Director of Facilities Jim Brassord explained that the project conception was considered over a four-year period. The actual construction of the building, however, was completed in approximately 16 months. "Construction went very smoothly, emphasizing a lot of pre-planning and working collaboratively together around any difficulties," said Brassord. "There were no contingencies to speak of, and we finished [construction] on schedule and under budget."
Professor of Geology John Cheney elaborated on the differences between the old and new designs of the building. "The differences are absolutely extraordinary," he said. "We've changed the way geology is taught to students in the way that we've configured this building. We are putting modern scientific instruments in the hands of students."
Cheney explained that one benefit of the new design centers around increased student-teacher interaction. "My research, teaching lab, the students' lab and lecture are all intertwined through the design of the building," he said. The new research laboratories, with adjoining student project rooms, connect geology students and faculty in the same research space.
A goal considered during the construction process involved providing students with opportunities to use scientific equipment firsthand. "We are breaking down those traditional barriers between teachers and students with this new design," explained Brassord. Minerals that used to exist in the old gallery are now present on the same floor that paleontology is taught, emphasizing a hands-on experience for geology students.
Other goals considered before construction included integrating the Natural History Museum into the future of the College community and also incorporating the museum into the teaching of the geology department. Many colleges in the Northeast have either sold or given away their natural history collections, making Amherst's display unique.
The new museum, which measures approximately 10,000 square feet, will provide easier access to the College's natural history resources. However, the new $10 million natural history museum is smaller than the old Pratt Museum. As a result, professors had to decide which fossils and specimens to display in the new collection.
The College's assemblage of Ice Age mammal skeletons will be showcased in the new building. The skeletons include a dire wolf, a saber-toothed cat, a mastodon and a mammoth. The new museum also contains a display on human evolution.
The College's Hitchcock Ichnology Collection is also showcased in the new geology building. The collection is named after a past professor and president of the College, Edward Hitchcock, who began amassing slabs of fossilized footprints in 1835. The collection of tracks is comprised of over 1,000 individual slabs. The dinosaur tracks are the most famous specimens, but smaller reptile and amphibian traces and invertebrate trails are also represented in the museum.
Hitchcock's most famous specimen is situated in the museum's entrance hall. The "Noah's Raven" slab contains the first dinosaur footprints ever documented in North America. The trackway was found in 1802 in South Hadley, approximately 40 years before dinosaurs were identified as a fossil group.
Hilary Palevsky '07, a geology student, said of her first impressions of the new building, "I'm really looking forward to taking classes in the building this semester. My geology classes have all been great in the past, but I think the new building will allow labs to run smoother."
Professor of Geology and Director of the College's Natural History Museum Peter Crowley discussed how the new geology building will provide students with a superior studying environment. "Amherst College students now have the gallery open in the evening as a study space," he said. The natural history museum will serve as a focal point of the college and will also serve to attract visitors from surrounding communities.