University of Colorado Museum of Natural History

12/22/2025

🫎In case you Moosed it!

CU Museum’s Will Taylor has been recently researching and reporting about moose! Be sure to catch up on the latest through the following media!

CU Museum helped host an important discussion on how to trace the presence of moose in ancient landscapes; the role of paleoecology, tribal input, and archaeology in how moose are managed today. Tribal Historic Preservation Officer Crystal C'Bearing talks about the role of Arapaho and tribal perspectives in moose management, while CPW Big Game Manager Andy Holland talks about how moose management outside of RMNP has largely been a success story, rather than a problem.

Catch the full discussion at the following link: https://bit.ly/4qrLEs2

Read about Colorado's long record of moose populations in the historical and archaeological records - and why it's important to get the facts straight about their status as a native animal to the southern Rockies, from CU expert William Taylor and colleagues on The Conversation: https://bit.ly/3MHYQKN

Moose photo credit: Deena Sveinsson

On December 9th, panelists gathered at the Estes Valley Library to discuss moose management in the southern Rocky Mountains - including Rocky Mountain Nation...

12/09/2025

Join the 2nd Annual Print Exchange at the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History! This year’s theme will showcase local pollinators. Artists will be invited behind the scenes into the scientific collections to learn more about specimens of locally important pollinators species. The exchange will culminate in a gallery exhibition in our newly renovated BioLounge, in tandem with spring activities and a pollinator summit.
In return, each participating artist receives one print from every other artist in the exchange. Ultimately, it is a project that fosters the cross-pollination (pun intended) of ideas and collaboration among different disciplines.
Due to our timeline, we will provide a specimen sign up and additional specimen information along with your confirmation email. Please feel free to begin designing your print right away. Information about tour dates, opening reception, and an artist statement form will be emailed once this form is officially closed.
We will accept submissions on a rolling basis until all spots are full or until December 22nd. The final artwork deadline will remain the same.
Edition Number: 24
Edition Size: 8"x10"
Prints Due: March 20th (Prints must be at the museum by this date)

12/05/2025

Moose Management and Ancient Ecology in the Southern Rockies: A Panel Discussion

Tuesday, December 9, 2025, 6-7:30 PM
Estes Valley Library
335 E. Elkhorn Ave
Estes Park, CO

As moose populations grow across the Southern Rockies, so too do challenges in their management. At the heart of many modern conservation discussions is a question about the ancient world: Should moose be considered "native" or "invasive" to Colorado and the Southern Rockies?

This open panel will bring together speakers from a range of backgrounds, including: Biology, Parks and wildlife, Archaeology/anthropology, Tribal historic preservation

The discussion will explore topics including: how to trace the presence of moose in ancient landscapes; the role of paleoecology, tribal input, and archaeology in how we manage moose today; and finally, ways to navigate the current challenges with moose in the Southern Rockies

This panel is moderated by CU Boulder's Center of the American West and co-sponsored by the CU Museum of Natural History.

Photo credit: Deena Sveinsson

11/12/2025

Please help us spread the word about the Inaugural Youth Pollinator Summit- designed just for teens!

Do you know any teens who may be interested in learning more about pollinators at a half-day mini-conference at CU Boulder? Spots are limited, pre-registration required.

What:
Colorado Pollinator Network’s Inaugural Youth Pollinator Summit at the CU Museum

When:
Saturday, November 15 · 12 Noon - 4pm. Doors open at 11:15am

Where:
CU Museum of Natural History
1030 Broadway on Boulder’s Main campus (16th and Broadway)

Who:
Students 13 and older

How to sign up:
FREE, but pre-registration required (80 spots available- register asap).

For more information and registration:

Get ready to buzz with excitement at the Youth Pollinator Summit where we'll learn, share, and protect our essential pollinators!

11/07/2025

37th Annual Southwestern Textile and Jewelry Fundraiser

Saturday, November 8: 10AM - 5PM
Sunday, November 9: 10AM - 3PM
William Matthews Studio
2540 Walnut Street, Denver, CO 80205
RiNo Art District

Please join us for our 37th Annual Southwestern Textile and Jewelry Fundraiser!

This event, which for decades now has been generously organized by the Clark family and Toh-Atin Gallery in Durango to benefit the museum's Joe Ben Wheat Textile Fund for the conservation and curation of our incredible collections, is a special opportunity for our community to get together and celebrate/support both cultural heritage and Indigenous artists.

See the program, get directions, and learn more here:

November 8 - 9, 2025Saturday, November 8: 10AM - 5PMSunday, November 9: 10AM - 3PMWilliam Matthews Studio2540 Walnut Street, Denver, CO 80205RiNo Art District

11/05/2025

Please help us spread the word about the Inaugural Youth Pollinator Summit- designed just for teens!

Do you know any teens who may be interested in learning more about pollinators at a half-day mini-conference at CU Boulder? Spots are limited, pre-registration required.

What:
Colorado Pollinator Network’s Inaugural Youth Pollinator Summit at the CU Museum

When:
Saturday, November 15 · 12 Noon - 4pm. Doors open at 11:15am

Where:
CU Museum of Natural History
1030 Broadway on Boulder’s Main campus (16th and Broadway)

Who:
Students 13 and older

How to sign up:
FREE, but pre-registration required (80 spots available- register asap).

For more information and registration:

Get ready to buzz with excitement at the Youth Pollinator Summit where we'll learn, share, and protect our essential pollinators!

10/07/2025

Open One-Day Only: CU Culture Crawl, October 8, 10am - 2pm

Just in time for Halloween! Celebrate Earth's biodiversity by learning about some creepy and crawly creatures at the "Greatest Crawl on Earth!" This circus culture-themed event is curated for camaraderie and the curious! Step right up and prepare to be amazed, informed and entertained by the incredible acts of invertebrates (slugs, spiders, and scorpions and more) from the CU Museum’s expansive collections, and some bizarre reproductive strategies of invertebrates in the ocean! Fun will be had by all!

Culture Crawl is a CU Boulder campus-wide event. Learn more here: https://bit.ly/46PE7eg

08/29/2025

Congratulations to our Curator of Vertebrate Paelontology, Dr. Jaelyn Eberle, for receiving a Fullbright U.S. Scholar award! With this award, Dr. Eberle will be studying Cretaceous Mongolian mammals in Warsaw, Poland, to compare them to her recent mammalian discoveries on the North Slope of Alaska.

Read more here:

Professor Jaelyn Eberle will teach and pursue a hypothesis that a Cretaceous land bridge between Asia and North America was a dispersal route for land mammals

07/28/2025

Thank you to Colorado Public Radio for their awesome feature on our museum's very own Curator of Botany, Erin Manzitto-Tripp, and Ph.D. Candidates, Seth Raynor and Jacob Watts! We're lucky to have these world-class lichenologists on our team, especially ones who have such good music taste 🎶

Check out the article below for more on this groundbreaking work!

The Indigo Girls are at Red Rocks this weekend — and the state’s only lichenologists will be there.