Our natural history interpretive staff will take out a reptile
or amphibian for you to touch and observe, help you try on a
40-pound set of moose antlers or sit down with you to look at
animal furs. There's always something new to discover in the
Touch and See Discovery Room. The Touch and See Room came into
being in 1968. Public Education Coordinator Richard Barthelemy
realized that younger visitors (and, really, probably all
visitors) wanted to get their hands on all the beautiful and
exciting stuff that was behind glass in the spectacular dioramas
the Bell has. Bart, as he was known, started by sitting down
with groups and passing around bones and furs and feathers and
such and talking with them about what was there. After the new
wing was built on the museum, he got the use of about half of
its exhibit space for the Touch and See Room and teamed with Dr.
Roger Johnson from the University of Minnesota's Department of
Curriculum and Instruction in the College of Education to figure
out how to make the room