Over 500,000 specimens
From snails to whales, algae to mahogany, our collections preserve an astonishing range of species illustrating the breadth and complexity of our Earth's biodiversity.
New Exhibits
Rib bone of Staccato, North Atlantic Right Whale (Eubalaena glacialis), UMass Natural History Collections. Photograph by Stephen Petegorsky
The University Museum of Contemporary Art, in collaboration with the UMass Natural History Collections hosted artist Courtney M. Leonard, a citizen of the Shinnecock Nation of Long Island, for a multi-year artist residency, resulting in BREACH:LOGBOOK 24 I Staccato, an exhibit that explores marine biology, Indigenous food sovereignty, migration, and human environmental impact through visual logbooks that investigate the multiple definitions of the term "breach.” The exhibit includes paintings, sculptures, and video based on the life and kinship ties of Staccato, a North Atlantic Right Whale killed by a ship strike in 1999, whose remains are housed in the UMass collections.
Watch for events announcing the reopening of the exhibit on September 19 on the University Museum of Contemporary Art website.
Sperm Whale Exhibit
In conjunction with the opening of the Contemporary Art Museum exhibit, we opened our latest pop-up exhibit showcasing our newest specimen, a juvenile sperm whale salvaged from Duxbury beach, south of Boston. Also on display were specimens dating back to the founding of our collections in 1866 and more recent additions illustrating how specimens are used to investigage a wide range of topics including emerging diseases, environmental change, conservation, and genetics.
Coming soon - our new exhibit space in Morrill will open September 2024!
