The CU Museum is closed until January 8, 2026.

During this time, collection visits will be available by appointment and other special access requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis. 
Please email cumuseum@colorado.edu for more information. 

Museum News

How tiny algae shaped the evolution of giant clams
Curator of Invertebrates Jingchun Li featured in CU Boulder Today.

New fossil research shows multiple, viable pathways for the evolution of division of labor
A new fossil study from paleobiologists at the CU Museum offers insight on how some colony-forming animals, divided labor millions of years ago.

Giant clam declared critically endangered after CU Boulder assessment
Postdoctoral researcher Ruiqi Li featured in CU Boulder Today.

Paleontologists discover Colorado ‘swamp dweller’ that lived alongside dinosaurs
Paleontology Curator Jaelyn Eberle featured in CU Boulder Today.

Curator of Vertebrates Christy McCain honored with Distinguished Research Lectureship
McCain studies how montane organisms are distributed on mountains around the world, and how those populations and species are influenced by human land use and climate change.

Domesticating horses had a huge impact on human society − new science rewrites where and when it first happened
William Taylor featured in The Conversation.

Invertebrate Paleontology Curator Carl Simpson wins $1 million in funding
Simpson and his colleague Lizzy Trower receive W.M. Keck Foundation grant to try to solve an evolutionary puzzle and to extend Earth’s temperature record by 2 billion years!

Large survey of hummingbird feet finds that large feet are in step with short beaks and more
Robert Colwell (museum curator adjoint of entomology and zoology) and co-researchers collect and evaluate a large amount of data on hummingbirds’ physical features for a research paper published in The American Naturalist. 

Horsepower: Professor unveils a new history of horses
William Taylor examines how horses shaped human history in his new book. For more information and to pre-order a copy, visit: Hoof Beats: How Horses Shaped Human History (University of California Press, Summer 2024).

William Taylor, Assistant Professor and Curator of Archaeology, was honored with the Newcomb Cleveland Prize from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) at their February conference!
This award was granted to Will and a team of over 80 people, who worked collaboratively on the history of horses through Indigenous societies in North America. This award was based on Will and his team’s cover story in Science during March 2023, titled “Early dispersal of domestic horses into the Great Plains and northern Rockies.”

Adrian Carper, Research Associate, discusses the CO Native Pollinating Insects Health Study featured on CPR Colorado Matters
Climate change is making it tough on bees, butterflies, and other pollinators; now the state may try to protect them.

Triceratops returns to campus, bigger and better than ever!
CU Museum unveils full-scale cast and exhibit in the lobby of the Sustainable, Energy and Environment Community (SEEC) building on East Campus. 

Oh, poop! What looks like a rock is filled with clues
Dinosaur dung scientist and Bromery Award winner Karen Chin authors new children’s book.

Dr. Karen Chin wins Geological Society of America Bromery Award
Paleontology Curator Karen Chin awarded GSA Bromery Award for making significant contributions to geological sciences, specifically multidisciplinary paleobiology, as well as opening the geosciences to underrepresented communities through her extensive outreach.

NSF funds project to advance open and equitable research in the geosciences
Led by CU Museum's Talia Karim and Carl Simpson, this newly-funded project will improve discovery and use of millions of fossil specimen records for paleontology research at CU and other universities.

Apple revival: how science is bringing historic varieties back to life
Amy Dunbar-Wallis, plant ecologist at CU and curator behind the Boulder Apple Tree Project exhibit at the CU Museum, is finding variants of fruit that reflect the cultural and ecological history of their place in the world. Read more in Nature.

Dr. Jaelyn Eberle and research team discover tiny fossil mammal in northern Alaska
The tiny ‘ice mouse’ thrived in what may have been among the coldest conditions on Earth about 73 million years ago. Read more at CU Boulder Today.

Some hummingbirds are flower robbers. Here’s how to spot them.
CU Museum’s Robert K. Colwell (with 5 coauthors) featured in the News from Science: Weekly Headlines.

Permanent director named to lead the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History
Following a nationwide search, the Research & Innovation Office has announced the appointment of Dr. Nancy J. Stevens as Director of the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History, effective Sept. 1, 2023.

Museum class inspires students to preserve and celebrate LGBTQ+ activism in new collection and library exhibition
The history of CU Boulder student activism for LGBTQ+ rights is now available at the University Libraries thanks to Emily Howard, a Libraries and Museum intern who processed and organized the Boulder Gay Liberation collection when they were an undergraduate history student.

