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Scientific Collection

The "Museum of Natural History" (later the "James Ford Bell Museum of Natural History") was established by state legislative mandate in 1872 to collect, preserve, skillfully prepare, display, and interpret Minnesota's diverse animal and plant life for scholarly research and teaching and for public appreciation, enrichment, and enjoyment.

The Bell Museum has exceptional scientific collections. Nearly 4 million specimens—mammals, birds, fishes, plants, mollusks and insects—provide opportunities for research and learning. From Eurasia to South America, Bell Museum scientists collect specimens to build the museum's biological collections, which serve as an international library for scientific research. In addition to collections from around the globe, the Bell Museum has the largest collection documenting Minnesota's biodiversity.

Bell Museum Collections

• Amphibians and Reptiles
• Birds
• Fishes
• Fungi
• Lichens
• Insects
• Invertebrates
• Mammals
• Plants

A Vision for Improving Collections Access

We’ve proposed an exciting vision for improving access to the Bell Museum’s scientific collections, including the plant collection. If funded, this initiative will create a dynamic web interface that will accomplish three goals:

1. Enable the public (including educators) web access to Minnesota specimen records of birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, amphibians, plants, fungi, lichens, and mussels.
2. Engage in dynamic, distributed database networks to repatriate Minnesota records residing out‐state and provide historic, geographic, and taxonomic information to partners in resource management.
3. Illustrate the invasive species of Minnesota with digital images of specimens and provide geographic information as a baseline for statewide tracking of expanding invasive populations.

We’re optimistic that this vision will become a reality.

What Our Faculty Curators Do

Museum faculty engage in curation, research, scholarship, teaching, and public outreach. This unique synergy, possible only on the campus of a great university, distinguishes the Bell Museum of Natural History as an institution that:

• Builds and maintains comprehensive scientific collections.
• Produces cutting-edge research on biodiversity and the environment.
• Teaches new generations of scientists and citizens about environment, ecology, and evolution.
• Trains the next generation of museum scholars in curation and biodiversity research.
• Exhibits the natural life of our state and region-and beyond-in ways that inspire inquiry, appreciation, and enjoyment.
• Educates visitors and participants through personal learning opportunities.
• Serves teachers and students throughout the community, state and region with innovative outreach and award-winning, nationally recognized distance learning programs.

The Collection, As Seen Through An Artist's Eye...

Artist-in-Residence, Jeff Millikin, delved into the Bell Museum's scientific collection to create his popular 'Preserving Memory' exhibit: