Alabama Museum of Natural History

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Alabama Museum of Natural History

Founded in 1831, this museum is the oldest in Alabama and has long explored the state's rocks, fossils, wildlife, and ancient past. Housed in Smith Hall at the University of Alabama, it brings together natural history exhibits and research collections in one landmark setting.

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Mound State Monument, Moundville, Alabama

Mound State Monument, Moundville, Alabama

by Alabama Museum of Natural History

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The Alabama Museum of Natural History is the state natural history museum of Alabama and is located in Smith Hall on the University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa. It was founded in 1831, making it the oldest museum in the state.

Its exhibits focus on Alabama's natural world across deep time, including dinosaurs, the Coal Age, the Ice Age, geology, and native wildlife. The museum is also tied to scientific collecting and research, with collections in areas such as geology, zoology, mineralogy, and paleontology.

A closely connected figure in its early history is Eugene Allen Smith, the geologist and museum leader whose work helped shape the institution's development. Smith Hall itself remains one of the museum's most recognizable homes and a historic part of the University of Alabama campus.