John Hutchings Museum of Natural History - Lehi, Utah - Interactive, Museum

Lehi's John Hutchings Museum of Natural History began in 1955 when Mr. Hutchings and his wife Eunice donated their collections of rocks, minerals, fossils, shells, stuffed birds, eggs, Native American artifacts, pioneer items, Wild West guns and memorabilia to the Museum. The collection continues to grow as friends of John Hutchings donate their collections to the Museum in kind.

The Hutchings Museum is a hands-on teaching Museum with interactive exhibits and the personal attention of interns and docent. If your major is Anthropology, Archeology, Geology, Paleontology, Biology, or History the museum has internships available. Interns give educational tours, help with exhibits, marketing, our web presence, cataloging artifacts and other things.

To get to the museum from I-15, take exit 279. This is Lehi's Main Street. Go west on Main Street about a mile until you reach Center Street. Go north one block. The Hutchings Museum is located in the historic Veteran's Memorial Building.

The John Hutchings Museum has six rooms:

The Bird and Egg Room - With one of Utah's finest collections of bird eggs representing a specific area. There are cases and trays with 402 clutches of Utah County bird eggs. There are also mounted specimens of birds and animals with a new butterfly collection on active display

Fossil and Shell Room - Dinosaur bones and coprolite and a molar and piece of tusk from the wooly Mammoth are just a sampling of what the museum has to offer. There is also a wide variety of South Sea artifacts including, shells, corals, and sea urchins as well as native hunting weapons and living amenities on display.

Rock and Mineral room - The collection of minerals contains hundreds of specimens.

There are gems such as garnets, sapphires, opals, tourmalines, topaz, amethyst, beryl, turquoise, Herkimer diamonds and kunzite.

Native American Room - This collection has arrow and spear points and flaking tools, knives, hide scrapers and bead drills. There are also clay pots and reed and grass baskets on display.

Wild West Room - Historically, Lehi was the scene of violent murders, flourishing speakeasies and gambling dens. The first jail in Lehi was built in 1930; however, it was moved to its present location in 1957 where it remained in use until the early 1980's. In the museum, it is an interactive exhibit, where you can shut yourself away.

Pioneer Room - There are primitive tools and log cabin homes, as well as serving pieces and glassware on display. There are candle snuffers and a stagecoach footwarmer, school slates and stoves. There is also a display of Pioneer firearms.

Reviews: Fodor's Review: "Butch Cassidy's rifle is on display at the John Hutchings Museum, along with Native American and pioneer artifacts, paintings, and sculptures. You'll also find a good collection of guns from the Revolutionary and Civil wars, as well as natural history displays of fossils, minerals, marine life, and birds.''

One online reviewer said, "Some of the mineral specimens in the Smithsonian were provided by John Hutchings and he also is credited with the discovery of the Timpinagos Cave. There are wonderful specimens of Aragonite crystals and verasite, a rare exquisite green mineral from a single Utah location. There are also many minerals from outside Utah and other natural history exhibits, including birds and their eggs, collected before many became endangered.''