Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum, Natural history museum at Brigham Young University, Provo, United States.
The Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum is a natural history museum located on the Brigham Young University campus in Provo, Utah. Its collections cover several biological fields, including insects, birds, reptiles, fish, plants, and shells gathered from many parts of the world.
The museum opened in 1978 after Seattle businessman Monte Lafayette Bean funded its construction and donated his personal collection of animal specimens. That gift laid the foundation for what grew into one of the largest natural science collections in the region.
The museum's name comes from Monte Lafayette Bean, the businessman whose personal collection and funding made the building possible. Walking through the galleries, visitors can still sense the close link between one man's passion for wildlife and what ended up on display.
The museum is on the BYU campus and easy to reach on foot from the surrounding parking areas. A morning visit tends to be quieter, especially when school groups are making their way around campus.
Among the animals on display is Shasta, a liger born in 1948, the offspring of a male lion and a female tiger. She spent decades at Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City before joining the collection after her death in 1972.
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