ALBANY, NY.- The New York State Museum celebrates 175 years of adding to the scientific and historical knowledge of New York State with a new exhibition which showcases the Museum’s invaluable collections, highlights the people who built them and the research that has resulted. On display in Exhibition Hall until April 30, 2012, “From the Collections” features many of the Museum’s important collections in anthropology, history and natural science. It illuminates the history of the oldest and largest state museum in the nation. Included are highlights of the more than 15 million scientific and historic artifacts and specimens that make up the Museum’s collections, including perennial favorites, priceless treasures and new acquisitions. The Museum and its collections officially began on April 15, 1836 when Governor William Marcy appointed the staff of the state’s first official Geological and Natural History Survey to conduct “a grand and comprehensive collection of the natural productions of the State of New York to exhibit under one roof its animal, mineral and vegetable wealth.”