The University Insider is The Daily’s first faculty and staff-oriented newsletter. This weekly newsletter will give U-M faculty and staff the ability to see the most important issues on campus and in Ann Arbor — particularly those related to administrative decisions — from the perspective of an independent news organization. It will also provide a better understanding of student perspectives.
The University of Michigan’s Museum of Natural History will reopen on April 14 in the new Biological Sciences Building.
The museum was hosted in the A.G. Ruthven Museums building from 1928 until January 2018. The museum was originally known as the University Museum, and encompassed the museums of paleontology, zoology and anthropological archaeology, as well as the University herbarium. The Museum of Natural History was officially created in 1956. The University opted to move the museum after it announced plans for the new Biological Sciences Building in 2011.
The museum will include new features, including a 25-foot Quetzalcoatlus pterosaur model, a planetarium and dome theater, an interactive “Tree of Life” display and more.
Amy Harris, director of the Museum of Natural History, said in a press release she looks forward to sharing a new space with the University and Ann Arbor community.
“This is such an exciting time for the museum,” Harris said. “We’re looking forward to seeing our visitors’ faces as they discover old friends such as the mastodon couple in their new home, or meet our new dinosaur, Majungasaurus, for the first time. It is an important moment for the university and the community at large, and we look forward to sharing our new space with everyone.”
The Biological Sciences Building also hosts two research museums: paleontology and zoology. These are not open to the public.