Marjorie Barrick Museum
Encyclopedia
The Marjorie Barrick Museum of Natural History (MBM; formerly known as the UNLV Museum of Natural History) is a museum
located on the main campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas
(UNLV), established in 1967. The museum was originally instituted as a natural history
museum with a focus on the natural history and environment of Nevada and the broader Southwestern United States
. Beginning in 1979 the museum's anthropological collections were greatly expanded, with the subsequent additions of donated collections of ethnographic
and archaeological
artifacts representing Native American
and pre-Columbian
Mesoamerica
n cultures.
(DRI), the Nevada System of Higher Education
's graduate research institute
. In September 1967, the DRI opened a small museum facility in premises across from the university's grounds, as part of an expansion of DRI's activities into southern Nevada. The museum was created under the direction of archaeologist Richard H. Brooks, assistant research professor at the university and a researcher (later director) of the DRI-affiliated Nevada Archaeological Survey. Its exhibits consisted of DRI's local collection of living desert animal specimens and Native American artifacts.
In 1969 the university took over the management of the museum from DRI. Brooks remained as director of the university-affiliated museum, and during his tenure the museum's funding was established and further permanent exhibits acquired. The most significant acquisition occurred in 1979, when a private collection of pre-Columbian art
was donated by a former UNLV alumna, Mannetta Braunstein, and her husband Michael. These pieces would form the basis of a broadening collection of Mesoamerican and Aridoamerica
n cultural artifacts, acquired through other donations and further additions from the Braunsteins' purchases in Latin American markets.
In the late 1970s the museum began the process of relocating to premises situated on the UNLV campus, to occupy a building that had contained the university's original gymnasium. Renovations to accommodate the museum were completed in 1981. Further alterations and expansions to the building were subsequently undertaken, and a research laboratory wing was added in 1994.
Brooks left the position in 1981. His successor as museum director was ornithologist and former UNLV president (1973–78) Donald Baepler, who was returning to the university campus after a three-year term as chancellor of the Nevada university system
. Baepler was instrumental in establishing UNLV's Harry Reid Environmental Research Center, and the museum was reorganised to became one of the center's operating divisions. Baepler retired as museum director in 2004, retained a title as emeritus
executive director of the museum.
In 1989 the museum was renamed in honor of Marjorie Barrick, a longstanding benefactor of the university. In 1980 Barrick, a former showgirl and prominent philanthropist
married to a Las Vegas real estate developer, had gifted UNLV with an endowment of some $1.2million from her late husband's estate, to fund an ongoing series of public lectures at the university. Speakers at the Barrick Lecture Series have included international figures and heads of state, such as Jimmy Carter
, Gerald Ford
, Mikhail Gorbachev
and F. W. de Klerk.
and earlier cultures, including the Mesoamerica
period.
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
located on the main campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
University of Nevada-Las Vegas is a public, coeducational university located in the Las Vegas suburb of Paradise, Nevada, USA. The campus is located approximately east of the Las Vegas Strip. The institution includes a Shadow Lane Campus, located just east of the University Medical Center of...
(UNLV), established in 1967. The museum was originally instituted as a natural history
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
museum with a focus on the natural history and environment of Nevada and the broader Southwestern United States
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
. Beginning in 1979 the museum's anthropological collections were greatly expanded, with the subsequent additions of donated collections of ethnographic
Ethnography
Ethnography is a qualitative method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group...
and archaeological
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
artifacts representing Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
and pre-Columbian
Pre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and...
n cultures.
History
The founding of a natural history museum at the university—then an institution only a decade-old, known as Nevada Southern University—began with a collection of specimens from the Desert Research InstituteDesert Research Institute
The Desert Research Institute is the nonprofit research campus of the Nevada System of Higher Education , the organization that oversees all publicly-supported higher education in the U.S. state of Nevada...
(DRI), the Nevada System of Higher Education
Nevada System of Higher Education
The Nevada System of Higher Education was formed in 1968 to oversee all state-supported higher education in the U.S. state of Nevada. The name was changed in 2004. Two doctoral-granting research universities, one state college, four community colleges and one research institute comprise the...
's graduate research institute
Research institute
A research institute is an establishment endowed for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research...
. In September 1967, the DRI opened a small museum facility in premises across from the university's grounds, as part of an expansion of DRI's activities into southern Nevada. The museum was created under the direction of archaeologist Richard H. Brooks, assistant research professor at the university and a researcher (later director) of the DRI-affiliated Nevada Archaeological Survey. Its exhibits consisted of DRI's local collection of living desert animal specimens and Native American artifacts.
In 1969 the university took over the management of the museum from DRI. Brooks remained as director of the university-affiliated museum, and during his tenure the museum's funding was established and further permanent exhibits acquired. The most significant acquisition occurred in 1979, when a private collection of pre-Columbian art
Pre-Columbian art
Pre-Columbian art is the visual arts of indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, North, Central, and South Americas until the late 15th and early 16th centuries, and the time period marked by Christopher Columbus' arrival in the Americas....
was donated by a former UNLV alumna, Mannetta Braunstein, and her husband Michael. These pieces would form the basis of a broadening collection of Mesoamerican and Aridoamerica
Aridoamerica
Aridoamerica, also known as the Gran Chichimeca, is a term used by Mexican archeologists to describe a region of the southwestern United States and the northern and central regions of Mexico, in contrast to Mesoamerica, which lies to the south and east...
n cultural artifacts, acquired through other donations and further additions from the Braunsteins' purchases in Latin American markets.
In the late 1970s the museum began the process of relocating to premises situated on the UNLV campus, to occupy a building that had contained the university's original gymnasium. Renovations to accommodate the museum were completed in 1981. Further alterations and expansions to the building were subsequently undertaken, and a research laboratory wing was added in 1994.
Brooks left the position in 1981. His successor as museum director was ornithologist and former UNLV president (1973–78) Donald Baepler, who was returning to the university campus after a three-year term as chancellor of the Nevada university system
Nevada System of Higher Education
The Nevada System of Higher Education was formed in 1968 to oversee all state-supported higher education in the U.S. state of Nevada. The name was changed in 2004. Two doctoral-granting research universities, one state college, four community colleges and one research institute comprise the...
. Baepler was instrumental in establishing UNLV's Harry Reid Environmental Research Center, and the museum was reorganised to became one of the center's operating divisions. Baepler retired as museum director in 2004, retained a title as emeritus
Emeritus
Emeritus is a post-positive adjective that is used to designate a retired professor, bishop, or other professional or as a title. The female equivalent emerita is also sometimes used.-History:...
executive director of the museum.
In 1989 the museum was renamed in honor of Marjorie Barrick, a longstanding benefactor of the university. In 1980 Barrick, a former showgirl and prominent philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
married to a Las Vegas real estate developer, had gifted UNLV with an endowment of some $1.2million from her late husband's estate, to fund an ongoing series of public lectures at the university. Speakers at the Barrick Lecture Series have included international figures and heads of state, such as Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
, Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
, Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
and F. W. de Klerk.
Anthropological collections and exhibitions
The cultural exhibits cover over two thousand years of Native AmericanIndigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
and earlier cultures, including the Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and...
period.