 

CO Dept of Natural Resources DNR, Launch study on Native Pollinating Insects
CU Museum of Natural History is collaborating to protect Colorado’s pollinators!

Chili peppers more deeply rooted in Colorado than previously thought
How forgotten Colorado fossils may rewrite part of plant evolutionary history.

Archaeology and genomics together with Indigenous knowledge revise the human-horse story in the American West 
Dr. William T. Taylor featured in The Conversation.

Early dispersal of domestic horses into the Great Plains and northern Rockies
Dr. William T. Taylor along with CU Graduate students Chance Ward, Carlton Grover and others have a new study, published in the journal Science.

How horses changed history - William T. Taylor
Explore how the domestication of horses influenced the fate of entire civilizations and dramatically altered human history with this Ted-Ed video featuring the research of William T. Taylor.

Colorado Experience: Native Horses
This PBS documentary features CU students Carlton Gover (Anthropology PhD student) and Chance Ward (MFS) profiling CU Museum’s NSF research on the introduction of horses into the Great Plains, and the ways that archaeology and Indigenous perspectives are coming together to reshape that story.

Teachers build skills at Flagstaff Academy’s first ScienceFest
Science programming coordinator Gianna Sullivan featured in Times Call.

“Avant-garbage” fashion on display at the CU Museum of Natural History
Trash the Runway recycled couture, on exhibit in the BioLounge, featured in the CU Independent. 

After 30-plus years working at museums, Patrick Kociolek still pinching himself
Dr. J. Patrick Kociolek reflects on his career and tenure as Director of the CU Museum of Natural History in CU Boulder Today.

CU researchers spill their guts about the value of museum collections and the many microbes found in mollusk stomachs!
CU Museum researchers Bridget Chalifour, Leanne Elder, and Jingchun Li, use modern DNA-screening tools to identify the microbes that once lived in the guts of animals that have been dead for a century. Featured in CU Boulder Today.

Dr. Jaelyn Eberle to Serve as Interim Director of CU Museum of Natural History
CU Boulder has named Dr. Jaelyn Eberle interim director to succeed Dr. J. Patrick Kociolek who has directed the museum for 14 years.

Researchers use medical technology to offer 3D online images of world’s creatures
Graduate collection assistant Cameron Pittman explains benefits of online collections on Denver 7 News.

CU museum program encourages student workers to be purposeful changemakers
CU Museum CHANGE Collective featured in CU Boulder Today.

As Earth Warms, Old Mayhem and Secrets Emerge From the Ice
Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Curator of Archaeology Will Taylor featured in The New York Times.

Melting Mongolian ice reveals fragile artifacts that provide clues about how past people lived
Dr. William Taylor reports about artifacts found in melting Mongolian ice and what clues they provide about how past people lived in The Convsersation.

Ancient humans turned elephant remains into a surprising array of bone tools
Archaeology curator Paola Villa' recent research featured in CU Boulder Today.

Paleontologists discover 3 new species of primitive ungulates
Fossil Vertebrates curator Jaelyn Eberle featured in CU Boulder Today.

Museum Curator Jennifer Shannon garners fellowship to ‘deploy the humanities for the public good’
Anthropology curator Dr. Jen Shannon receives Whiting Public Engagement Program fellowship.

Icy waters of 'Snowball Earth' may have spurred early organisms to grow bigger
Curator of Invertebrate Paleontology Dr. Carl Simpson featured in CU Boulder Today.

Evidence for early dispersal of domestic sheep into Central Asia
Archaeology curator Dr. Will Taylor’s latest research in Nature.com.

Dr. Karen Chin shares the legacy of her father, a Tuskegee Airman
Curator of Paleontology Dr. Karen Chin featured in CU Boulder Today.

Trash reconsidered: A relational approach to deposition in the Pueblo Southwest:
Archaeology curator Dr. Samantha Fladd examines the social implications of depositional practices in Journal of Anthropological Archaeology

Climate change proves an uphill battle for many small Colorado mammals
New study spanning nearly 13 years, Dr. Christy McCain, Curator of Vertebrates and colleagues discovered how climate change is affecting small mammals throughout Colorado Mountains.

Horse remains reveal new insights into how Native peoples raised horses
CU’s Museum’s curator of archaeology Dr. Will Taylor and PhD student Carlton Shield Chief Gover, tribal citizen of the Pawnee Nation, explore the history hidden inside a horse skeleton through an indigenous lens.

CU Entomology's bee research featured in a pollinator quarterly "2 Million Blossoms"
Bees Under Water by Andy Carstens (page 39).

