What started as a class project became the first published atlas of a national park, and now it is on display at a campus museum.

A new exhibition showcasing the "Atlas of Yellowstone" opens Friday, April 4, at the University of Oregon's Museum of Natural and Cultural History. The exhibition, a joint project of the museum and the geography department's InfoGraphics Lab, kicks off with a reception at the museum from 6-8 p.m. The reception is free and open to the public.

The exhibition will highlight maps and other imagery from the "Atlas of Yellowstone," a comprehensive reference published in 2012 and devoted to the world's first national park. The vision of the atlas came from a class project in the UO's Department of Geography that blossomed into a collaboration involving the UO, National Park Service, Yellowstone-area universities and federal private agencies.

"What makes the atlas unique is that it brings together such a broad range of diverse stories – from the restoration of bison herds to the dynamics of the Yellowstone volcano – and makes them accessible through visually appealing maps and graphics," said James Meacham, InfoGraphics Lab executive director and exhibit curator.

Meacham co-edited the volume with W. Andrew Marcus, UO geography professor and interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; Ann Rodman, Yellowstone's branch chief for physical resources and climate science; and UO cartographic project manager Alethea Steingisser. The editors will be at the museum for a book signing during the reception.

The exhibit includes large-scale maps, art and video, as well as the skull of the largest bison on record – Old Tex, who was shot and killed by a Yellowstone park superintendent in 1926. It also explores Yellowstone's importance, its dynamic landscapes and natural diversity, and the environmental and human interactions that continue to shape the region.

Meacham and Steingisser also will give a free gallery talk, “Telling the Yellowstone Story,” at 5:30 p.m., Friday, April 11, at the museum. The talk is open to the public.

- by Katherine Cook, intern, Office of Public Affairs Communications