Draper Museum of Natural History  

Connecting People with Nature in Yellowstone Country

The Draper Museum of Natural History opened to the public on June 4, 2002 to become the newest addition to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, and the first American natural history museum established in the 21st century. The Museum bears the name of BBHC trustee and benefactor Nancy-Carroll Draper, who tirelessly championed adding a natural history museum to the humanities museums of the BBHC. In 1997, the BBHC Board of Trustees approved a proposal to begin development of the DMNH as a vehicle to integrate natural sciences with humanities and therefore present a broader perspective on the American West.

Celebrating Five Years of the Draper Museum of Natural History (2002-2007)

Since beginning development of the Draper Museum, the Museum's staff, research associates, and students have authored, coauthored, or edited 5 books, produced more than 30 scientific and popular articles and book chapters, presented more than 130 invited lectures across the country. Also having been featured more than 200 times in newspapers, magazines, television programs, and radio programs across the country as authorities on topics ranging from the direction of natural science museums in the 21st century, to effects of drought on Yellowstone wildlife, and from gray wolf and grizzly bear biology and management to western wildfires.

The Draper Museum's natural history programs, conferences, field tours, and other outreach programming have reached more than 75,000 adults and children, and have been used as the model for a new genre of natural history museum presenting humans as a part of nature, and focusing on conservation areas of global significance.

Exhibits in the Museum are highly popular with visitors, and many professional and lay visitors to the Draper have expressed the opinion that the exhibits are collectively among the most engaging and informative natural history presentations in the nation.

For the future, the Draper Museum of Natural History hopes to strengthen and broaden its growing reputation for leadership, innovation, and excellence in exploring the relationships between humans and nature and for communicating the product and process of science to the general public. Staff, Trustees, and the entire family of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center can take great pride in this anniversary, the collective accomplishments over the last 5 years, and its direction for the future.

Founding Curator Charles R. Preston, Ph.D., was recruited in 1998 to lead the design and development of the new museum, and together with the DMNH Advisory Board, developed the DMNH mission:

... to encourage responsible natural resource stewardship by promoting increased understanding of and appreciation for the relationships binding humans and nature in the Greater Yellowstone Region.

Currently, the DMNH houses adult and children's classrooms, education office spaces, a photography gallery, and approximately 20,000 square feet of highly immersive and interactive exhibits, titled Greater Yellowstone Adventure, highlighting geology, wildlife, and human presence in the Greater Yellowstone region.

Many individuals and organizations, including the National Science Foundation, generously supported initial development and implementation of Greater Yellowstone Adventure. In addition to exhibits, the DMNH fulfills its mission through field research, collections development, and in-house and field-based educational programming.

Key features that distinguish the Draper Museum of Natural History include:

• A geographic focus on one of the most compelling biological and geological theaters in the world - the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and surrounding area
• A multidisciplinary perspective on the dynamics of coupled human and natural systems
  
• An emphasis on integrating exhibits and educational programming with original research

For information on how you can help support activites of the Draper Museum of Natural History, please contact Charles Preston.

Our Partners

This project was supported, in part, by the National Science Foundation.*

We are indebted to our partners at Earth Friends Wildlife Foundation for continuing support of our natural science programming.

According to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center's Code of Ethics, under no circumstance may staff members appraise objects either as part of their normal daily duty or as an independent service.

* This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. ESI0104578. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Nancy-Carroll Draper
(1922-2008)