{"id":415,"featured":0,"modified":"2026-04-17 19:32:08","latitude":40.253422000000000480213202536106109619140625,"longitude":-111.647287000000005718902684748172760009765625,"title":"Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum (MLBM)","subtitle":"","fullsize":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/f426c122c69687f3dfa9987718699b3a.jpg","address":"","all_locations":[],"zoom":15,"creator":["Allie Patterson, Brigham Young University"],"description":"The Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum was opened in 1978. It is named for naturalist and businessman Monte L. Bean, who funded the construction of the building and donated some of his own collection to the museum. Brigham Young University acquired property for the Lytle Ranch Preserve, a six-hundred-acre property in Southwestern Utah, from the Nature Conservancy in 1986. The Preserve functions as a desert laboratory for students and scientists and is considered an extension of the museum.
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\r\nBrigham Young University inherited a life science collection from the Deseret Museum at LDS College in 1927. The collection was originally housed in the Grant and Brimhall buildings, but university leaders hoped to find a more permanent home for the items. In the 1970s, BYU President Dallin H. Oaks approached Monte L. Bean to ask if he and his family would be interested in funding a museum on campus, and he and his wife agreed. The museum was designed by architect Bob Fowler and built by Layton Construction Company, opening to the public in 1978. The museum underwent extensive renovations from 2012-2014, suffering a minor fire in 2013 that did not damage the collection. The renovation added 30,000 square feet to the museum and introduced new exhibits.
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\r\nThe museum includes a collection of artworks created by Boyd K. Packer, a former apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It features over 1,000 of his nature and wildlife paintings, drawings, and woodcarvings.
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\r\nAt the building’s groundbreaking ceremony, President Oaks said, “There probably are not better collections of life science exhibits between the Mississippi River and west coast than we have at BYU.” Today, the museum’s collection of 2.8 million specimens has an estimated value of $55 million. Students, scientists, and other researchers have access to the collections, and about 60,000 school-age children visit the museum ever year. Entry is free, and the museum has a gift shop that helps fund the museum’s upkeep and mission. The museum is accredited by the American Association of Museums and is a member of the Natural Science Collections Alliance.
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\r\nThe Bean Museum’s mission is to “inspire wonder and reverence for our living planet.” President Oaks said that while the museum would be a “vital teaching laboratory for students at BYU and a vital scholarly resource for our scholars, it will also make a landmark in the western United States and indeed for tourists and individuals who are interested in learning more about the world we live in.” Some of the museum’s goals include becoming the leading university-based life science museum in the U.S., to be central to the community, and to promote understanding, appreciation, and stewardship of the earth.
","sponsor":null,"accessinfo":"","lede":"The Bean Life Science Museum is home to the university’s collection of over two million life science specimens used by researchers and students alike. It accomplishes its mission to “inspire wonder and reverence for our living planet” through educational programs and exhibits available to families and students of all ages.","website":"","related_resources":["

“About: What is the Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum?” Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum, Brigham Young University. Accessed 27 Jan. 2020. https://mlbean.byu.edu/about-us

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Daines, Gordon. “Monte L. Bean Life Sciences Museum.” 25 Sept. 2013. L. Tom Perry Special Collections Blog, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University. https://sites.lib.byu.edu/special-collections/2013/09/25/monte-l-bean-life-science-museum/

","

Lane, Rebecca. “BYU Bean Museum Reopening After 2 Years with Boyd K. Packer Gallery.” UtahValley360. 29 May 2014. https://utahvalley360.com/2014/05/29/byu-bean-museum-reopening-2-year-hiatus-boyd-k-packer-gallery/

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“Lytle Preserve History.” Bean Life Science Museum – Lytle Ranch Preserve. Accessed 27 Jan. 2020. https://lytle.byu.edu/About/History

","“M.L. Bean Museum.” Organizational History Project, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University. https://byuorg.lib.byu.edu/index.php/M.L._Bean_Museum","

Swensen, Jason. “BYU Exhibit Celebrates the Artwork of President Boyd K. Packer.” Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Church News. 2 June 2014. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church/news/byu-exhibit-celebrates-the-artwork-of-president-boyd-k-packer?lang=eng

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Swensen, Jason. “Monte L. Bean Museum Reopens at BYU.” Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Church News. 16 June 2014. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church/news/monte-l-bean-museum-reopens-at-byu?lang=eng

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Tanner, Wilmer W. History of the Life Science Museum Movement at Brigham young University 1900-2008. Provo, Utah: Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum, Brigham Young University 2008.  

