'Walk through Time' exhibit at NU State Museum

Sharks, dinosaurs and rhinos don't come to mind when most people think of Nebraska, but they all have a common history in this part of the country, as illustrated in "A Walk Through Time," a new exhibit at the University of Nebraska State Museum in Lincoln.

The display, on the main floor of Morrill Hall, introduces visitors to the vast scale of geologic time, and ties other exhibits seen throughout the museum into the immense range of time. Two-dimensional exhibit panels, featuring three-dimensional fossil displays, are used to illustrate the types of life forms that existed in the region throughout the Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras.

Examples include a fossil tooth spiral from an ancient shark, fossil leaves and casts of camel and rhino skulls. The focus of the exhibit is on the particularly fossil-rich Cenozoic Era, highlighting Nebraska paleontology from fossil excavation sites including Toadstool Park, Agate National Monument and Ashfall Fossil Beds Historic Park.

The exhibit was curated and designed by NU State Museum faculty and staff, including paleontologists Michael R. Voorhies and Robert M. Hunt Jr., along with museum director and geologist Priscilla Grew, museum associate for education Cindy Loope, and exhibit specialists Joel Nielsen and Ron Pike.

The NU State Museum is in Morrill Hall, 14th and U streets on the UNL City campus. Hours are: Monday-Saturday, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Sunday and holidays, 1:30-4:30 p.m. Admission: $8 family; or $4 adult; $2 child. Children under 5 are free. Free visitor parking is available in front of Morrill Hall. The museum is closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. For more information, call (402) 472-2642 or visit the museum's Web site.

CONTACT: Willo Stuart, Special Projects Coordinator, NU State Museum, (402) 472-3779