[084] ‘MTSU On the Record’ digs deep into total ‘Earth Experience’ museum

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — The co-creator of Middle Tennessee’s only museum of natural history will be the guest on the next “MTSU On the Record” radio program.

Host Gina Logue’s interview with Alan Brown, a lecturer in the Department of Geosciences, will air from 9:30 to 10 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 11, and from 6 to 6:30 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 16, on WMOT-FM Roots Radio 89.5 and www.wmot.org.

Brown and the late Lewis Frank Elrod created Earth Experience as a place where the public could view, learn about and, in some cases, touch fossils, gems, minerals and archaeological relics.

The museum, located at 816 Old Salem Road in Murfreesboro, is a place where MTSU students are welcome to augment their academic education with real-world experience, and retired faculty and staff are welcome to help them.

“At any given time, I usually have, I would say, between three and six MTSU students volunteering at the museum,” Brown said. “We’ve got three retired MTSU employees who are volunteering at the museum. I’ve had three different students intern at the museum over the summer either through the geosciences department or the Public History Program.”

The museum will host a fundraiser, Naturale Beerfest, Sunday, Oct. 21, from 2 to 6 p.m., with local craft brewers on hand to tout their wares. Food trucks, live entertainment and designated driver tickets will be available. Admission tickets are $30 in advance through www.eventbrite.com or $35 at the door. Since the museum is a nonprofit organization, all proceeds are tax-deductible.  

For more information about Earth Experience, go to www.theearthexperience.org or contact Brown at 615-898-5075 or alan.brown@mtsu.edu.

To hear previous “MTSU On the Record” programs, go to http://bit.ly/mtsu-otr.

For more information about the radio program, contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.