Geology Museum, Madison

Geology Museum, Madison

The Geology Museum has its beginnings in the original building of the Science Hall, where the first meeting of the Board of Regents took place. The board's meeting aimed to create a place to exhibit geological and mineralogical items. After the fire of 1884 that devastated a great part of the collections, the plans to build a fireproof building were drawn up. As a result, the Geology Museum opened its doors again within the Science Hall in 1886.

Worthy of special attention, and the museum's major attraction, is the Boaz mastodon. The mastodon's bones were discovered by Dosch children after a storm in 1897. More than half of the skeleton was found. G. M. Schwartz and M. G. Mehl reconstructed it afterward. Today, the skeleton stands at 9.5 feet tall, 15 feet long.

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Geology Museum on Map

Sight Name: Geology Museum
Sight Location: Madison, USA (See walking tours in Madison)
Sight Type: Museum/Gallery
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:

Walking Tours in Madison, Wisconsin

Create Your Own Walk in Madison

Create Your Own Walk in Madison

Creating your own self-guided walk in Madison is easy and fun. Choose the city attractions that you want to see and a walk route map will be created just for you. You can even set your hotel as the start point of the walk.
University of Wisconsin-Madison Walking Tour

University of Wisconsin-Madison Walking Tour

Founded the same year as Wisconsin achieved its statehood – 1848, the University of Wisconsin in Madison (often simply referred to as UW Madison) is the oldest public university in the state and the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. The UW Madison campus, located on the shores of Lake Mendota, includes four National Historic Landmarks. Complete with these and a sweeping view...  view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.5 Km or 2.2 Miles
Madison Introduction Walking Tour

Madison Introduction Walking Tour

The Native Americans called the Madison area Taychopera, meaning "land of the four lakes" which are known today as Mendota, Monona, Waubesa, and Kegonsa. The first European settlement began in 1829 when James Duane Doty, a former federal judge, purchased over a thousand acres of land between Lakes Mendota and Monona.

The city was named after President James Madison and made the state...  view more

Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 1.9 Km or 1.2 Miles