Bell Museum of Natural History
The Bell Museum in 2011
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| Established | 1872 |
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| Location | University of Minnesota |
| Coordinates | 44°58′40″N 93°14′0″W / 44.97778°N 93.23333°WCoordinates: 44°58′40″N 93°14′0″W / 44.97778°N 93.23333°W |
| Type | Natural History of Minnesota |
| Website | http://www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/ |
"...as an act to provide for a geological and natural history survey of the state. And in turn, that natural history and geological specimens be prepared, and a museum be established at the University.".
The Bell Museum of Natural History is a museum located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on the campus of the University of Minnesota. On display are world-renowned Minnesota wildlife dioramas, numerous animal specimens from all over the world in the first discovery room in the U.S., and a small planetarium theater. The museum is currently planning a move to a new location on the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul campus. The museum is part of the University's College of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resource Sciences.
The museum was established by state legislative mandate in 1872 to collect, preserve, skillfully prepare, display, and interpret our state's diverse animal and plant life for scholarly research, teaching and for public appreciation, enrichment, and enjoyment. Its governance belongs, by state legislative designation, to the University of Minnesota. It is a familiar point-of-entry to the resources of the University of Minnesota and a gateway to the natural wonders of our state. The Bell Museum serves young and old alike as they seek to find—and better understand and appreciate—their own place in a living, changing world.
New Building Details The Bell Museum is in the process of developing a new facility to house their public collections, a 120-seat digital planetarium, and serve as a public gateway to University of Minnesota research. The new museum is under construction on the St. Paul Campus of the University of Minnesota. The facility will expand capacity to host the many visitors and school groups that visit the museum each year. New enhancements include outdoor learning landscapes, a dedicated parking lot, and new permanent and temporary exhibit galleries. The estimated project budget of the new facility and moving is $64.2 million. In the 2014, the Minnesota Legislative session passed the bonding bill which included $51.5 million in funding for the new facility.[2]
With more than 4 million specimens, the Bell’s scientific collections have provided opportunities for research and teaching since the museum’s inception in 1872. The museum recently launched the Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas, an online, searchable interface integrating over 5 terabytes of data from the Bell Museum on birds, mammals, fishes, plants, and fungi to enhance research capacity to perform a range of activities from biological surveys to conservation planning. (bellatlas.umn.edu) This database currently contains over 400,000 scientific records and as many as 175,000 high-resolution images with plans to expand entries and specimen photographs.
Amphibian and Reptile Collection
The Amphibian and Reptile Collection is a diverse collection that has a heavy focus on the upper Midwest region and represents one of the best collections of herpetological material for this region.
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