University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History, Natural history museum at University of Oregon, Eugene, United States
The Museum of Natural and Cultural History at the University of Oregon displays roughly one million ethnographic objects and 100,000 fossils that document Oregon's biological and cultural development. The collection contains artifacts from indigenous peoples as well as evidence of the region's animal and plant life across different periods.
The museum was founded in 1876 when Thomas Condon, the first geology professor at the University of Oregon, brought his fossil collection for teaching purposes. This teaching collection grew into the extensive research institution that exists today.
The building echoes the design of Northwest Coast Native longhouses and displays totemic art alongside objects spanning 15,000 years of Oregon Native American life. The collection reflects how indigenous peoples of the region lived and shaped their surroundings.
The museum is open several days per week with different areas to explore filled with fossils and cultural objects. Visitors should plan enough time to walk through the collections and get acquainted with the displays.
The museum holds Fort Rock sandals discovered beneath volcanic ash and dated to 10,000 years old. These exceptional objects rank among the oldest surviving shoes in North America.
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