MoaBlog

Another museum located inside Ogden's old Union Station is devoted to antique automobiles, including an old Stanley Steamer steam-powered car, several other vehicles from the early 1900s, along with a collection of old license plates.

While in Ogden last weekend, Jeff visited the John M. Browning Arms Museum, which has many old rifles and handguns on display. The Utah-born Browning (1855-1926), seen using a machine gun in the painting shown in the top photo, was a pioneer gunsmith who had well over 100 firearm patents during his highly successful career. The bottom photo shows a replica of his gunsmith shop, with some of the original equipment and furnishings.

The 45th commemorative state quarters (featuring Utah) were recently minted, and Kevin handed some out to relatives at a recent family gathering. The 25-cent coin features the completion of the first transcontinental railroad line, which happened at Promontory Point, Utah in 1869. There are only five more state quarters left in the popular series, which started in 1999 with Delaware and will conclude in 2008 with Hawaii. Click on bottom photo to see an enlarged version.

The Museum of Ancient Life in Lehi has several "hands-on" exhibits, including (from top) an erosion table where kids can submerge toy dinosaurs and trees in wet sand and water; a mock fossil dig where children can brush away the sand from buried dinosaur "skeletons"; and a "create your own dinosaur" exhibit where people can put together various body parts made out of foam and cloth to create colorful creatures.

On Monday afternoon, Jeff and his 5-year-old daughter London visited the Museum of Ancient Life in Lehi. They saw a wide variety of dinosaur fossils, including those pictured here (from top): dimetrodon, brachiosaurus, a primitive Chinese bird fossil, and triceratops. Check back tomorrow for more museum photos!

The final three proposed designs for Utah's state quarter were unveiled today. The first design shows the completion of the transcontinental railroad at Promontory, Utah in 1869, which linked the Western and Eastern coasts by rail for the first time. The second design shows a beehive and a sego lily, both symbols of the state. The final design shows a female snowboarder against a mountainous background and the slogan "The World Is Welcome," recalling Salt Lake's hosting of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. After a period of public input, Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. will make the final decision on which design will appear on the backs of millions of U.S. quarters minted in 2007.

Delicate Arch near Moab may be a popular symbol of Utah (it is featured on automobile license plates and many other places), but it apparently did not make the final three choices for consideration in the U.S. Mint's popular "50 State Quarters" series. Utah, the 45th state to join the Union in 1896, will see its state 25-cent piece minted in 2007. Check back tomorrow to see the final three designs after they are unveiled by the governor's wife.

Many people like to collect PEZ dispensers. The name PEZ comes from the German word for "peppermint," the original flavor of the candies, which are shaped like a small brick and fit neatly into the dispensers. PEZ candy was first created in 1927 in Austria, but the PEZ dispenser wasn't invented until two decades later. After being introduced to the United States in 1952, PEZ candies were made in fruit flavors like strawberry, orange, lemon, and grape. Various dispenser heads featuring popular TV and cartoon characters made the candy an instant hit. PEZ is now available in more than 60 countries worldwide.

Mary has a collection of lawn ornaments in her backyard. Pictured at top are two friendly looking frogs. The bottom photo shows one of three plastic flamingos. Mary's other yard decorations include a cast-iron squirrel and a small turtle.

Members of our staff have been checking their pocket change lately for quarters that have a rare minting error. Of the more than 453 million Wisconsin state quarters that were minted in late 2004, a few thousand have turned up with the cornstalk showing what appears to be an extra leaf. Most of the variant coins have been found in Tucson, Arizona, where some collectors have been paying hundreds of dollars apiece for them. (The coin pictured above does not feature the mistake.) The Wisconsin quarter is the 30th commemorative 25-cent piece issued by the United States Mint. The popular series started in 1999 with Delaware (the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution in 1787). Since then, five new quarters have been issued every year, in the order of each state’s admission. Utah’s quarter, which has not yet been designed, will be issued in 2007.