This museum is a jewel for the whole region. It has the Missouri Dinosaur fossils and the life-sized version and lots of other dinosaur and fossil artifacts. The kid's room allows young ones to learn science in a fun way. For people history visitors, we have Civil War displays, Lewis and Clark, Native American and lots of regional history too! It makes a great day trip!
I've worked with the Museum project since it was just an idea in 1998. It was born out of a community effort to find a new purpose for the Art and Science Building that was built for Will Mayfield College around 1926. Several members of my father's family and two very good friends in Marble Hill attended the college before it closed in 1934 due to financial setbacks brought about by the Great Depression. I grew up around people who had a deep affection for the old school so it was not difficult to interest me in a project that would bring this beautiful old building back to life and give it another chance to make a positive impact on people's lives. Having been involved since the first steps toward restoration, our growth sometimes seems slow; but when I walk through the Museum and see these classrooms and halls filled with the exceptional paleontology, natural history and American history exhibits that Guy Darrough and his crews have created, the childrens' activity room and the local and Will Mayfield College history that our local volunteers have built, I am impressed.
It's amazing that a museum of such high quality exists in such a tiny, rural community. The exhibits are world-class, housed in a historic building that sat vacant for years. A small, committed group has worked tirelessly, first rehabbing the building and then procuring and curating exhibits of all kinds: fossils from all over the world, artifacts from the Civil War, replicas of ice-age megabeasts, and of course, a life-size replica of the hadrosaur discovered just miles from the site of the museum.
They dedicate a room to kid's activities, put on several programs for children throughout the year, and make learning fun.
I know they have dreams & aspirations for the 3rd floor of the building, but financial constraints are real.
I've watched this local museum grow from the beginning with great appreciation. The volunteer effort has been amazing and they have accomplished a whole lot. I love that our little community has the only Missouri dinosaur. I grew up in Chicago, able to visit daily the Museum of Science and Industry or weekly go see the Art Institute, the Field Museum of Natural History or the Aquarium. That made me the person I am today. So, I'm very grateful that local youth have the opportunity to spend time at our local museum. The great exhibits there and the experiences expand their horizons in ways that are only beginning to be explored on the Internet...the only option for thousands of other youth not so lucky as to live near their own museum.
Bravo BCMNH!!! and a big THANK YOU to all the volunteers whose hard work that has made the museum the gem it is today.
We have a family membership to the museum. Enjoy visiting the museum as well as volunteering and showing people what the museum has to offer. We have many permanent displays as well as visiting displays and is always fun to see what is new. I enjoy learning about the different displays so that I not only am informed but can share this knowledge with the vistors on the days I volunteer. Polly