Museum
Museum collections hold both natural and cultural resources relevant to the park.
Plan Around Museum
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Museum Details
Joshua Tree National Park museum collections hold both natural and cultural resources relevant to the park. Holdings run the gamut from small collections of birds, mammals, reptiles, insects, and paleontological specimens to herbarium specimens; mining, homesteading, and prehistoric American Indian artifacts. Archives also hold photographs and fine art. The Campbell Collection consists of field notes, photographs, and over 65,000 lithic, ceramic and organic artifacts collected from the 1920s to the 1940s. Native American artifacts include arrow points, basketry and ceramic objects. Collections from the era of cattlemen, miners and homesteaders include water and mining claims, tools, and children's toys. During the California Gold Rush, an estimated 300 mines were developed in what is now the park. Hard-rock mining tools, mining claims, historic photos and personal items are all represented in the collections. Park collections also hold specimens from the area's desert flora and fauna, including vegetation types from desert scrub to Joshua tree woodland and pinon/juniper forest. The collections include 78 bird study skins, 1,309 insects, 57 mammals, 633 botanical items and 25 reptile specimens. Finally, the museum's archives hold land records, planning documentation, maps, oral history interviews, measured architectural drawings and scientific research field notes documenting the park's history. The museum collections and research library are open to researchers and the public, by appointment, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Difficulty
Open
Distance
N/A
Estimated time
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Region
What to Do
Nearby Parks Around Museum
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Nearby Points of Interest Around Museum
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ZERO LANDFILL IN THE PARKS:
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50-Minute Helicopter Tour
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