The Georgia Museum of Natural History will reopen Sept. 15 after being closed for extensive renovations for more than 10 months. It opens at 6 p.m. with a free and public reception for the new exhibition Lost Species, Visions of Landscapes Past, which feature a discussion by landscape artist Philip Juras, whose paintings are included in the exhibition, and a short reading by nature writer Dorinda Dallmeyer, director of UGA’s Environmental Ethics Certificate Program.
Lost Species, Visions of Landscapes Past explores historic Southern landscapes and the species that inhabited them. It features specimens of long-lost, iconic species such as the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, Carolina Parakeet and Passenger Pigeon as well as Juras’ paintings of pre-settlement Southeastern landscapes.
“The blending of Philip’s celebrated art with objects from the museum’s collections will allow the visitor to imagine how the world appeared when these now-extinct species inhabited the Southern landscape,” said Bud Freeman, director of the museum and senior public service associate in the Odum School of Ecology. “The exhibition of these rare specimens, some from the museum’s own collection and several on loan from the Ohio State Museum of Natural History, is a unique opportunity for the public to view important materials of our natural heritage. We felt it was important to create a special exhibit to celebrate the opening of the new gallery and welcome the community back to the museum.”
The GMNH is in the Natural History Building, which is located at the corner of East Campus Road and Cedar Street.