Author Description

The Idaho Museum of Natural History (IMNH) has been called a “hidden gem in the Gem State.” That description is apt in many ways. The IMNH was founded at a most unlikely and uniquely challenging time, in the middle of the Great Depression. Even many lifelong residents of Southeast Idaho are often unfamiliar with the history and treasures that the museum holds in its collections. The purpose of this book is to provide an overview of the history and a taste of the broad variety of items and stories that the IMNH contains - from dramatic geological collections and fossils that are found only in Idaho to flora, animal, and artifact collections from all over the world. This book is the product of a unique collaboration between the IMNH and the students of Dr. Bolinger’s Collaborative Creativity class at Idaho State University. Eight undergraduate and graduate students came together to take on the ambitious challenge of writing an entire book in just three months. This book, the result of that project, is a labor of love that reflects the passion and commitment of generations of community members and faculty and staff to preserve the IMNH. As the IMNH approaches its 90th birthday, we hope that you enjoy this book and the stories of the people, the places, the artifacts, and the items that make the IMNH an indispensable asset to the state of Idaho and its people. There would be no higher compliment than to discover that this book reveals the IMNH as the gem that it is but hidden no more.