Ralph Applebaum Associates

The Natural History Museum of Utah aims to illuminate the natural world and the place of humans within it. The museum, located in the Rio Tinto Center, commands a sweeping view of the Great Salt Lake Basin; the building is surrounded by the story it tells.

Past the soaring central atrium called “the Canyon,” there are 44,000 square feet of permanent exhibitions. RAA sought to reflect the natural forms visible around the building, leading visitors on switchback paths that climb through the earth’s landscapes and time-scapes. Interpretive terraces and indoor and outdoor trails point out biological and geological features. Permanent exhibitions explore topics ranging from Utah’s ancient ecosystems and first peoples to cutting-edge biogeography and genetics.

A key challenge was to communicate to visitors the sheer scale, in age and geology, of the Utah region. RAA also needed to help identify the highlights of a 1.6 million object collection, which includes one million objects related to anthropology.

The nine thematic galleries are Life, Land, First Peoples, Native Voices, Utah Sky, the Great Salt Lake, Utah’s Past Worlds, Our Backyard, and Utah’s Futures. Each gallery reflects multiple, scientific disciplines and collections as well as humanities-oriented subject matter. The Life gallery, for example, encompasses genetics, biology, and aspects of history and anthropology. Educational facilities are embedded in the galleries to capitalize on the drama and data of the surrounding exhibitions, providing hands-on learning environments.

The museum welcomed 300,000 visitors in its first year. It has since been honored with multiple design and architecture awards.