SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. — The Henry Hauser Museum is taking visitors back in time with its Jurassic Wonders exhibit.
The exhibit features more than 500 fossils and models. Ron Hyde, a fossil collector for Cochise County loaned part of his collection to the museum for this showcase.
“It is super important for people to know about the prehistoric life that was here because without that knowledge people tend to think ‘Oh Sierra Vista was founded in 1955, there really wasn’t history before that'. And that’s simply not true,” Hyde said.
He has been collecting fossils for more than three decades and has more than 500 fossils in his collection. He loaned 504 to the museum for the exhibit, with 100 beings found locally in Cochise County.
Hyde and museum curator Elizabeth Wrosek agree that having a local exhibit that showcases what Cochise County and other areas were like before people established cities and towns. Larger fossils that were found in the county have been moved to Pheonix and Tucson to be displayed in larger cities.
Some of the items on display are mammoth fur and teeth, dinosaur eggs and bones, and fossils of many different animals.
“The community seems really thrilled and really excited about this," Wrosek said. "It’s something most people around here don’t have access to. You have to drive a lot further or you have to pay so it’s really great that we’re able to offer this right here in Sierra Vista for free.”
The exhibit opens Saturday and will be open throughout the summer.
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Alexis Ramanjulu is a reporter in Cochise County for KGUN 9. She began her journalism career reporting for the Herald/Review in Sierra Vista, which she also calls home. Share your story ideas with Alexis by emailing alexis.ramanjulu@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook.
