Dyche's magnificent 'Panorama of North American Mammals' attracted thousands of daily visitors to the Kansas Pavilion at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. (Photo Courtesy KU Natural History Museum)
The 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago launched lots of famous American icons, including Quaker Oats, Juicy Fruit gum, and Pabst Blue Ribbon beer. Forty-six countries had pavilions at the exposition, showcasing exports and culture...and U.S. territories and states staged elaborate presentations, as well. The Kansas contribution was a large installation designed to share the natural beauty of the Americas with the rest of the world. That display still exists, more than a hundred years later, and is housed at the University of Kansas Natural History Museum in Lawrence. KPR's Laura Lorson talked with Dr. Leonard Krishtalka, Director of the KU Biodiversity Institute, about why it's a piece of American history worth saving.
Dr. Leonard Krishtalka is a professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Kansas, and the director of the KU Biodiversity Institute. A fundraiser for restoration of the panorama will be held on Saturday evening, October 12th at the KU Natural History Museum. For more information, visit naturalhistory.ku.edu. Tickets to the event are available at kualumni.org.
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