Arkansas Museum of Natural History and Antiquities

The Arkansas Museum of Natural History and Antiquities is the original name of the Museum of Discovery in Little Rock, Arkansas. The museum was founded on Main Street in 1927 by Julia Burnell (Bernie) Smade Babcock. The original artifacts were donated by missionaries. One of the most popular artifacts on display was the so-called "Head of a Chicago Criminal."

The City of Little Rock acquired the natural history museum at Christmastime in 1929. The City moved the museum to the Tower Building of the Little Rock Arsenal in 1942. In 1964 the museum became the Museum of Science and Natural History. The name changed again in 1983 to the Arkansas Museum of Science and History. In 1998 the museum officially became the Museum of Discovery: Arkansas' Museum of Science and History and reopened in its current location in the River Market District. The new museum cost $10.6 million.