Rose Brooks

Episode 498 – Natural History

I absolutely adore old-style natural history museums, like the one the Habsburg dynasty created in Vienna, founded by Emperor Franz Josef I in 1889. Episode 305 – Vienna Natural History Museum . New York City’s American Museum of Natural History is pretty great too, and is of the same vintage, founded in 1869.

San Diego’s museum was founded in 1874, although the present location was not dedicated until 1934, in time for the second Panama-California Exposition.

As the world has changed, natural history museums have fallen somewhat out of favour. Taxidermied animals, butterflies pinned to displays, meticulously catalogued rocks and fossils can’t compete with the images available on line. Artifacts removed from their original countries by wealthy collectors are more and more being seen as plundered items that should be returned to their original homes.

Nonetheless, my love affair with natural history museums, begun at a very young age through visits to the stuffed grizzly bear and the dinosaur bones at Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum, continues. Plus, my OCD tendencies really appreciate a numbered, well organized collection of just about anything. If there’s an accompanying list or spreadsheet I’m in heaven.

San Diego’s Natural History Museum has modernized its exhibits, but I really enjoyed what they’ve done. They have managed to incorporate original displays into updated settings – for instance putting taxidermied animals into wonderful life-sized dioramas – and added lots and lots of interpretive signs and interactive displays.

Model of a great white shark, suspended in the 4-storey atrium. It’s a bit of a tradition that we send grandson#2 photos of Gramps in staged peril.
Grey whale jaw, with me for size perspective.
Sperm whale jaw, with me for size perspective again (I’m waaaay back there).
Taxidermied fruit bat, “in flight”.
Interesting colour-coded display showing mammalian forelimbs specialized for swimming, climbing, and running.
Ted said “Mother of Dragons”, but actually I’m “Mother of Ankylosaurus”

The area focussed on the natural history of California’s desert landscapes included this “parked” Airstream trailer with an interior decor featuring built-in display cases.

That’s a glove shaped like an adult condor’s head. There are a couple of taxidermied condors on display in the museum, but this display focussed on efforts to bring back the population. Orphaned chicks are hand-fed via this “puppet” so that they don’t ever imprint on a human, which gives them a better chance of survival when released into the wild.

There was also a large section that featured more traditionally displayed items from the museum’s collection, and put them into perspective by explaining the ways in which they continue to be used for scientific research.

An actual skeleton on one side. A model of the fish on the other. Truly looking “behind the scenes”!
I really do like being able to get up close. This ringtail genet is a sculpted model, not stuffed, and hangs around on one of the staircase newels.

After leaving the museum, we made two brief stops still within Balboa Park: one for ice cream, and one to see the famous menagerie carousel. Built in Tonawanda New York in 1910, it was first shipped to Los Angeles and then moved in 1915 to Hotel Del Coronado’s summer resort, Tent City. The Carousel was brought to Balboa Park in 1922. All the carousel’s animals are original except four miniature horses that were added in the 1970s. Also original are the hand-painted murals surrounding the upper portion of the carousel and the military band organ.

That concludes our last day at Balboa Park, which was the main focus of our month in San Diego. We made good use of our annual passes, visiting 14 of the 16 museums (missing only the History Centre and the Science Centre), and took advantage of walking the beautiful grounds, enjoying the outdoor cafés, and just generally marvelling at how well maintained – and well used – the park is.

What a lucky city to have this jewel of a park as a public space!

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