Kingman Museum is a

natural history museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history scientific collection, collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleo ...

and

planetarium A planetarium (: planetariums or planetaria) is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation. A dominant feature of most planetariums is ...

located at 175 Limit Street, on the grounds of Leila Arboretum, in

Battle Creek, Michigan Battle Creek is a city in northwestern Calhoun County, Michigan, United States, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo River, Kalamazoo and Battle Creek River, Battle Creek rivers. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a tota ...

, United States. Its mission is to promote an understanding and appreciation of the natural world, the universe, and human cultures. The museum's collections include several thousand artifacts, many of which are displayed in permanent and temporary exhibitions. The vast majority of the collection, however, is in storage. In 2007 the museum received a grant from the

Institute of Museum and Library Services The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States federal government established in 1996. It is the main source of federal support for librar ...

to physically inventory and catalog every item in its collection, scheduled for completion in August 2009. Some of the museum's highlights include its

paleontology Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure ge ...

and

geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...

specimens, animal

taxidermy Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body by mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ''taxidermy'' describes the proces ...

mounts, a preserved human

embryo An embryo ( ) is the initial stage of development for a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male sp ...

and

fetus A fetus or foetus (; : fetuses, foetuses, rarely feti or foeti) is the unborn offspring of a viviparous animal that develops from an embryo. Following the embryonic development, embryonic stage, the fetal stage of development takes place. Pren ...

exhibit, and Native American artifacts. The museum also has numerous rare items in its collection, including two specimens of the critically-endangered imperial woodpecker (''Campephilus imperialis''). Only 120 museum specimens of the bird are known to exist in the world. Since there are no known photographs or recordings of a living imperial woodpecker, these specimens are the only records

ornithologists __NOTOC__ This is a list of ornithologists who have articles, in alphabetical order by surname. See also :Ornithologists. A * John Abbot – US * Clinton Gilbert Abbott – US * William Louis Abbott – US * Humayun Abdulali — India * Joseph ...

have to study and understand the species. In 2008 Kingman Museum added a Digistar 3

fulldome Fulldome refers to immersive dome-based video display environments. The dome, horizontal or tilted, is filled with real-time (interactive) or pre-rendered (linear) computer animations, live capture images, or composited environments. Although t ...

projector system to its planetarium. It is one of only 61 installations worldwide and the only one in southwest Michigan. Kingman is a member museum of the

Association of Science-Technology Centers The Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC) is a non-profit, global organization based in Washington, D.C., in the United States, that provides professional support for science centers, museums, and related institutions. ASTC's g ...

and participates in the membership passport program.

References

External links

Official Website
{{authority control 1934 establishments in Michigan Association of Science-Technology Centers member institutions Battle Creek, Michigan History museums in Michigan Museums established in 1934 Museums in Calhoun County, Michigan Natural history of Michigan Natural history museums in Michigan Paleontology in Michigan Planetaria in the United States