UCO Special Collections on Display

Natural History Museum Collection

The UCO Natural History Museum (UCONHM) features the third largest vertebrate collection in the state, the largest mycological and lichen collection in the state, and the largest fluid-preserved Caribbean collection in the state. It holds several one-of-a-kind specimens including the only recorded bonneted bat in the state. UCONHM has been accredited by the American Society of Mammologists and the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists. It is also an important part of the Oklahoma Native Plant Society and the Oklahoma Vascular Plants database. Both the fungi (MycoPortal) and mammal collections (consortium of small vertebrate collections) are part of Symbiota, a consortium of universities and museums working to improve collection digitization, data sharing, and collaborative efforts.

The UCONHM is dedicated to academic and community education. Studying specimens is crucial to understanding how to conserve existing animal populations, natural habitats, and ecosystems as a whole. Publications involving the collections have drawn visiting scholars and data requests from universities and researchers across the country. In 2008, an internship program for students was established. To date, more than 50 different undergraduate and graduate students have worked in the UCONHM. Museum outreach and education is an important part of the UCONHM, as well as collaboration with other state and federal agencies and universities. Primary/secondary school groups have visited the campus to view the collections, and numerous presentations have been given at libraries and schools across Oklahoma. Specimens from the UCONHM are on display at the Oklahoma Science Museum and have been utilized in other exhibitions at the museum. Two collections have been involved in international digitization projects as well as collaborative projects with many other universities and museum collection groups.