The Bell Museum of Natural History

The Bell Museum of Natural History main feature is their dioramas. Here Minnesotans can come view native animals up-close in their natural habitats. So many times I have gone to the Como Zoo waiting by the metal fence to get a glance at the wolf deep in the trees; I have never seen it. But at the Bell Museum, I saw up close what a wolf looks like and saw what a natural home looks like for them. Although the zoo tries, it cannot achieve the animal's actual home environment for their captives. Dioramas show what animals would be doing in their daily lives, such as hunting or caring for their young; Not pacing back and forth in front of a glass window. I was also shocked to see some of the animals up-close and discover something new that I may have never known unless it was two-feet in front of me...I did not know weasels are so tiny, the large paw size of the minx, and what an underwater nest looks like. The dioramas capture, teach, and show what may not strike people in a film or in a book.

Steve Quinn explains the history of dioramas in better words than I can. He said,"Diorams first appear[ed] in the late 1700s, early 1800s as illusionistic, theatrical installations. It wasn't until the late 1800s, early 1900s that they were utilized by science museums for teaching science and educating the public." Dioramas were used to educated the public on dissipating wildlife due to expanding civilization westward. Today the dioramas are still important "to raise awareness and strike an emotional chord among visitors, to make them concerned about the loss and disappearance of wildlife" (Quinn).

The museum has a room called "Behind the Diorama". Inside the room one can learn about the artists , history behind them, the research and craftsmanship that went into designing the dioramas. I learned the background in the diorama creates the feeling of a large environment; the illusions of depth and space make one feel he or she is actually there. Artists and Scientists work together to accurately portray an environment- they sketch, take notes, and collect materials from actual sites. Then the artists may, such as Francis Lee Jaques did, create a small-scale model of the diorama to ensure everything would be correctly places. Lots of more work (too much to explain on this short blog) is put into designing the animals and foliage in the diorama; But a few interesting facts I learned were that some of the fish models have real fish scales on them and creating the foliage is the most time consuming.

Upstairs at the museum is a gallery are environmental art pieces from various artists. I enjoyed the variation the museum displayed of different artists with different styles. Dan Metz painted animals in their environment with oils. Chris Faust took beautiful photographs of of nature scenes. I particuliary liked "Copper Falls" taken in 1993 in Mellen, Wisconsin. It shows water rushing down the falls in a deeply wooded area; sometimes in the city I forget that such beauty is just a car-drive away. Vera Ming-Wong painted upclose painting with watercolors of flowers and foliage. Wendy Brockman painted with watercolors close-ups of leaves to show their intricate detail. While Tim Trost got up close to vegetables with colored pencils (very nice drawings to hang in a kitchen I would think).

Overall, I really enjoyed this museum. I was surprised that I had never been their for a field trip as a kid. I like that it offers artistic beauty with science and learning behind it. I liked that it also helped me to learn more about Minnesota wildlife.

Reference:
Quinn, Steve. http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/dioramas/bison/transcripts/diorama.php