Research Catalog

Title

Building an ark for Texas : the evolution of a natural history museum / Walt Davis.

Author

Davis, Walt, 1942-

Publication

College Station : Texas A & M University Press, [2016]

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xv, 218 pages : illustrations (some color); 25 cm.

Summary

"Recounted through the eyes of a major participant, this book tells the story of the Dallas Museum of Natural History from its beginning in 1922 as a collection of specimens celebrating the plants and animals of Texas to its metamorphosis in 2012 as the gleaming Perot Museum of Nature and Science. The life of this museum was indelibly influenced by a colorful staff of scientists, administrators, and teachers, including a German taxidermist, a South American explorer, and a Milwaukee artist, each with a compelling personal investment in this museum and its mission. From the days when meticulously and skillfully prepared dioramas were the hallmark of natural history museums to the era of blockbuster exhibits and interactive education, Walt Davis traces the changing expectations of and demands on museums, both public and private, through an engaging, personal look back at the creation and development of one exceptional institution, whose building and original exhibits are now protected as historical landmarks at Fair Park in Dallas"--Publisher's website.

Series Statement

W.L. Moody Jr. natural history series ; number fifty-four

Uniform Title

W.L. Moody Jr. natural history series ; no. 54.

Subject

• Perot Museum of Nature and Science > History
• Perot Museum of Nature and Science > Biography
• Perot Museum of Nature and Science
• Natural history > Study and teaching > Texas
• Science museums > Texas > Dallas
• ART / Museum Studies
• HISTORY / United States / State & Local / Southwest (AZ, NM, OK, TX)
• SCIENCE / Natural History
• Natural history > Study and teaching
• Science museums
• Texas
• Texas > Dallas

Genre/Form

• Biography.
• History.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (pages 193-212) and index.

Contents

Misadventure underground -- War of extermination: A war of extermination -- The woodsman and the judge -- Building the ark: The man from Denver -- Centennial celebration -- Art and science merge -- Masters of illusion -- The man from Dallas -- The bird man and the hunter -- In pursuit of the Holy Grail -- The man from Virginia -- Paleontology takes center stage -- Upstairs, downstairs, good news, and bad -- Becoming the Perot: Duel on the Nile -- A pharaoh comes to town -- The man from New York -- The woman from Dallas -- Becoming the Perot -- Opening day.

Call Number

JFE 18-9295

ISBN

• 9781623494421
• 1623494427

LCCN

2016009098

OCLC

942745108

Author

Davis, Walt, 1942- author.

Title

Building an ark for Texas : the evolution of a natural history museum / Walt Davis.

Publisher

College Station : Texas A & M University Press, [2016]

Edition

First edition.

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Series

W.L. Moody Jr. natural history series ; number fifty-four

W.L. Moody Jr. natural history series ; no. 54.

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (pages 193-212) and index.

Other Form:

Online version: Davis, Walt, 1942- Building an ark for Texas. First edition. College Station : Texas A & M University Press, [2016] 9781623494438 (DLC) 2016010474

Sudoc No.

Z TA475.8 D299bu txdocs

Research Call Number

JFE 18-9295