Main Level Gallery Guide
Reinberger Hall of Earth & Planetary Exploration
From the formation of the universe to a timeline of the development of life on Earth, this interactive gallery integrates geology and astronomy. Soar through the solar system, feel the rumbling of an earthquake and touch real volcanic rock. Choose ingredients, time, temperature and pressure to cook up some rocks of your own on a computer screen. Watch a cavern being created by the slow drip of underground water, touch real stalactites and stalagmites, investigate Ohio’s rocks and learn how glaciers sculpted our landscape.
Wade Gallery of Gems & Jewels
Wade Gallery showcases the Museum’s spectacular collection of more than 1,500 gems and minerals. See intensely colored diamonds, glowing opals, sparkling emeralds and rubies, fine crystal specimens and colorful mineral eggs and cabochons displayed in elegant surroundings. Learn where minerals are found, what they look like in raw form and how they’re cut into faceted stones.
Kirtland Hall of Prehistoric Life
See what the world was like when eurypterids (sea scorpions) and trilobites lived hundreds of millions of years ago. View fossil plants and invertebrate animals from the bottom of ancient oceans. Stroll by the swamp forests that formed the world’s coal, check out the monstrous meat-cleaver jaws of Dunkleosteus terrelli, the fossil fish found in the shale around Cleveland, then meet some of our dinosaurs.
“Happy,” the 70-foot-long Haplocanthosaurus delfsi, is the oldest sauropod on exhibit anywhere, and the holotype of the species. Allosaurus fragilis is a 40-foot-long, 15-foot-tall meat eater that lived about 160 million years ago. The skull of Nanotyrannus lancensis is the world’s only specimen of this small cousin of T. rex, and the holotype of the genus.
At the entrance to a display detailing human evolution stands a reconstructed skeleton of 3.2 million-year-old “Lucy,” discovered in 1974 by a Museum curator and determined to be a new species of human ancestor.
Among the much younger inhabitants of Kirtland Hall are Smilodon, a sabertoothed cat from California’s La Brea tar pits; a mammoth; and the Johnstown Mastodon, discovered in Ohio.
Ohio Archaeology
Step into the lives of the earliest Ohioans. The Mound Builders exhibit reflects new evidence that ancient people used these mysterious earthworks for celebrations, ceremonies and burials. See artifacts recovered from a farmer’s field in Northeast Ohio that led to the identification of what could be one of the earliest campsites in North America.
Check updated maps of Ohio’s prehistoric sites and displays explaining the fascinating work of Museum archaeologists
Sears Hall of Human Ecology
See how humans have interacted with the natural world around them. Plants and animals and artifacts from 11 cultures from North and South America, Mesoamerica, Africa, Australia and New Guinea are represented here.
Just off the main lobby in Sears Hall are two video displays. One presents footage of Bald Eagle chicks hatching. The other, titled Invasion of the Aliens, is an interactive presentation that discusses invasive species and their impact on the natural areas that the Museum manages.
Reinberger Hall of Astronomy
Enter the Reinberger Hall of Astronomy through Key Spaceway, which is illuminated with pulsating fiber-optic lights that "transport" you into space. Then try interactive exhibits that explain astronomy basics, such as how much you’d weigh on other planets and what causes the phases of the Moon.
When the Hanna Star Dome was built in 1936, it was the second planetarium to be constructed in the United States. The 16-foot-diameter dome served as the Museum’s planetarium until 1952 and has been on display ever since. Three thousand individual light bulbs were originally used to display the sky for each of the 12 months -- these were converted to fiber optic illumination starting in 1994. The dome is constructed of 12 sheets of copper and weighs 1 ton. It displays about 250 of the stars visible each month from Cleveland.
Nathan and Fannye Shafran Planetarium
The Shafran Planetarium, one of the best-equipped and most compelling facilities of its size in the nation, opened in January 2002. Its unique design allows the exterior to function as an astronomical instrument. Nighttime visitors can use the building's chamfered roof to locate Polaris, the North Star, around which all other stars in the sky appear to rotate. The building sparkles with fiber-optic lighting embedded in its titanium-coated stainless-steel outer covering. This system gives the building a subtle glow without contributing to the light pollution above University Circle.
Inside the domed planetarium theater, the Skymaster ZKP3/S projector – the first of its kind in the world – can show the positions of more than 5,000 stars, nebulae and galaxies, as well as the Moon and visible planets. The theater offers comfortable, theater-style seating for 85, has a digital sound system and is fully handicapped accessible. Astronomy experts present live shows that explain current celestial phenomena.
Outdoor Exhibits
The Ralph Perkins II Wildlife Center & Woods Garden
Perkins showcases Ohio’s native animals and plants in a 2.2-acre outdoor gallery adjoining the Museum. Visitors can see Bald Eagles, owls, deer, foxes, bobcats, hawks and other creatures in enclosures designed to resemble their natural habitats. The Woods Garden features a rich canopy of towering tulip, oak, beech and maple trees. It highlights several of Ohio’s native natural communities: swamp forest, shrub forest, fossil and sand ridge, rich mixed forest, emergent marsh and buckeye opening. A glass-enclosed entrance and heated, paved pathways enhance accessibility for those using wheelchairs and strollers.
Thelma and Kent H. Smith Environmental Courtyard
This courtyard garden is filled with native Ohio plants, including an array of wildflowers, many species of ferns and a variety of trees. Native waterfowl dive and dabble in a waterfall-fed pond.