Museum of Idaho: Celebrating 10 years of exhibits

For the past decade, the Museum of Idaho has been bringing internationally and nationally-acclaimed exhibits to southeast Idaho.

This year, the museum reached a milestone. One million visitors have passed through the doors, from a T-Rex named Sue to King Tut.

“We’ll have 120,000 to 130,000 people in the museum this year,” said David Pennock, executive director of the museum. “In a city of 55,000 people or however many we have, that’s an extraordinary accomplishment.”

While the total number of visitors is a high one, it’s completely average. The exhibit “Teeth, Tails & Trouble” attracted more than 55,000 visitors and “King Tut: Treasures of the Tomb” had more than 60,000 visitors.

“The exhibits were extraordinary. The response from the community was wonderful,” said Pennock. “Our educational programs were as great as ever.”

For Braydon Spaulding, the Museum of Idaho is a staple for him and his cousins. Together they’ve visited every exhibit this year and they each have their own favorites.

“My favorite exhibit was the King Tut exhibit because it seems like there was a lot of stuff that went into the preparation of it, so I thought it was cool,” said Spaulding.

And it’s that sort of reaction that keeps the museum going. Officials said 2013 will be an even better year for the museum.

“We’ve got a lot of big favors to ask of the community and the result is going to be a Museum of Idaho that sustains for decades to come,” said Pennock.

The museum’s “Old Fashioned Christmas” exhibit will be on display until January 7.

Admission is free.