Museum of Geology

Located on the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology campus, The Museum of Geology was established in 1885, the same year the school opened. The museum contains thousands of fossil and mineral specimens. The surrounding area in all directions has been a treasure trove of fossils and the school and museum have taken full advantage of the location. Collections include fossils of mammals, marine reptiles, fish, invertebrates, plants, and dinosaurs from the Jurassic period and other eras. The mineral collection is comprised of specimens from all over the world. The museum is house on the third floor of the O'Harra Building, which also serves as the administration building for the School of Mines campus. The James E. Martin Paleontology Research Lab is also located at the museum; it is a separate entity but works in conjunction with the museum.

On June 23, 1885, the Board of Trustees for SD Mines received a letter from Mr. G.E. Bailey offering to loan a collection of minerals and fossils, containing over 5,000 specimens. This offer was accepted and brought in from Cheyenne, WY. Over the years, bolstered by additional ores, rocks, and fossils, the Bailey collection has remained the core of the museum's exhibit. However the collection has lost its distinct identity due to loss of labeling and being mixed with other specimens.

In 1899, the Museum of Geology entered an important stage of development when Cleophas C. O'Hara led the first fossil-hunting expedition into the Badlands. During this expedition, he and his colleagues discovered and named the School of Mines Canyon, and found the first official specimen of the museum - an Alligator snout. It is still on display at the museum. In 1903, the Department of Geology and Mineralogy moved into the newly constructed building to house the collections. This building is no longer standing, but the arch can still be seen in the campus quad.

It was nearly a quarter of a century after O'Hara's Badlands expedition before serious fossil collecting began. Glenn L. Jepsen, a geology student at Mines, spent the summer working for the American Museum of Natural History in western Nebraska. At the end of the summer, he collected the Agate Springs Rhino Slab, which was prepared by James D. Bump and LeMoyne Cook. The following years, he continued to collect in the Badlands, finding may specimens still on display in the museum today, including the Xiphactinus.

The museum first opened to the public in 1923 and quickly became a popular attraction. Its reputation for housing first class displays continued to develop over the years, aided by continuous field expeditions. In 1927, the state fossil of South Dakota was discovered and brought to the museum -the Triceratops discovered near Camp Crook. In 1930, the first museum director - James D. Bump was inducted.

In 1944, the museum moved into the top floor of the O'Hara Building, where there was room to display the large mounted skeletons and have expanded displays. After WWII, more important changed impacted the museum. Dr. Macdonald became the first curator of paleontology to care for the specimens and increase collections. In 1962, a masters degree was instituted for the field of paleontology. In 1985, the school and the museum celebrated 100 years of operation.

In 1993, visitors to Badlands National Park discovered large fossils that began a twenty year dig known as the "Big Pig Dig." The Museum of Geology assisted in this excavation and have specimens from this on display at the museum. In 2009, the museum broke ground to build their Paleontology Research Lab. This building would house their collections, laboratories, and further research on specimens. In 2023, the Museum of Geology celebrated 100 years of exhibits open to the public.

http://www.sdsmt.edu/Academics/Museum-of-Geology/Exhibits/

Bjork, Phil. Krause, Kevin. Macdonald, J.R. Martin, James. Martin, Jeff. Minkler, Heidi. Pinsdorf, Michelle. Shelton, Sally. Van Nuys, Frank. Museum of Geology Guidebook. Rapid City, SD. South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, 2010.