Welcome to the Joseph Moore Museum!

The Joseph Moore Museum offers opportunities for all ages to engage with science and explore the natural world. Our museum guides are happy to provide tours, or you can explore on your own.

Earlham College students, guided by a small faculty and staff, welcome visitors, conduct research, design and lead programs and exhibitions, care for our collections and live animals, and market our programs. The museum also serves as a “learning lab” for students in the college’s museum studies program.

From a quirky collection in the 1870s to a thriving educational museum today, the rich history of the Joseph Moore Museum involves fires, rescuing giant beavers, a mad elephant and much Moore. Visit and explore with us today!

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FEATURED EXHIBIT

Reptiles

Our live reptiles are perennial favorites. Meet Oreo, Julius Squeezer and their many friends. Our hosts will be happy to take out a snake or lizard for you to meet up close. (Note the reptile exhibit is under construction, but our friends are still anxious to meet you!

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FEATURED EXHIBIT

Ta’an

Richmond is home to the only two Egyptian mummies in Indiana. Ta’an was purchased for the Earlham College collection in 1889 by President Mills. A grant from IN Humanities helped us design a more sensitive exhibit space for Ta’an.

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Ralph Teetor Planetarium

The Ralph Teetor Planetarium at the Joseph Moore Museum is open for public shows each day the museum is open. Groups and tours can request private planetarium showings in advance. All Planetarium shows are free.

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FEATURED EXHIBIT

Indiana Raptors

Indiana is home to many raptors–you probably see them all the time in your yard or in nearby parks. Learn about these masterful hunters and the adaptations that make them so well suited to forests, grasslands and waterways.

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FEATURED EXHIBIT

Pleistocene Giants

The updated Pleistocene Giants exhibit explores what our region looked like from about 2.5 million years ago until 11,000 years ago. Many of our favorite specimens are here, including the Randolph Mastodon, a giant sloth, smilodon and the giant beaver.

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Our donors

Our generous donors and partners make our outreach, collections, and training work possible.

Indiana Humanities logo

Borman Family Foundation

Visiting the JMM

Regular admission to the JMM is free. Planetarium shows are given upon request; just ask the museum host. For more information about visiting the JMM, please visit our Planning your visit page.

Museum hours
Sunday10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
MondayClosed
Tuesday10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Wednesday10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Thursday10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Friday10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Saturday10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Museum membership

Your membership gift helps us keep the JMM a free community museum. Learn more about what it means to be a JMM member.

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