NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM, ZIONS BANK BRING FREE COMMUNITY SCIENCE NIGHT TO GARDEN CITY Sept. 7

 

NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM, ZIONS BANK BRING FREE COMMUNITY SCIENCE NIGHT TO GARDEN CITY

The museum’s ‘Soil Stories’ exhibit will be on display at Zions Bank through September

 

GARDEN CITY, Utah, August 24, 2023 – Garden City is the latest stop in the Natural History Museum of Utah’s “Soil Stories” traveling exhibit, featuring the untold stories of the earth beneath us. The public is invited to a free Community Science Night on Thursday, Sept. 7, from 4:30-7 p.m. at Zions Bank’s Bear Lake Garden City branch, 557 N. Bear Lake Blvd. The community event will feature interactive stations, hands-on activities and touchable specimens.

 

In conjunction with the Community Science Night, a traveling exhibit, which is free and open to the public, will be on display at the Bear Lake Garden City branch during regular bank hours through Sept. 30 as part of its multi-county tour across Utah.

 

Soil Stories highlights the uniqueness of soil, which is often taken for granted. The exhibit unveils the process and players who make, enrich, and survive in soil, including:

 

• Soil samples and soil crusts from across Utah
• Insect specimens and small vertebrates
• Indigenous farming tools, artifacts, and pottery
• Paleosol: where it’s found, and why it matters

 

“We’re excited for Traveling Treasures to come to Garden City for the first time since our branch opened in May 2021,” said Steve Allred, manager of Zions Bank’s Bear Lake Garden City branch. “The museum does a great job making science and history accessible.”

 

Visitors will learn that soils vary in color, texture and smell, and that the organisms that inhabit soil – like cicadas – are just as interesting. One exhibit shows the Indigenous farming practices that allowed Utah’s original peoples to thrive in an arid climate, while another highlights the importance of corn, beans, and squash, and their role in the soil.

 

“In my work studying insects, I have always been fascinated by soil,” said NHMU entomology collections manager Christy Bills. “Invertebrates such as beetles, ants, and snails enrich soil and play a large role in sustaining all kinds of ecosystems in surprising ways.”

 

For more than 20 years, the Natural History Museum of Utah and Zions Bank have partnered to brings natural history collections and research to Utah’s diverse communities. Each year, a team of educators, exhibit designers, bankers, and museum volunteers create a new traveling exhibit that explores a unique aspect of natural history in the state, region and beyond.