NSF grant allows Museum’s Herp collection to be seen in a new light—literally!
Vertebrate section awarded grant to collect CT scans of specimens.

A Record of Horseback Riding, Written in Bone and Teeth
Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Curator of Archaeology Will Taylor featured in The New York Times.

Secrets of the ice: unlocking a melting time capsule
Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Curator of Archaeology Will Taylor featured in The Guardian.

Pandemics and the Post: Mongolia’s Pony Express
Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Curator of Archaeology Will Taylor featured in The Diplomat.

Of Millers And Monarchs (And Milkweed)
Entomology Curator Deane Bowers featured on KUNC's Fresh Air.

Fossil tracks left by an ancient crocodile that 'ran like an ostrich'
Emeritus Professor Martin Lockley featured in BBC News.

Even though the CU Museum of Natural History is closed, you can still see one of its most popular exhibits
3D Triceratops scan featured on 9News.

Family gives thanks as Boulder man flourishes past 100 years
Remembering Dr. William A. Weber, founder of the CU Herbarium.

3D scan sheds new light on Boulder’s own Triceratops
New Archaeozoology Lab featured in CU Boulder Today.

Beach-combing Neanderthals dived for shells
Adjoint Curator Paola Villa featured in CU Boulder Today.

Neanderthals Could Swim. They Even Dived.
Adjoint Curator Paola Villa featured in The New York Times.

Mongolian reindeer herders on list of climate change victims, CU Boulder researcher reports
Assistant Professor and Curator of Archaeology Will Taylor featured in the Daily Camera.

Hawaii’s mysterious mints, discovered then ignored, get a fresh look
MFS Student Justin Williams featured in Colorado Arts and Sciences Magazine.

How Dan the Zebra Stopped an Ill-Fated Government Breeding Program in Its Tracks
Article by Assistant Professor and Curator of Archaeology Will Taylor published on Smithsonian.com.

Vanishing ice puts Mongolia's reindeer herders at risk
Assistant Professor and Curator of Archaeology Will Taylor featured on CNN.

Evolutionary biologist nabs fellowship to study collaborative ocean organisms
Assistant Professor of EBIO and Curator of Invertebrates Jinghun Li featured in CU Boulder Today.

Jingchun Li chosen as Packard Fellow
Assistant Professor of EBIO and Curator of Invertebrates awarded prestigious Packard fellowship.

Neanderthals used resin 'glue' to craft their stone tools
Adjoint Curator Paola Villa featured in CU Boulder Today.

Mantis shrimp vs. disco clams: Colorful sea creatures do more than dazzle
Invertebrate research featured in CU Boulder Today.

CU herbarium plants the seed for climate change research
CU Museum Herbarium featured in CU Boulder Today.

Food may have been scarce in Chaco Canyon
Adjoint Curator Larry Benson discusses his research in CU Boulder Today.

CU Museum receives reaccreditation from AAM
The highest national recognition for museums.

A modern look at Chaco Canyon's ancient past
Anthropology Curator Steve Lekson discusses his work at Chaco Canyon in CU Boulder Today.

Students in Focus: 'The Yuccans' bring nature education to Mesa Verde
CU Students teach park visitors about local ecology.

Faculty in Focus: At 99, botanist's love of lichens still going strong
CU professor emeritus William Weber featured in CU Boulder Today.

How female scientists can confront gender bias in the workplace
Vertebrate palaeontologist Jaelyn Eberle featured in Nature.

When it comes to genes, lichens embrace sharing economy
Botany Curator Erin Tripp discusses obligate symbiosis in lichens in CU Boulder Today.

How Captives Changed the World
Anthropology Professor and Adjunct Curator Cathy Cameron featured in Scientific American.

It's Wet Down Here: The perils of underwater research
CU postdoc Lindsey Dougherty featured in Scientific American.

Shellfish Surprise: Common 'Herbivore' Dinosaur Found To Snack On Crustaceans
Paleontology Curator Karen Chin featured on NPR.

Cannabis: A Visual Perspective
Biolounge exhibit featured in the Washington Post.

CU Collection Hive of Information on World of Bees
Entomology Collection Manager Virginia Scott featured in the Daily Camera and Denver Post.

Lichens Really Do Have 'Charm'!
CU biologist Erin Tripp discusses the hidden charm of lichens on Colorado Public Radio.

Pushing Boundaries: Plant hunters are the pioneers of Colorado botany
CU botanists Dina Clark and Tim Hogan in CU Boulder Today.