Change Comes in Threes

Change is inevitable, always marching forward with new opportunities and challenges.  Each is an obstacle and a blessing simultaneously.  Resistance to change is futile; it will happen, and we can only hope to adapt to it and persevere and thrive. 

My family has experienced numerous changes this year. The Geopolitical landscape and my Father's passing, to name some important changes. More recently, I moved to Sheridan and took over the management of a museum. 

David Nicolarsen and Mike Bloodworth convinced my wife to let me move here and take over the Museum of Discovery at Sheridan College. As empty nesters, we had the freedom to move, but my wife had an advancing career to consider. I also had to consider my nonprofit. I was eager to take the opportunity; it is a beautiful museum, in a fantastic town, with many strong supporters and volunteers. Who wouldn’t want to have their own museum? 

However, it is not my museum; it is our museum, the community of Sheridan, including Sheridan College, Dr. Ken Ohm, Mike Flynn, David and Mike, and all of you.  It is your museum, I am just a caretaker charged with preserving the legacy of all those who came before me. We all work to collect and preserve the natural history of Wyoming and the Western Interior of the United States. 

I am sure many of you have noticed by now, but we have had a few changes at the museum in the first half of 2025, and they will continue.

The First Change: Our Name

The first big change is our name. We are no longer the Museum of Discovery at Sheridan College; we are now the Natural History Museum of Wyoming, Inc. We are our own 501 (c) (3) nonprofit. This change is vastly important as it allows us to raise our own funds, create independent revenue streams outside of the College, and market ourselves as the natural history museum. With our 501 (c) (3) designation, all donations made to us are also tax-deductible for the donor. 

The name change is not just a name; the Natural History Museum of Wyoming is also the vision.  A vision of the premier natural history museum in Wyoming and the Western Interior. A place of wonder and excitement, learning and curiosity, and a place for all those who want to participate in the entire process from collecting to displaying the natural wonders of our world. 

With an abundance of opportunities within hours of Sheridan, there is no reason we cannot become the premier destination for learning about natural history. But we will need help; many hands make light work, and we have plenty of work to do. 

With a new name comes a new brand. We are working diligently to constantly update and improve the new website, disseminate information via social media, and maintain an active presence in the Sheridan community and beyond. 

So, this is my plea: please share the website with people, get them to engage with the site and us. The more people we get to engage, the easier our job becomes. By sharing our Facebook page and posts when you see them, your network will see them and can follow us and engage with us on social media. 

The larger our network, the more people visit the museum, the more funding we can secure, and the larger we can expand the museum, which in turn leads to a greater impact on the community. Please help spread the word.

The Second Change: The Layout

A second change has been in the physical layout of the museum. If you haven’t stopped recently, we have moved some things around. The entry foyer is now the mineralogical wing of the museum, showcasing our impressive mineral and rock collection, as well as our fluorescent mineral collection, among other features. Our collections seem to be growing almost daily, so be sure to visit the museum often to see all the new rocks and minerals going on display. 

In the main wing of the building is now home to the substantial fossil collection we house. We have specimens from both land and sea, spanning from the Ordovician to the Pleistocene, including dinosaurs and fish. If you have an interest in ancient animal and plant life, we have something for you to see and touch. 

We are working to expand our collections every summer. We are seeking new dig sites to expand our collections and extend the timeline for these collections. We would love to have specimens from all the eras of geological time represented. It will take time and funding, but everything can be found. 

The museum will be closed for the month of January each year as we change the exhibits and layout of the museum, so make sure you plan a visit or two each year to see what we are putting on display. It may be a full-sized dinosaur, a new species of dinosaur, or a large marine display showcasing all the beautiful creatures that once roamed Wyoming when it was an ocean. 

The Third Change: We are Now a Nonprofit

A third change I would like to discuss is transitioning to a fundraising organization.  As a new 501 (c) (3), we are now responsible for raising our own funds to continue our dig programs, keep our prep labs running, maintain the lights, and find more specimens for display.  

Throughout the year, we will host various fundraising events, programs, and lectures.  We will also be introducing an admission fee and offering the opportunity to become a museum member, which will include exclusive benefits and one-of-a-kind experiences.  Nobody likes fundraising, especially me, but to grow the museum and make it a destination for people from around the country and even the world, we need to raise money to grow the collection, add additional exhibits, and hire more staff. 

To this end, we will be seeking support throughout the year, introducing exciting events and programs, and beginning to participate in the Third Thursday and the Rodeo. We will also look at all opportunities to engage with the community and find supporters. 

Enough About Change

Enough about change; here is what will stay the same going forward, and possibly for perpetuity. We will still be open Monday through Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. MST. We are in the same location as always.  We are located in the Mohns Science Center on the Sheridan College campus.  

We will host school groups, senior centers, homeschoolers, and the public. We invite all those curious or interested in the natural history of Wyoming and beyond to stop by, enjoy the exhibits, touch real fossils, and participate in hands-on experiences such as cleaning, reassembling, and displaying fossils. 

We always need more volunteers and hands for the large number of fossils we have to prepare for display. So come join in the fun and excitement and work on real fossils. 

We will still be having our open public digs every summer. In 2025, we took out more than 300 people on digs. We discovered hundreds of fossils and identified a new site within our excavation location.  It was a very exciting summer, and many memories were made for those who came and dug with us. For those who made some of the amazing fossil discoveries, their names will be displayed on the fossils when they go out on display in the museum. We will explore expanding our dig trips and offering them more frequently as we obtain additional permission from landowners to dig on their land. Access is always a significant issue, so if you know a landowner or are a landowner yourself and would like us to come find fossils on your property, please let us know. We always need more sites and land to increase our collection and encourage more people to dig.  We are seeking land throughout Wyoming, southern Montana, Western North Dakota, and South Dakota. 

As we move forward into a more dynamic and awe-inspiring future together, we invite you to participate as much or as little as you'd like, but please do so. Citizen science has led to numerous remarkable scientific discoveries worldwide. As I always say, you may be only a brushstroke away from changing history. Come change history with us and consider donating to help us not only change history, but also change the future of those who join us on digs, assist in the prep lab, and visit our museum.