These exhibits were created by College of Idaho students in a First-Year Seminar course “Thinking About Things" during the 2018 Fall Semester.

Each student worked closely with a specimen from the Orma J. Smith Museum of Natural History, researching deeply the various ways in which the specimen has meaning—to humans through time and in various cultures, to commerce or economics, to religious or spiritual thought, to architecture or household use, to ecology or chemistry, to industry or aesthetics. Their research was interdisciplinary, thorough, and creative—and you can view a snapshot of it here.

We pursued the pleasure of uncovering the multiple meanings of things, the rich stories behind objects.

To see more, visit the Orma J. Smith Museum in the Boone Hall basement, or click on the individual projects below.

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--Rochelle Johnson, Professor of English & Environmental Studies

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This project is made possible in part by a Mellon Foundation grant to support digital liberal arts education at The College of Idaho.

Explore the 2018 Student Projects!