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The museum holds more then 4,000 natural history specimens on display,
with 600 full-body wildlife mounts. Included are mounted skeletons of
rhinoceros, elephant, giraffe and more. Also on display are a replica
limestone cave and rock, fossil and shell displays.
History
Dennis Laughlin, founded the Battle Hill
Museum of Natural History. It moved to Battle Creek, Iowa, in 1985.
The in the Spring of 1989, Dennis and some buddies formed the Battle
Hill Museum Board of Directors, and in
June of that year, purchased an old country schoolhouse to renovate for the
museum. The museum opened in March of 1990, and in the next 6 years 2 more
buildings would be added.
The museum is named for Battle
Hill, which is the most historic spot in Ida County. This hill is 1
mile East of the museum, and oral history has it that a battle actually took
place there in 1849. Documentation is lacking, but Director Laughlin did
find the remains of 9 dead people up there in 1988-89, so something
happened. Whether a battle took place or not is beside the point, because
most importantly, the site solved our biggest problem...what to call the
museum!
-from the
website of the Battle Hill Museum of Natural History
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Iowa's Wandering Moose
Died 1989, 1994
When a wandering moose appeared here in 1989 it created an
immediate statewide sensation, quickly capturing the attention of the
national media and the hearts of millions. Another moose
appeared in 1994. Apparently, neither Wandering Moose lived long
enough to enjoy its fame. The first, more famous moose, was shot dead by a
poacher while it was sleeping. It was carved into Thanksgiving steaks for
25 homeless families and its stuffed head wound up in Battle Creek, in the
Battle Hill Museum of Natural History.
Alongside Moose #1 is the skull of Moose #2. This one didn't even last
long enough to create a media buzz; it was hit by a 30-ton semi traveling
at 65 mph. The Museum originally wanted to mount the skeleton, but quickly
realized that there wasn't a lot left to work with. So they settled for
the skull.
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