[1] The Grand Gallery Exhibition Hall houses a replica of a Basilosaurus cetoides, an Eocene whale that has been designated as the State Fossil.

The museum also improved its exhibits and provided identified sets of natural history objects to schools in Alabama.

After her husband's unexpected death, Daisy Smith replaced him as acting curator, making her one of the few women to direct a natural history museum in the early 20th century.

Her endeavors included seeing her late husband's malacological projects through to completion, which she accomplished by recruiting Calvin Goodrich and other malacologists.

Smith Hall consists of a three-story central block, built to house the Alabama Museum of Natural History, and adjoining two-story north and south wings.

Immediately inside the entrance is a center hall dominated by a sweeping staircase made of Alabama marble and supported by Alabama-manufactured iron.