University Daily Kansan / Wednesday, August 22, 1990
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Anne Musser, scientific illustrator for the Natural History Museum, stands in front of Dyche Hall.
Tomas Stärpardter/KANSAN
Many students miss visiting Museum of Natural History
Bv Sal Manzi
Special to the Kansan
With more than a century of work put into the collections, the Museum of Natural History has become one of Kansas's top tourist attractions, yet many students have never been exposed to the associate director for the museum.
Cathy Dwigans, associate director of membership and public relations for the museum, said that the museum was originally founded to aid students in the learning process, but finished at KU without visiting it.
"Some people look at the sign and never make the connection that they should come in," Dwigans said. "It's not just here for classes, it's for people who want to know what kind of bird they saw or what kind of snakes are in Kansas. They can just come in and some time looking around."
The collection for the museum began the same time as the charter for the University of Kansas, in 1864. At that time, the Board of Regents decided to establish a "cabinet of natural history."
The collection, according to the Guide to the Museum of Natural History at Harvard University, Huntington Snow, and its aim has been to develop in the student the
power of observation by the personal examination of natural objects."
The cabin was housed in North College, the first campus building, from 1866 to 1873. From there the collection moved to the original Fraser Hall until it got its first private home in the Snow Hall of Natural History in 1896. This hall, deemed "Old Snow," was built in front of where Watson Library is now, Dwigs said.
The collection is now in Dyche Hall, founded in 1901 in honor of Lewis Lindsay Dyche. Starting his college life camped where Dyche Hall is now, Dyche hunted in the Wakarau valley and soon became a skilled taxidermist. In 1888 he was hired as an assistant for the museum.
In 1893, Dyche took a collection of 112 mounted North American large mammals to the Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The display received worldwide attention and is now on the main floor of Dyche Hall. The collection, according to the guide, led the Regents into building the new museum in 1901. It was named Dyche Hall in 1915.
Dyche Hall, with the new wing added in 1961, now houses 960,000 specimens. It was listed on the University Register for Historic Places in 1973.
Many classes on campus visit the
hall for observational instruction, Dwians said.
"Drawing classes come to sketch the main entrance of the museum, which was modeled after that of St. Trophine in Arles, France, and has been called the most beautiful portal in the world." "Dougains said." And, of course, biology classes visit the museum frequently throughout the year."
Although suggested donations are $2 for adults and $1 for children, no admission is required to the Natural History museum on campus. Dwigans said
For persons wanting to get involved, the Museum Associates program allows active and contributor memberships. Along with these memberships come the museum newsletter, Panorama; Good Stuff, a catalog of the 60 weekend workshops; invitations to special events; and a 10 percent discount in the museum shop.
Jane Huesemann, Osceola, Mo.
senor, and student cashier in the museum shop, said that the biggest
long items were the plastic animals.
The museum is open to students and the public from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays and holidays.
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