Zoo closes Delbridge Museum

Aug. 17, 2023

After 40 years, the Delbridge Museum of Natural History has closed to the public.

The museum, most recently housed at the Great Plains Zoo, has been home to one of the Midwest’s most comprehensive collections of taxidermy, procured and displayed over many decades in the mid-1900s by Sioux Falls businessman Henry Brockhouse.

The collection includes over 150 mounts from six continents that were hunted by Brockhouse and displayed at West Sioux Hardware until his death in 1978. Many of the species are now critically endangered and protected under the Endangered Species Act, Marine Mammal Act, Lacey Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

The collection was purchased on public auction from the Brockhouse estate by Sioux Falls attorney C.J. Delbridge in 1981. It was donated to the city of Sioux Falls for the benefit of the community and has been displayed at the zoo as the Delbridge Museum of Natural History since 1984.

“This collection has been a treasured community asset and has provided an educational experience, promoting wildlife understanding to many generations of Sioux Falls residents and visitors alike,” the zoo said in a news release. “More than that, it has provided memories and enriched the quality of life for countless community members.”

As a merged organization, the Great Plains Zoo and the Butterfly House & Aquarium are participating in master planning, which considers the best use for every area on the zoo’s 40-acre campus. Part of that discussion included the Delbridge collection, the zoo said.

The specimens were harvested in the 1940s through the 1970s. Before the 1980s, it was common to use strong chemicals in the taxidermy process all over the world for preservation of the hides. “Railing barriers and ‘do not touch’ signs have been in place since the museum’s inception to prevent physical contact with the mounts because of this, for both the safety of our visitors and to protect the specimens from more rapid degradation. As the specimens continue to age, there is more potential for chemical exposure, and we are proactively protecting our visitors and staff.”

Leaders from the city of Sioux Falls and Great Plains Zoo have agreed to decommission the collection, the zoo said.

“This difficult decision was reached after extensive discussion, research, testing and consultations about best practices to manage aged taxidermy with experts at other reputable museums. As a city asset, the Sioux Falls City Council must approve the surplus and disposition of the Delbridge collection, which is expected sometime in the coming weeks. The city and GPZ will work closely with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to safely disposition the mounts in the collection. This is a process that will likely take several months to complete.”

As part of the master planning process, the zoo said it plans “to share the vision for the next chapter in the near future – including a state-of-the-art aquarium experience.”