A COMMUNITY OF SCHOLARS: PIONEERS OF SCIENCE AT YALE WHO MADE A MUSEUM

The year 2016 marks the 150^th anniversary of the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History. The Peabody is an institution steeped in history and tied closely to the origins of geological discovery and research in North America. Benjamin Silliman, James Dwight Dana and Othniel C. Marsh all played critical roles in the establishment of the Peabody but they also played critical roles in the evolution of the sciences at Yale. The established of the Peabody predates the science departments at Yale and paved the way for the expansion of the biological and geological sciences at Yale.

Collections stewardship and dissemination of knowledge became the cornerstone of the Peabody’s practices in the beginning and continue for the past 150 years. As the Yale departments and faculty became established, the Museum’s role as a repository for scientific collections, teaching and graduate education emerged. Public education and outreach to the local schools and public rapidly became part of the core mission of the Peabody and can be captured by distinct events in the history of the museum that reflect the happenings in America.