Provo, UT

What would you expect to see at a Bean Museum? Kidney beans, lima beans, jumping beans, surprisingly, are nowhere to be seen at the Bean Museum in Provo. What can be found are palm-sized butterflies, a live reptile show, and the stuffed remains of fantastic animals I thought only existed in Narnia. The Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum is home to close to three million preserved animal and insect specimens. Word of warning: if you have a strong aversion to taxidermy this may not be the place for you. While I am not a fan of hanging deer heads in personal living space, being able to inspect the horn of a rhino at a distance of a nose-length gives me new respect for the taxidermy profession.

What gives the Bean Museum an edge over the zoo, is that the animals hold perfectly still. This offers the museum patron incredible access to details: scratches on the face of a lion, knobs on duck ankles, fur on tarantula skin. I spent the most of my time admiring a charcoal colored pygmy hippopotamus. Pygmy hippopotamuses are the size of a large pig and live only in the swamps of a particular region in Africa. According to legend, members of this rare species wander at night and carry a diamond in their mouth to light their way. I gave the hippo’s mouth a once over and found no trace of a diamond— leading me to wonder if the night watchman’s wife received a luminescent anniversary present this year.

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For anyone going to the Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum here is what you need to know. The museum is located at 645 East 1430 North in Provo, Utah on the campus of Brigham Young University. To get there take the University Parkway exit off of I-15, and head east for several miles. Turn right on 600 East, left on 1430 North, and left into the parking lot. You’re there. Admission to the museum is free. Parking is also free, but you must get a parking pass from the front desk of the museum and hang it from your rearview mirror. BYU parking enforcement is not shy about doling out tickets, so don’t skip this step. The hours of operation are 10 a.m. - 9 p.m. and on weekdays and 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Saturdays. Call to check for holiday hours

The Bean Museum is very family friendly. The bathrooms have changing tables. Near the restroom, is a nursery that has animal toys and a rocking chair. This room is available to the public if it has not been previously reserved. Food and drink are not permitted, but there is a grassy front lawn where you may sit and picnic. Here are two final tips. Take a few dollars to spend. The museum shop is surprisingly inexpensive. Tiny starfish can be purchased for ten cents, a bargain even Wal-Mart can’t promise. And lastly, don’t forget the camera. This is particularly important for Napoleon Dynamite fans who will be tickled to know that the Bean Museum even has a liger (half lion, half tiger) on display.