Located on the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno, the Museum of Natural History holds irreplaceable specimens of plants and animals used in research, teaching, and outreach. Collections date back as far as the 1850s, and represent unique snapshots of the flora and fauna of the Great Basin and beyond. As the only museum of its kind in the state, the Museum of Natural History is a unique and important resource for understanding Nevada's natural heritage.

Real science. real community connection.

The Museum of Natural History sits at the South entrance to campus and welcomes the public to tour its eclectic collections five days a week. The museum hosts on average two K-12 class tours a week, summer camps in the summer, participates in off-campus outreach events and is packed with squealing kids holding snakes during the University’s Day at the Museum spring event. What makes the museum as a public space particularly unique is the insight into the lives and research of real working scientists who are often the tour guides or working in the background as visitor pass through.

Preserving a library of irreplaceable data

Natural history collections form the foundation of basic and applied life sciences. Long-term collections provide unique information about how organisms and ecosystems change over time and space.

The meticulously maintained collections in the Museum of Natural History provide scientists with fundamental insights into species evolution and ecology which, in turn, can provide land managers and policymakers the ability to identify the regions most in need of conservation.