 | url = http://peabody.yale.edu/exhibits/torosaurus-peabody-dinosaur | access-date = 2014-07-09}}
* {{cite web
| last =
| first =
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = The ''Torosaurus'' Project at the Yale Peabody Museum
| work =
| publisher = Peabody Museum of Natural History
| date = 2005
| url = http://peabody.yale.edu/exhibits/torosaurus-peabody-dinosaur
| format =
| doi =
| accessdate = 2014-07-09}}


==External links== ==External links==
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{{Yale}} {{Yale}}

{{authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Peabody Museum Of Natural History}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Peabody Museum Of Natural History}}
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Latest revision as of 01:42, 4 November 2024

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Natural history museum of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, USA
Peabody Museum of Natural History
(2024)
Peabody Museum of Natural History is located in ConnecticutPeabody Museum of Natural HistoryNew Haven, Connecticut, US
Established1866
LocationNew Haven, Connecticut, US
Coordinates41°19′03″N 72°55′12″W / 41.317538°N 72.919863°W / 41.317538; -72.919863
TypeNatural Natural History
DirectorDavid Skelly
OwnerYale University
Public transit accessBus transport 228, 229
Websitepeabody.yale.edu

The Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University (also known as the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History or the Yale Peabody Museum) is one of the oldest, largest, and most prolific university natural history museums in the world. It was founded by the philanthropist George Peabody in 1866 at the behest of his nephew Othniel Charles Marsh, an early paleontologist. The museum is best known for the Great Hall of Dinosaurs, which includes a mounted juvenile Brontosaurus and the 110-foot-long (34 m) mural The Age of Reptiles. The museum also has permanent exhibits dedicated to human and mammal evolution; wildlife dioramas; Egyptian artifacts; local birds and minerals; and Native Americans of Connecticut.

In 2020, the Peabody Museum closed for its "first comprehensive renovation in 90 years." It reopened, with more than twice the exhibition space, on March 26, 2024.

Description

The Peabody Museum is located at 170 Whitney Avenue in New Haven, Connecticut and is staffed by nearly a hundred staff members. The original building was demolished in 1917; it moved to its current location in 1925, and has since expanded to occupy the Peabody Museum, the attached Kline Geology Laboratory, the Class of 1954 Environmental Sciences Center, parts of three additional buildings, and a field station at Long Island Sound. The museum also owns Horse Island in the Thimble Islands, which is not open to the public; it is used for experiments. The Class of 1954 Environmental Science Center, completed in 2001 and connected to the museum and the adjacent Kline Geology Laboratory, hosts approximately one-half of the museum's 13 million specimens.

On August 28, 2018, Yale University announced a contribution of $160 million by Edward P. Bass towards the cost of the renovation of the museum. The landmark commitment ranks among the most generous gifts to Yale and is the largest known gift ever made to a natural history museum in the United States, helping to fund the renewal and expansion of the museum.

The galleries were planned to be open through June 30, 2020 (the Great Hall of Dinosaurs was open through January 1, 2020), but had to close in March due to COVID-19 and did not reopen until the conclusion of renovations in 2024. The renovation more than doubled the exhibition space, added 10 classrooms, and included a new education center for K-12 students.

In November 2021, Yale University announced that admission will be free "in perpetuity" once construction is complete.

The Peabody has several world-important collections. Perhaps the most notable are the vertebrate paleontology collections which are among the largest, most extensive, and most historically important fossil collections in the United States (see Othniel Charles Marsh, R.S. Lull, George Gaylord Simpson, John Ostrom, Elisabeth Vrba, and Jacques Gauthier), and the Hiram Bingham Collection of Incan artifacts from Machu Picchu, named for the famous Yale archaeologist who rediscovered the Peruvian ruin. Also notable are the extensive ornithology collection, one of the largest and most taxonomically inclusive in the world, and the associated William Robertson Coe Ornithology Library, one of the best in the United States. The collection of marine invertebrates is also extensive, having benefitted from the work of prolific invertebrate zoologists including Addison Emery Verrill. The Yale Herbarium is part of the Peabody Museum.

