Trailside Museum of Natural History

The Trailside Museum of Natural History is located in the historic Army Theatre at Fort Robinson State Park, three miles west of Crawford, Nebraska on U.S. Route 20.

Army Theatre
Trailside Museum of Natural History
LocationCrawford, Nebraska
Coordinates42°39′59.5″N 103°27′59.5″W
Built1904
ArchitectArmy Corps of Engineers
Part ofFort Robinson and Red Cloud Agency (ID66000442)
MPSOpera House Buildings in Nebraska 1867-1917 MPS
NRHP reference No.88000930
Significant dates
Added to NRHPJuly 7, 1988[1]
Designated NHLDCPOctober 15, 1966

History
Inside the museum in 2017

The building served as a theater and gymnasium for the Fort Robinson army post.[2] The theater hosted many types of entertainment, including boxing matches, dances, and moving pictures. The theater was exclusively used as a gym by 1917 as automobiles and movie houses became more prevalent, allowing soldiers to seek entertainment elsewhere.[2]

The building was acquired by the University of Nebraska in 1955[3] which opened the Trailside Museum at Fort Robinson in 1961.[4] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988,[1] and is also part of the Fort Robinson and Red Cloud Agency historic district.[5]

Exhibition

The most important exhibition is a pair of 14 - foot mammoth skeletons were found nearby. The beasts apparently locked tusks in mortal combat and starved to death as a result.

The museum exhibits the fossils of two mammoths which killed each other when the area was in an ice age. They were trapped due to their tusks and died.[6]

Also in the museum there is a paleontological exhibition made by Mark Marcusson and Gregory Brownde. There are exhibits of animals that lived in Nebraska millions of years ago like the Daeodon or three-toed horse.[7]

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. D. Layne Ehlers (August 1998). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Army Theatre" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved January 15, 2016. Accompanying two photos.
  3. "History". Trailside Museum of Natural History at Fort Robinson State Park. University of Nebraska State Museum. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  4. Hickey, Donald R.; Wunder, Susan A.; Wunder, John R. (2007). Nebraska Moments. University of Nebraska Press. p. 91. ISBN 9780803215726. In 1961 the University of Nebraska established its Trailside Museum to highlight the geology and natural history of the region.
  5. Steven Lissandrello and Sarah J. Pearce (July 20, 1983). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Fort Robinson and Red Cloud Agency" (pdf). National Park Serviceaccessdate = January 15, 2016. {{NHLS url|id=66000442|title=Accompanying 63 photos from 1975 and 1983, and 2 historic photos of photos=y}}
  6. Jirovsky, Kristin (July 30, 2006). "Mammoth fight on display at Fort Robinson". The Daily Nebraskan. Retrieved March 13, 2017. The Trailside Museum of Natural History at Fort Robinson State Park will be celebrating the grand opening of its newest exhibit, "Clash of the Mammoths"...
  7. "Home". Trailside Museum of Natural History. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
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