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History of Museums in Utah
Taken from the Utah History Encyclopedia. (Links Added)
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While many museum efforts have been centered in the Salt Lake Valley, developments have taken place elsewhere in the state. Moab established a museum in 1958; currently known as the Dan O'Laurie Museum, it features the prehistory, history, and geology of the area. In Green River, the John Wesley Powell River History Museum was opened in 1990. This was followed in 1991 by the Museum of the San Rafael, in Castle Dale, whose theme is the natural history of Emery County. The Western Mining and Railroad Museum was established in Helper in 1964. A counterpart, the Tintic Mining Museum, was founded in Eureka in 1973. The Fairview Museum of History and Art in Sanpete County was founded in 1966; it displays historical artifacts and models of sculptor Avard Fairbanks. As is the case with most small Utah museums, these organizations are manned by volunteers.

In Utah County, the state's second most populous, the Springville High School Art Gallery was begun in 1903. Later named the Springville Museum of Art when its building was dedicated in 1937 as a community facility, it holds a broad representative collection of the works of Utah artists. Also in Utah County, under the auspices of Brigham Young University a number of museum facilities have developed over the years in Provo. Beginning in 1965, the BYU art department assumed curation of collections in galleries of the Harris Fine Arts Center. This important collection, rich in Utah, American, European, and Oriental art, moved into a major new facility known as the Museum of Art at BYU in 1993. In 1978, the Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum was founded and initially built around the hunting trophies of its namesake and benefactor; the museum also has other exhibits and curates valuable scientific collections. Anthropological materials, some from the Deseret Museum, are curated in the off-campus Museum of Peoples and Culture. Important fossils collections, especially dinosauria, under the care of the geology department occupy a separate campus building known as the "Ossuary."


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