Connecticut State Museum of Natural History

05/14/2026

Coming soon!

Our exhibit at the William Benton Museum of Art is being installed over the next couple weeks and will open on May 26.

We'll have related programs over the summer, including a scientific illustration workshop at the Benton, so keep an eye out for that!

04/22/2026

The UConn - Plant Biodiversity Conservatory has a fantastic Co**se Flower that is getting ready to bloom!

They think it will be in the next few days and will keep the greenhouse open late when it is in full bloom for visitors. Check their page here or on Instagram for day by day updates.

This is a truly amazing thing to witness and it doesn't happen often, so we highly recommend coming to see it if you can!

04/02/2026

The 2026 edition of our newsletter "Natural History Through New Eyes" is coming soon!

Become a member of the Museum and you will receive your copy in the mail as soon as it comes out!

https://csmnh.uconn.edu/membership/

🐦

First year Digital Media and Design student, and CSMNH volunteer, Abby Loescher put her new animation skills to use bringing some of the critters featured on the new cover to life.

02/12/2026

UConn graduate and undergraduate students - this opportunity is for you!

We worked with Cameron Slocum, an Industrial Design student, on her sustainable building material project (pictured in the center below), funded by this program.

Deadline to apply is March 16.

Good luck!

02/02/2026

Thank you to everyone who came out to hear Sarah Sportman talk about all the work the Office of State Archaeology, and the Friends of the Office of State Archaeology completed this past year! And thank you to the Mansfield Public Library for the use of the space - nice and cozy on a cold January afternoon!

We look forward to seeing you all again next year!

11/15/2025

Excited to be at the opening of the Ballard Institute & Museum of Puppetry’s new exhibition “Somos Unos: Mexican and Mexican American Puppetry”!

Some of the Museum’s masks from the Eva Jakuba Collection are on display, so go check it out!

10/30/2025

The CSMNH was highlighted along with the UConn Biodiversity Research Collections in a recent article in UConn Today.

"Collecting, skinning, and skeletonizing – for science!"

Collecting, skinning, and skeletonizing – for science!

10/24/2025

State Archaeologist Dr. Sarah Sportman will be giving a free talk as part of Wesleyan University's "Emerging from Erasure" symposium tomorrow (Oct 25).

This afternoon at 4:30pm the symposium kicks off with a gallery talk by Gary Red Oak O'Neil, whose solo exhibit "Excavations" is also on view. His current work on display is inspired by findings at the Hollister Site, a location where Dr. Sportman and others have been doing field work and holding field schools over the last decade.

From the exhibition description:
"The works include a range of styles reflecting O’Neil’s enduring career spanning nearly 60 years, along with newer pieces inspired by the current archaeological dig taking place at the Lt. John Hollister (1650–1715) site in Glastonbury, Connecticut which has uncovered Native American pottery and other belongings that offer a glimpse of the Wangunk tribe’s interactions with early 17th-century English settlers."

10/01/2025

Come see us this weekend!!
The Connecticut Archaeology Fair for 2025 will be held at the Eli Whitney Museum & Workshop in Hamden, CT. We will highlight Connecticut archaeology with the Office of State Archaeology, the State Historic Preservation Office, and other friends of Connecticut Archaeology on Saturday, October 4 from 11am-3pm.

State Archaeologist Sarah Sportman will give a talk at 2pm titled
"Scored, Cut, Folded and Rolled: Indigenous metal-working at the 17th Century Hollister Site, South Glastonbury"

We hope to see you there!

09/15/2025

The Museum is excited to be back as a part of the CLAS community, and to be featured in an article about the change in UConn Today!

Below is a photo of the amazing team that made Mega Mammal Day possible this summer, and the article features highlights of our work over the last few years.

In July, the museum returned to its roots in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, bringing together two units with a shared commitment to interdiscipli ...