Worth a Visit in Alabama: Anniston Museum of Natural History
800 Museum Dr., Anniston, Alabama This remarkable museum includes outstanding collections of mounted animal specimens from North America and Africa.
800 Museum Dr., Anniston, Alabama
This remarkable museum includes outstanding collections of mounted animal specimens from North America and Africa. A bird collection was prepared by the 19th-century ornithologist William Werner, who was a pioneer in the cyclorama style of presentation. The 400-specimen collection, which was assembled between 1865 and 1910, offers a rare opportunity to see now-extinct species, such as the heath hen and the passenger pigeon.
The even more striking African collection is the gift of a local resident who spent years collecting in Africa. Some exhibits concentrate on aspects of animal behavior. Others are panoramic re-creations of the continent’s natural environments, such as a Sahara desert landscape complete with oryx, Barbary sheep, and desert snails, and a marshland scene with hippos and egrets. The most outstanding display is a diorama of a grassland showing a giant baobab tree towering over an elephant, a rhino, a giraffe, and many smaller mammals and birds.
The Ancient Egypt exhibit hall features 2,300-year-old Egyptian mummies and mounted specimens of animals representing deities.
–Open daily June – Aug. Closed major holidays and Mon. rest of year. Admission charged.
(256) 237-6766