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Taylor, Anne. “New director takes reins at Bean Museum.” The Daily Universe. 12 Sept. 2016. https://universe.byu.edu/2016/09/12/new-director-takes-reins-at-bean-museum1/

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Wells, David. “No exhibits damaged in fire at BYU’s Bean Museum.” Fox 13 Salt Lake City. 11 Mar. 2013. https://fox13now.com/2013/03/11/no-exhibits-damaged-in-fire-at-byus-bean-museum/

"],"factoids":[],"files":{"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/f426c122c69687f3dfa9987718699b3a.jpg":{"id":1718,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Old Entrance of the Bean Life Science Museum","description":"

“Brigham Young University photographs of the Monte L. Bean Museum.” Brigham Young University Harold B. Lee Library Digital Collections, L. Tom Perry Special Collections. UA 827 box 1 folder 18. https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/SCMisc/id/19454

","thumbnail":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/square_thumbnails/f426c122c69687f3dfa9987718699b3a.jpg"},"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/dd292a173f0e00677648e5407a647de5.jpg":{"id":1722,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Current Entrance to the bean Life Science Museum","description":"

 “Main entrance of the Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum.” Wikimedia Commons. 11 May 2018. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_main_entrance_of_the_Monte_L._Bean_Life_Science_Museum.tif

","thumbnail":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/square_thumbnails/dd292a173f0e00677648e5407a647de5.jpg"},"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/5fe947fd9dde5f0d36991cfe04f3fe38.jpg":{"id":1717,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Monte L. Bean","description":"

Dougherty, Phil. “Bean, Monte Lafayette (1899-1982).” HistoryLink.org. https://www.historylink.org/File/10921

","thumbnail":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/square_thumbnails/5fe947fd9dde5f0d36991cfe04f3fe38.jpg"},"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/68220810ad8cc1af4d1581801eb280a1.jpg":{"id":1719,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Dr. Wilmer M. Tanner examines a tiger trophy received by the Life Science Museum","description":""Dr. Wilmer W. Tanner, zoology professor and curator of the BYU Life Sciences Museum, examines a beautiful tiger trophy received by the museum in 1973. The specimen is part of one of the finest collections of mounted animals in the United States. The collection contains eight valuable items from Africa, Asia, and North America. Monte Bean, a Seattle businessman, donated these to the museum. Other important collections given to the Life Sciences Museum in 1973 included thirty-one head mounts and prepared skins given by Mr. and Mrs. Max A. Bench of Chatsworth, California, and eighteen specimens given by Mrs. Cleo Lillywhite of Covina, California." |

“[Dr. Wilmer M. Tanner examines a tiger trophy received by the Life Science Museum, 1973].” Brigham Young University Harold B. Lee Library Digital Collections. UAP 2 Folder 331. https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/BYUPhotos/id/950

","thumbnail":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/square_thumbnails/68220810ad8cc1af4d1581801eb280a1.jpg"},"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/10fbbe99ba352a70c674fdb9063ccd25.jpg":{"id":1721,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Original Plans for the Bean Museum","description":"“Brigham Young University photographs of the Monte L. Bean Museum.” Brigham Young University Harold B. Lee Library Digital Collections, L. Tom Perry Special Collections. UA 827 box 1 folder 18. https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/SCMisc/id/19453","thumbnail":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/square_thumbnails/10fbbe99ba352a70c674fdb9063ccd25.jpg"}}}