University of Nebraska State Museum—Morrill Hall
Mammoths, ancient seas, biodiversity, anthropology, and a working university collection explain Nebraska on a much longer clock.
Artwork inspired by Robert F. Gilder
Often called “Elephant Hall,” Morrill Hall is strongest when its famous proboscideans become an entry into evolution, climate, and the fossil record rather than a room of oversized skeletons. Other galleries connect Nebraska geology to living ecosystems and place scientific specimens within the work of a research university.
Begin with the mammoth sequence, asking how teeth, tusks, body size, and sediment reveal changing environments, then choose either paleontology, biodiversity, or anthropology for depth. Planetarium programs are scheduled separately and can make the visit longer than the gallery estimate.
- Known for
- Elephant Hall and Nebraska paleontology
- Institution
- University research museum
- Add-on
- Mueller Planetarium programs
Quick guide
- Primary evidence
- Elephant Hall and Nebraska paleontology ↔ University research museum
- Do not omit
- Check the planetarium schedule separately before building it into the visit.
Quick guide
- Proboscideans
- Compare teeth, tusks, body size, and sediments across the Elephant Hall sequence.
- Nebraska
- Connect fossils to the climates and ecosystems that once occupied the Plains.
- Research
- Treat specimens as evidence collected and revised by a working university museum.
- Program
- Check the planetarium schedule separately before building it into the visit.
Good to know
If time contracts at University of Nebraska State Museum—Morrill Hall, keep the comparison between “Elephant Hall and Nebraska paleontology” and “University research museum” and remove peripheral stops from the route.
Notice these
- Elephant Hall and Nebraska paleontology
- University research museum
- Mueller Planetarium programs