“Sculpted by Time: Our Mountains, Faults, Lakes and Caves” opens Aug. 26 in the San Bernardino County Museum’s Hall of Earth Sciences. The new series of exhibits highlights the dynamic geological and paleontological history in San Bernardino County and inland Southern California. Rock and fossil specimens on display help tell the story of the evolution of our region’s landscape, animals, and changing climates.
“The displays in ‘Sculpted by Time’ encourage visitors to explore our region’s geologic past,” said Ian Gilbert, the museum’s curator of earth sciences. “This is truly an interactive learning experience. All senses will be engaged: there are things to see, things to hear, things to touch, even things to smell!
The displays are full of exciting discoveries – finds that excited us when they were first unearthed will continue to excite visitors as they rediscover them in the museum.”
County Board of Supervisors Chair Robert Lovingood said, “This new exhibit, in development for several years, is an example of the exciting work being done at the museum to educate our citizens about the county’s extraordinary history.”
Visitors learn that the Mojave wasn’t a desert until the San Andreas Fault recently uplifted the San Bernardino and San Gabriel mountains. Our now arid region was once a lush landscape filled with rivers, streams, and lakes that nourished a rich diversity of plants and animals, many of which are now extinct. Fossils unearthed in the Cajon Pass of an ancient dolphin and a huge marine reptile, called an elasmosaur, demonstrate that our now mountainous region was covered by ocean waters for millions of years. A giant Ice Age ground sloth, whose fossils were found in a cave in the Mojave Desert, stands guard over the exhibit floor.
The San Bernardino County Museum’s exhibits of regional cultural and natural history, and the Museum’s other exciting events and programs, reflect the effort by the Board of Supervisors to achieve the Countywide Vision by celebrating arts, culture, and education in the county, creating quality of life for residents and visitors. “Sculpted by Time” was funded by the County of San Bernardino with support from the estate of Billie Vaughn.
The San Bernardino County Museum is at 2024 Orange Tree Lane, at the California Street exit from Interstate 10 in Redlands. The museum is open Tuesdays through Sundays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. General admission is $10 (adult), $8 (military or senior), $7 (student), and $5 (child aged 5 to 12). Children under five and Museum Association members are admitted free. Parking is free. For more information, visit www.sbcounty.gov/museum. The museum is accessible to persons with disabilities.