Anthropology 130 Extra Credi

Balboa Park Museum

30 points maximu

We San Diegans are lucky enough to have two museums related to biological anthropology in

Balboa Park: the Museum of Us and the Natural History Museum. Check out the historic park

and one of these places!

• In the Museum of Us, “Race: Are we so different?” is a formerly traveling exhibit sponsored
by the American Anthropological Association and the Science Museum of Minnesota. During

its stay at the San Diego Museum of Us, the museum decided to buy the installation to make

it a permanent exhibit!

• In the San Diego Natural History Museum (the Nat), “Fossil Mysteries” covers prehistoric
life, especially the Mesozoic (Age of Dinosaurs) and the Cenozoic (Age of Mammals). One

section recreates a typical scene of prehistoric mammals, including early primates. Also,

“Skulls” on the top oor has several cases of skulls from their collection, including one for

primates

Note: The museums at Balboa Park have a rotating schedule of free Tuesdays. For this

semester, the Natural History Museum is free on: March 7, April 4, and May 2. The Museum of

Us is not open on Tuesdays or Wednesdays

You should double check the schedule at https://www.balboapark.org/residents-free. Bring a

form of I.D. It does get crowded on the free days, though. There is also a student discount for

entry on normal days. Bring your school I.D. for that. Find more information at museumofus.org

and http://www.sdnhm.org.

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 Both museums are worth visiting but you can only get points for one of the museums

Instruction
1. Preview these instructions before you go to know what to focus on in your visit

2. Go to one of the two museums. I recommending seeing the whole museum, but your

writeup should be based on the particular exhibits mentioned below

3. Take a photograph of yourself at the museum and upload it with your writeup as part of the

points. Have fun with it

4A. If you choose “Race: Are we so different?” at the Museum of Us

Write a re ection of your visit on this topic: What are three parts of the Race exhibit that

showed you something especially memorable about the race concept? Describe the

exhibits in detail as if you’re telling someone who has never seen it. The re ection

should be over 400 words

4B. If instead you choose “Fossil Mysteries” and “Skulls” at the Natural History Museum:

Do both of the following

1. “Fossil Mysteries”: See the Eocene forest section of the exhibit, just past the dead

dinosaur with the victorious mammals on it. Write a single short paragraph that answers

the following questions: Which extinct early primates are depicted in the exhibit (hint:

look among the trees and also in the individual displays)? Describe their appearance.

Which modern primates do they resemble the most, and how are they similar? The

response should be over 200 words

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 2. “Skulls”: Find the case of primate skulls. There is a human skull in there. Write a single

short paragraph that answers the following questions: What similarities do the human

skull share with the other primate skulls. What differences do you see between the

human skull and the other primate skulls? The response should be over 200 words. Get

descriptive

5. Submit your writeup and photograph via Canvas by the due date

Gradin
Grading is based on following the above instructions. See the grading rubric with the

assignment on Canvas.

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