The Ogden Natural History Museum traces its origins back billions of years, to the moment of creation we all share. Like  you, its elements coalesced from stardust suspended in a vacuum to become part of Mother Earth. Crystalized from magma, thrust up through mountains, and nurtured in the bosom of ancient trees, each atom of this exhibit hall passed through many transformations before it reached the present form before you. Each form, whether in the shape of a crystal in a display case, in the shape of the wood from which the case is composed, or in the shape of you, tells a portion of the earth story.

There came a day when beings like you, beings of transformed stardust, gained a spark of curiosity. They started asking questions, and to wonder at the unknown. This museum was created by such beings—people who look upon what might be termed everyday drudgery as everyday miracles. People who climb mountains with a sense of kinship and fascination.