History | Barnum Museum of Natural History

Building a Collection

As of 2026, the Andrew H. Barnum Museum of Natural History contains over 23,000 plants, 30,000 invertebrates, and 3,000 vertebrates.

This collection began in a small walk-in closet at Dixie Normal College in 1916. During the summer of 1963, the college and its small museum collection relocated to their current location, now known as Utah Tech University. The museum and its broad collection continue to grow to this day.

The summer of 1964 saw the development and creation of the Desert Garden, which can still be found on the UT campus. Over the years, the garden has housed various desert rodents, non-venomous reptiles, desert tortoises, and desert plants. Dr. Andrew H. Barnum was inspired to construct the garden after attending a desert biology course at Arizona State University with a group of biology instructors from around the country.

Utah Tech University is surrounded by the Great Basin Desert, the Colorado Plateau, and the Mojave Desert. Various plants and animals that represent each of these geographic regions can only be found here at the Barnum Museum.

The Museum Founders

Vasco M. Tanner

Our collection began in 1916 with Vasco M. Tanner (left), the first Biology/Geology instructor at Dixie Normal College and his colleague, Ernest M. Hall. Today, the museum contains over 21,000 plants, 20,000 insects, and over 3000 vertebrates.

Andrew H. Barnum

Dr. Andrew H. Barnum, PhD (right), became the first official Natural Science Museum curator in 1976. He maintained this position from 1976 – 2019.

Dr. Barnum started caring for and curating the collection upon his arrival at Dixie as an instructor in 1959. Without Dr. Barnum and his fantastic efforts, we would not have access to the wonderful resources cared for and provided by the Andrew H. Barnum Museum of Natural History.

Gaining Notoriety

The museum has received some degree of notoriety that is unknown to most.

In the 1970s, Dixie Junior College’s collection began receiving national recognition. In a publication from the late 1970s which recognized colleges, universities, and entities like National Parks, with prominent collections of plants and animals, the name of Dixie Junior College was listed. At the time, Dixie Junior College was the only two-year college west of the Mississippi River to be recognized in this publication. To qualify as a museum many documents about the past, present, and expected future of the institution and collections of specimens needed to be filed with the United States Government. As the museum was mostly a passion project for Dr Barnum, it wasn’t until his retirement in 1995 that he was able to finalized the requirements and we became certified and the name Natural Science Museum of Dixie Junior College could be used.

In 2024, what would have been Dr. Barnum’s 100th birthday and to recognize a lifetime of dedication to science, research, education, mentorship, and this collection the museum officially changed its name to the Andrew H. Barnum Museum of Natural History.

To this day, our collections contain thousands of rare and unique specimens, some of which can only be found at the Barnum Museum. Instructors and students continue to add to the collection through the present day.

The Gator of Southern Utah

As surprising as it might be, alligators are not native to the desert southwest. But in the mid 1960’s, at least two alligators, raised in captivity, were released into the Virgin river after their owner could no longer manage to take care of them. They weren’t expected to survive the winter.

Shockingly, the duo survived for six years until a farmer found and shot one of the gators in an irrigation ditch. The second alligator lived in the wild until the May of 1970, when it was found on the Bloomington golf course.

This alligator, pictured here, was safely caught and transferred to the pond of the Desert Garden on campus, where it lived for a year before dying of dehydration. The garden’s pool unfortunately froze, and the alligator could no longer access its water source.

This alligator, as a taxidermy specimen, can be seen in the museum today.

Contact

Address:

Utah Tech University
Snow Building, Room 207
225 S. University Ave
St. George, UT 84770

Bryan Stevens, PhD

Museum Curator

Email: bryan.stevens@utahtech.edu

Phone: 435-652-7771

Office: Snow Room 207

Our History