The Museum of Natural History, Roger Williams Park, Providence, opened in 1896 to house the holdings of a local collector.

Since Rhode Island has no state museum, many wonderful things have been gathered by state residents and people from nearby areas have found their way here. That is why the museum’s collections are such an important legacy. They tell us what kinds of things people in our region were interested in collecting. Since the Museum opened in 1896 – that’s quite a lot of collecting history.

Check out some of those wonderful things, including a " collection of plant fossils from Coal Age Rhode Island..about 20,000 archaeological artifacts, mostly from North America. They also contain 4,000 ethnographic objects such as baskets, textiles, tools, and carvings with special emphasis on Oceania and Native North America

Tomorrow morning you can find out more during a tour on “”https://cityof.providenceri.com/museum/adult-program-the-museum-of-natural-history-its">The Museum of Natural History: Its Advancement Through Time"

Join Assistant Curator,Mark Sweberg for an interpretive tour of the Museum and its campus. We will trace the Museum’s origin in the 19th century Urban Parks Movement to its evolution into the cultural and educational resource it is today. Explore the history of its collections, exhibits and personalities who shaped them. We’ll round out the tour with a trip to the archives for a glimpse of the rich collection that informed today’s discussion.

Tues. Aug. 9, 10:00-11:30am (Raindate: Fri. Aug. 12)

Pre-registration required.