The Cincinnati Museum Center (CMC) has endless exhibits and galleries that are beloved by kids and adults alike, and the Ice Age Gallery, which was temporarily closed while undergoing updates, is no different. The exhibit will be returning to the CMC on July 1 with many of the same attractions and displays that made it popular when it first opened.
The gallery is representative of the Pleistocene era, with dire wolves, mastodons and saber-toothed cats holding court. CMC’s Vertebrate Paleontology collections, curated by Glenn Storrs, Ph.D., lend to the gallery greatly.
“The impacts of the Pleistocene Epoch continue to resonate today,” Storrs says in a media release from the CMC. “In fact, it is the animals of the Pleistocene discovered near Big Bone Lick that launched the first paleontological expedition, making it the birthplace of American vertebrate paleontology.”
There will be some additions to the gallery, though. While the classic dire wolves will stay the same, updated lighting and projections will show how glaciers carved the Miami Valley. One of the most notable additions is a fully-articulated mastodon skeleton. Since it has been built in its entirety, the massive size of the mastodon will be in full display. North American lions, giant beavers, modern gray wolves, mountain lions, jaguars, giant bison, mammoths and ground sloths join the gallery.
“We wanted to tell two stories of climate change through our Ice Age Gallery,” says Elizabeth Pierce, president and CEO of CMC, in a media release. “One of the Pleistocene, in which gradual but natural changes led to significant changes and dire outcomes for some of the Ice Age’s species; and one of our current era, in which rapid, man made impact could irreversibly upend ecosystems. The hope is that we can educate this and future generations who may be better stewards of our planet and all its inhabitants.”
Updates for the Ice Age Gallery are made possible by CMC’s Champion More Curiosity campaign. The $85 million dollar campaign has plans to reimagine the CMC’s exhibits and programming. To donate or learn more about the campaign, you can visit supportcmc.org.
Tickets for the gallery cost $14.50 for adults, $13.50 for seniors, $10.50 for kids aged 3-12 and free for kids 2-years-old or younger. Adults or kids that are members receive free admission.
For more info, visit cincymuseum.org.
