The Fairbanks Museum

June 19-June 21, 2024                                                   Most Recent Posts:
Moose River Campground                                 Summer Solstice was HOT here too
Site 15                                                                     Molly’s Pond State Park
Saint Johnsbury, Vermont

Being primarily an outdoors person, I have never been to the Fairbanks Museum here in St. Johnsbury.  There are other reasons why I have not come but I decided today was the day to visit.

The Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium is a combination natural science museum, history museum and planetarium.

It was founded in 1890 by businessman, politician, naturalist, and collector Franklin Fairbanks.  The museum and its beautiful building are on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

Notice the lions guarding the entrance.  Children like to climb on them and ride.

The town of St. Johnsbury had a long history with the Fairbanks family.  It was the location of the Fairbanks Scales headquarters and factories since the 1820s, as well as several other mansions and estates owned by members of the family. Before founding the museum, Franklin Fairbanks had served as president of the company, which his father and uncle had founded.

The museum was expanded in 1894 to house the entire growing collection, moving from its previous location, Fairbanks' own house, Undercliffe Mansion, where the items and artifacts had been kept beginning in the 1870s.  Much of the main collection in the museum comes from Fairbanks' own pre-existing collection.  The museum was built specifically to contain and display the collection which numbers some 175,000 objects.  Storage and archive spaces are maintained on site for many of the items when not on display.

I’m normally not a lover of Natural History museums.  I have seen both of these bears in the wild and much prefer to see animals in their natural habitat not stuffed and on display.   So the Fairbanks makes me a little uneasy and I spend most of my time with the history and archeology collections.  I find I can’t even begin to scratch the surface.

I do love the seashells and particularly the way they are displayed here so that I can see the inner amazing design.

Most of the main floor is occupied by animal displays and the very interesting museum store.  Up the wonderful curving staircases in the corners I can reach the balcony.

The inside of this building is as gorgeous as the outside.  Golden oak is my favorite wood.   The stair treads are oak with brass air panels below.

In this shot you can see the amazing wooden curved ceiling and look over the balcony to the floor below.   Orient yourself by finding the two bears.

The two long balconies on either side of the railings have glass display cases along them as well as exhibits in alcoves to the far sides.    It’s an amazingly designed wonderful space.  There are two stained glass windows at either end.

Many of the displays in the alcoves are archeological.  This one is entitled Armor and Helmet from the late 1800’s, which is just over 100 years ago.  It was brought from the Gilbert Islands, a group of coral islands and atolls in the west-central pacific Ocean 2800 miles northeast of Australia.  How in the world did Mr. Fairbanks get it?  I hope it was a gift. 

The armor and helmet are made of woven coconut fiber, porcupine quills and fish skin.  It is just amazing.

The weapon is made from coconut wood, sharks teeth and human hair.

Aren’t they just incredible.   How could we ever think any native tribes were unsophisticated?

There are so many alcoves and so many displays that it is nearly overwhelming and it is clear I will have to return many times in order to see and read everything here.   And like most museums, what is on display at any one time is a fraction of the entire collection.

Below is a Butterfly Mosaic.  I have mixed feelings about this exquisite art.

Butterfly mosaics are created by cutting and arranging the delicate and colorful wings of butterflies and are produced in few places in the world.  This one, the plaque below it says was acquired from the artist by an important official in the Central African Republican government and given to Allen and Carolyn Grass of Rumney Vermont.  I couldn’t find out who they are or why they would be so honored.  But they donated this piece to the Fairbanks in October 1999.

On the other side of the balcony I found this collected common dobsonfly.  These are the largest aquatic insects in the world with a wing span up to 8.5”.  Dobsonflies are large, nocturnal insects that live in and around freshwater streams in North America including Vermont.  They have large prominent pincers and long antennae.  Boy am I glad they are nocturnal.  I’d hate to have one fly up to me in a kayak.  

Equally amazing was this created metal dobsonfly.  That’s the collected one in its case on the lower right for a size comparison.

This thing was amazing and huge.

Within 90 minutes my mind was a whirl and I could not take in anything else. 

I am much more impressed than I expected to be and will return multiple times to try again to see and understand just a handful of all the amazing things on display here.   The next post I do on the Fairbanks will include the Planetarium.