Buena Vista Museum of Natural History & Science facts for kids

Buena Vista Museum of
Natural History & Science

Buena Vista Museum Exterior from Chester Ave.
Established	1995 (1995)
Location	Bakersfield, California
Type	Natural history museum
Public transit access	GET Rt. 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 12, 14 (Downtown Transit Center)

The Buena Vista Museum of Natural History & Science is a natural history museum in Bakersfield, California. It is located downtown in the Arts district. The museum focuses on three areas: geology, anthropology, and paleontology.

History

The museum was founded in 1995. The museum was centered on the Bob and Mary Ernst Collection of Miocene fossils from Shark Tooth Hill (in Kern County). It is the largest collection of Miocene fossils from that location. Originally the museum was housed out of a small space in the California Living Museum (CALM). The collection would continue to grow, encompassing areas outside of Kern County. Because of the growth, the museum would move several times before arriving at the current location in downtown.

Description

The centerpiece of the museum is the Mary Ernst Collection of Miocene fossils from Shark Tooth Hill. Other exhibits include: collection of taxidermy animals from Africa, replica of a triceratops skull, replica of a yokuts Indian village, and a model of Yosemite Valley complete with roads, buildings, and trails. Several of these items are not owned by museum, but are on long term loan. The museum also contains an interactive section known as the "Oh Zone". There is also a Paleo Lab, which is equipped to clean, repair, preserve, and reconstruct fossils and other artifacts.