Visitors

Open Year Round: Sunday 1-5 PM

Extended Open Hours: Academic Year — Mon, Wed, & Friday 1-5 PM
(September 15 - December 15; January 15 - May 1)

Tours and planetarium shows arranged by appointment. Please call 765-983-1303 for more information.

Admission is free, although donations are welcome.

Joseph Moore Museum is the regional natural history museum for eastern Indiana. It provides opportunities for Earlham students to have hands-on experience working in a museum in the fields of zoology, botany, anthropology, geology, education, and applied arts. Students curate the collection, provide tours and planetarium shows for visitors, maintain the live animal collections, and design and build exhibits. Guidance is provided by natural science faculty members.

The museum began as the teaching collection of Joseph Moore in the 1850s. In 1887 the collection was placed in the new Lindley Hall and became open to the public, displaying specimens gathered around the world by various Earlham faculty. In 1924, Lindley Hall, where the museum was housed at the time, was consumed by fire and the collection was partially destroyed. But through the efforts of faculty and students, several important pieces, such as Ta'an, the Egyptian mummy, and the mastodon, were saved. In 1952, the museum moved into our current location in Dennis Hall and under the direction of Jim Cope, the collections were updated and reorganized. Subsequent development of the Joseph Moore Museum is recounted on the museum website pages devoted to its history.

Mastodon skeleton discovered in Indiana

mastodon

Ever seen a real Egyptian mummy? Ever held a live snake? Ever met a 15,000 year-old Mastodon? You have the opportunity right here on the Earlham College campus!