Positioned literally and figuratively at the threshold of nature and culture, the new Natural History Museum of Utah creates an inspirational visitor experience and sponsors curiosity and inquiry. The building provides much-needed space for the Museum’s extraordinary collection of artifacts, housing advanced research facilities in support of both undergraduate and graduate education at the University of Utah. Conceived as an abstract extension and transformation of the land, the Museum rests on a series of terraces that lay along the contours of the site with minimal disruption to the adjacent natural landscape. Constituting the skin of the building, copper and copper-zinc alloy panels recall Utah’s geological and mineralogical history. The heart of the Museum and its organizing feature is a voluminous, 60-foot-high central public space: the Canyon. Spaces in the north wing support formal scientific exploration and an objective understanding of our world; the south wing houses exhibits that explore the delicate balance of life on earth and its natural history.