Cambridge Natural History Museum hosting 2 year anniversary party

The Cambridge Natural History Museum is celebrating its two-year anniversary with a full day of fun on Saturday, August 8th in Cambridge.

The Cambridge Natural History Museum’s Two-Year Anniversary Party will feature a family-friendly fun run, free timed museum tours, games, a scavenger hunt, educational presentations, light refreshments and a movie. All events are free and open to the public.

The celebration starts at 9 a.m. with the Downtown Dino Dash at College Square Park, W. Center Street and S. East Street. Participants will take one lap around the park, staying entirely on the sidewalks. Finisher medals will be awarded and participants are encouraged to wear dinosaur and animal costumes.

The museum will open for free timed tours starting at 10 a.m. Tour groups will be limited to up to 20 people, with visits scheduled in 20-minute time slots. The museum will close for a lunch break at 12 p.m., reopen for tours at 1 p.m. and close at 4:20 p.m. Click here to reserve a museum tour time. Families are invited to College Square Park at 4:30 p.m. for a scavenger hunt featuring Easter eggs filled with small prizes and games.

The evening programs will be at the Cambridge Public Library, 212 W. Center Street, and light refreshments will be available. Presentations start at 5:15 p.m. with a curator introduction by Anderson Taylor, followed by three educational programs. Each presentation will last about 25 minutes, with time for questions and answers. The celebration ends with a movie at the Cambridge Public Library at 7 p.m.

Olive Rivers will present “Animal Underdogs” at 5:30 p.m. She is a zoology, paleontology and botany lover, business owner and amateur philosopher from Moline. The 13-year-old owns a small exotic pet-focused business selling isopods, springtails and supplies. She hopes to own a zoo or museum focused on biology education someday.

Trenton Taber will present “What Was Soil Like When the Dinosaurs Roamed” at 6 p.m. Taber is going into his 12th year teaching high school agriculture in Cambridge. He earned his undergraduate degree in Agricultural Education from Western Illinois University and a master’s degree from Iowa State University. He uses his background in agriculture to help students understand where their food comes from.

Bob Underwood will present “The Guiding Principles of Arboriculture: An Introduction to the Field of Tree Care Based on Tree Biology and Nature” at 6:30 p.m. Underwood has been involved in arboriculture since 1967 and is a member of several arboriculture associations. He has delivered presentations to audiences ranging from national parks and grounds professionals to high school students. He was an associate professor of urban forestry at Dakota College in Bottineau, North Dakota.

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