Faculty curators for the collections are drawn from Yale's departments of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Geology and Geophysics, and Anthropology. Because the departments maintain a strong tradition of hiring faculty to perform collections-based research, especially after the renewed support for organismal biology at Yale under President Richard Charles Levin and in particular former provost Alison Richard, nearly all of the collections are under active internal use and enjoy continuous and considerable growth.

Torosaurus

Full-scale sculpture of Torosaurus

The museum has erected the first full-scale reproduction of a Torosaurus on Whitney Avenue next to the entrance. The 3 m (9 ft) tall, 7 m (21 ft) long, 3.33 metric ton (7,350 lb) statue was sculpted in clay and cast in bronze, and set on a 4 m (13 ft) tall granite base. The reproduction of T. latus is scientifically faithful of T. latus, and its skin is based on the fossilized skin impressions left by a Chasmosaurus (a closely related ceratopsid).

Exhibits

The Great Hall of Dinosaurs (1981-2007) includes the mural, The Age of Reptiles
Giant squid inside the entrance hall

Permanent exhibits before renovations have included:

  • The Great Hall of Dinosaurs (this exhibit will be in the same place with same mural after renovation) with the skeleton of a Brontosaurus.
  • Fossil Fragments: The Riddle of Human Origins is a new exhibit dedicated to human evolution.
  • The Birds of Connecticut Hall has 722 specimens, representing more than 300 of the 382 documented species in the state of Connecticut.
  • There are eleven dioramas on the ecology of Connecticut with plants and vertebrates. They were designed by James Perry Wilson, F. Lee Jaques, and Ralph C. Morrill.
  • The Hall of Mammalian Evolution includes The Age of Mammals mural, also painted by Zallinger.
  • An extensive collection of minerals, primarily from Connecticut
  • Native American artifacts from Connecticut
  • The Hall of Ancient Egyptian Artifacts
  • The museum has displayed one of the longest known preserved fulgurites, approximately 4 m (13 ft) in length.

Staff

As of 2024, the director of the Peabody Museum is David Skelly, a curator of vertebrate zoology and a professor of ecology in the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, and the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. He was named director in 2014.

The Peabody Museum has curators representing anthropology, botany, entomology, invertebrate zoology, invertebrate paleontology, vertebrate zoology (with individual curators for herpetology, ichthyology, mammalogy, and ornithology), paleobotany, vertebrate paleontology; mineralogy and meteoritics; and historical scientific instruments.

There are almost 100 full-time and part-time staff, including curators, assistant curators, curators emeriti, curatorial affiliates, and volunteers. Curators and assistant curators are also faculty members in related departments.

History

Original Peabody Museum (1874)
Displays of minerals (c. 1879)
The museum as shown on a postcard mailed in 1909
An ornithology exhibit

Othniel Charles Marsh was an undergraduate and later the Professor of Paleontology at Yale University. His education was paid for by his wealthy uncle George Peabody, who began to donate much of his accumulated wealth to various educational institutions at the end of his life. Marsh and his teams discovered dozens of new genera of dinosaurs and other fossil animals, including Triceratops, Brontosaurus, and Hesperornis. At the request of Marsh and to house some of his discoveries, Peabody founded Yale's Museum of Natural History in 1866 with a gift of $150,000.

Yale's collection at the time was mostly minerals, collected by the geologist and mineralogist Benjamin Silliman. Marsh was one of the museum's first three curators and when Peabody died in 1869, he used his inheritance to fund expeditions bringing back specimens which greatly increased the museum's collections. His primary interest was dinosaurs. During the infamous period in paleontological history known as the Bone Wars, he discovered 56 new species of dinosaur and literally shipped tons of fossils back from the American Southwest. His finds also included fossils of vertebrates and invertebrates, trackways of prehistoric animals; and archaeological and ethnological artifacts.

The museum officially opened to the public in 1876. In 1917, it was demolished and replaced by the Harkness Memorial Quadrangle dormitory. When World War I began most of the collections were put in storage until December 1925, when the current building was dedicated. The new building had a great, 2-story hall designed specifically to hold Marsh's dinosaurs.

