From there we went to the Bird Room where a kind old man told us some personal stories of some of the birds in the room. One of which was about him being attacked by a nesting Barn Owl as a child. He still had the scars on his arms to prove it. The kids were enraptured with his stories and their favorite was about how certain Eagles kill DEER as their main source of food. We all were surprised to learn that they killed that large of an animal and most of the kids (and adults too) all thought that eagles eat mostly smaller animals like Mice and squirrels. He even showed us how the Eagles kill deer by latching on to the back of their necks and breaking their spine paralyzing the animal. He said that eagles can crush bones like sticks with their talons and how powerful their beaks are. It was really interesting to learn about. The good news though is that Eagles aren’t known for ever taking human children but they will take a dog or cat if they get really hungry.
From there we went into the rock and mineral room where we had fun learning about coal and meteors and other different kinds of gems and stones. We all got to find our birth stones and learn about geodes. It was pretty cool. The highlight for the kids was getting to hold a real METEOR! We all couldn’t believe how heavy it was especially compared to some of the other rocks we’d been able to hold previously. So cool.
Then we got to go into the Fossil Room where we got to learn about prehistoric dinosaurs and lots of cool other animals I had never heard of. We got to see fossils that had animals that are only found in South America but the fossils were actually found here in Utah showing that a long LONG time ago our world was very much different from what we know today. Did you know Piranhas were once a common species in Utah? Crazy. I had no idea.
These bird like creatures were quite fascinating to learn about too as you’d think they were alive during the times of the dinosaur but they are actually a very recent extinct animal as of the last 40 years (I believe he said). I had never even heard of one of these. But they are crazy wicked cool. I guess they were the main source of meat for tribes in the area they are from (Africa maybe? I forget).
Our next room was the Pioneer room where we got to learn about some of the tools and instruments the pioneers used when crossing the plains since they couldn’t take much with them. We learned about how they did laundry and how it was an all day affair, as well as the cooking for their families and what hard difficult work they had to do to survive.
The highlight though was an old bear and cave they had in the pioneer room where the kids could go inside and play. Brans said this was his favorite part. That and going in the jail in the Wild West room.
The last room we visited was the Native Indians room and we all loved learning about the indians different weapons of war and hunting and how the women made baskets and corn meal and pots for water and cooking. We also got to learn about how they made coats and drums out of the animals skins and about the different houses the indians used over the years. It was all quite fascinating.
To put a flare to the end of our Field Trip Date to Hutchings Museum I thought it would be fun to take Branson to Porters Place (which was right NEXT door) and one of MY old favorite hang out spots as a youngster. My best friend Erica and I would go there all the time when we were in Jr. High where we would order some fries and shakes and eat them at the bar. So for old times sake Branson and I did the exact same thing (except we got our fries and shakes to go so we could hurry home to relieve Ad). Still we stayed long enough to take a few pictures and to read more about Porter Rockwell whom the restaurant is named after.
