KANSAS
Bringing Fossils Back to Life at the Sternberg Museum
By Amber Moon
Travelers who are driving along Interstate 70 through the heart of Kansas can find some surprises if they take the Hays exit and visit the Sternberg Museum of National History.
The Sternberg Museum houses exhibits that are not just fossils behind glass but interesting finds that invoke questions from visitors and boggle the mind. Tourists will find a large collection of fossils that were discovered in the state of Kansas itself. These fossils are meant to represent the creatures that roamed, or swam, the earth millions of years ago. People can gain a better understanding of what the very state they are in looked like before the dawn of human beings. The fossils are placed in interesting displays that make it fun for all ages to examine and learn about. The museum has continued to carry on the work of its found George F. Sternberg by making fossils come back to life.
George F. Sternberg was the eldest son of Charles Hazelius Sternberg. His father was a professional fossil collector who passed on his passion to George. George Sternberg began directing fossil expeditions in the early 1900s. When his family decided to move from Kansas to Canada, George stayed behind to become curator of museums at what is now Fort Hays State University, where he served in the position until 1955.
In 1999 the Sternberg Museum was able to expand and enter into a new, and much larger, location on Fort Hays State University’s campus.
“This building enabled construction of amazing walk-through dioramas depicting both the Cretaceous sea and adjacent terrestrial habitats,” said Dr. Jerry R. Choate, director of the museum. “No other museum has exhibits like these.”
The museum often displays new exhibits to keep things fresh and exciting. Some of the exhibits that have passed through the Sternberg Museum are an exhibit featuring the many collection items of Kansans titled, “Wow! That Oughta Be in a Museum” and “T.rex cetera: Dinosaurs and other Mesozoic Monsters.”
Many of the exhibits came from actual expeditions done by those associated with Sternberg Museum. The exhibit, Journey to South Africa: An Exhibit Experience, features photographs of wildlife and native cultures actually taken by Dr. Jerry R. Choate and his team from the museum in 2003 when they visited Africa.
All permanent exhibits feature life-size replicas and settings, including sounds, which place the visitor back in time to experience Kansas 84 million years ago. However, not all fossils are of once living creatures, the exhibit, “Greensburg Meteorite” houses a giant 1,000 pound meteorite discovered in Kansas in 1949. All of these permanent exhibits provide food for thought and give visitors a little more insight into a time that they can only see in special effects movies.
The Sternberg Museum is also a research facility for Fort Hays State University. With on-site laboratories that allow tourist to watch museum scientists at work, the museum proves that it can even keep past history current.
“It [the museum] maintains the research collections (more than 3 million specimens) of the university departments of Biology and Geosciences. It provides research space for scientists and students,” said Dr. Choate.
So how did the small town of Hays, Kan., often referred to as the “boondocks” become the site of the Sternberg Museum? “It is little more than an historical accident that Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kan., came to have a natural history museum comparable to the largest facilities at major research universities and metropolitan areas. Visitors off the interstate highway invariably are surprised and impressed,” said Dr. Choate.
Visitors to this Midwest state now have a new spot to mark on the atlas, which proves that there is more to Kansas than meets the eye.
Amber Moon is a Franklin College junior majoring in public relations.