Some other significant events include:

  • In 1930, donation of the Harry Payne Bingham Oceanographic Collection, including the work of artist Wilfrid Swancourt Bronson.
  • In 1931, the mounting of Marsh's Brontosaurus was finished, after 6 years of work.
  • In 1947, Rudolph F. Zallinger finished painting dinosaurs in their natural habitats in his 110-foot-long (34 m) mural The Age of Reptiles, after 3+1⁄2 years of work.
  • In 1959, Bingham Laboratory was completed.
  • In 1963, Kline Geology Laboratory was completed.
  • In 1972, the Birds of Connecticut Hall opened.
  • 1985 - The Museum acquired the specimens of Princeton University following the shutdown of its paleontology program.
  • In 2001, the interdisciplinary Class of 1954 Environmental Science Center was constructed on the site of the former Bingham Laboratory. It houses collections space for the museum and laboratory space for several curators.
  • In 2005, the Peabody unveiled its 21-foot life-size bronze sculpture of Torosaurus—one of O.C. Marsh's famed dinosaur discoveries. The 7,350-pound sculpture sits on a 13-foot, 70-ton base of Stony Creek granite.
  • In 2018, the Peabody announced a $160 million transformative gift toward a redefining renovation that will greatly expand its research capabilities, education and collection centers, and its exhibition galleries.
  • In 2020, the great hall closed at the beginning of the year, the rest of the museum closed in March, and many artifacts were transported to West Haven campus in December.

Popular culture

  • The museum was featured in The Simpsons episode "Burns, Baby Burns". In the episode Mr. Burns has had a relationship with Lily Bancroft and produced an illegitimate son (voiced by Rodney Dangerfield). He is shown in a flashback to 1939 for his 25th graduation class reunion. They make love in the museum, specifically in an exhibit which features Inuit and penguins.

Footnotes

  1. ^ "About Us". Yale Peabody Museum. Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
  2. "Envisioning Yale's New Home for Natural History". Peabody Evolved. Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
  3. Cummings, Mike (26 March 2024). "Inspiring wonder again: Peabody Museum reopens". YaleNews. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  4. "Revitalized Yale Peabody Museum to reopen March 26". YaleNews. 11 March 2024. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  5. Libbey, Peter (28 August 2018). "Yale Receives $160 Million Gift for Peabody Museum". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  6. "Edward P. Bass '67 makes lead gift toward renovating Yale Peabody Museum". Yale University Office of Public Affairs & Communications. 28 August 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  7. ^ "The Plan". Peabody Evolved. Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
  8. "Peabody Evolved: Support". Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  9. Cummings, Mike (26 March 2024). "Inspiring wonder again: Peabody Museum reopens". YaleNews. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  10. "Renovated Peabody Museum to offer free admission — forever". YaleNews. Yale University. 10 November 2021. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
  11. "Botany | Collections : Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History". peabody.yale.edu. 2010-11-09. Retrieved 2020-04-25.
  12. The Torosaurus Project.
  13. Kelly Glista (April 14, 2015). "Those Old Bones? It Really Is A Brontosaurus". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 2015-04-26.
  14. Tschopp, E.; Mateus, O. V.; Benson, R. B. J. (2015). "A specimen-level phylogenetic analysis and taxonomic revision of Diplodocidae (Dinosauria, Sauropoda)". PeerJ. 3: e857. doi:10.7717/peerj.857. PMC 4393826. PMID 25870766.Open access icon
  15. "New Peabody hall offering high-tech lessons about Earth and space". Yale Bulletin & Calendar. 34 (30). June 9, 2006. Archived from the original on November 6, 2014. Retrieved 2013-12-26.
  16. "A Peabody kid becomes the museums director". yalealumnimagazine.org. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  17. "Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History: Administrative Staff". Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  18. "Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History: Collections Staff". Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  19. "Harry Payne Bingham". peabody.yale.edu. Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  20. Wilfrid Swancourt Bronson Archives. Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University.
  21. Slack, Nancy G. (2010). G. Evelyn Hutchinson and the Invention of Modern Ecology. Yale University Press. p. 125 of 457. ISBN 978-0-300-16138-0.
  22. "Princeton Specimens | Vertebrate Paleontology : Collections : Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History". peabody.yale.edu. 2010-11-10. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
  23. The Simpsons Archive"Burns, Baby Burns" Archived 2006-01-15 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved July 8, 2012

References

External links

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