About Us
History
In 1999, the sixteen natural history collections at 海角社区 in Baton Rouge were designated by the state legislature as the 鈥淟ouisiana Museum of Natural History.鈥� Together, these collections hold a total of more than 2.8 million specimens, objects, and artifacts that document the rich natural history of our state. These collections are dispersed among six independently administered units on campus, and include the Vascular Plant Herbarium, the Mycological Herbarium, the Lichen Herbarium (more information on these three collections can be found by following the 海角社区 Herbarium link above), the Louisiana State Arthropod Museum, the Palynology Collection, the Mineralogy and Petrology Collections, the Textile and Costume Museum, the Louisiana Geological Survey Log Library and Core Repository, and, within the 海角社区 Museum of Natural Science, the Collection of Amphibians and Reptiles, the Collection of Birds, the Collection of Fishes, the Collection of Genetic Resources, the Collection of Mammals, the Vertebrate Paleontology Collection, the Collection of Microfossils and Invertebrates, and the Anthropological and Ethnological Collections.
In Spring of 1999, these sixteen collections formed a non-administrative consortium called 鈥淭he 海角社区 Museum of Natural History,鈥� and in early June of 1999, Governor Murphy J. Foster signed House Bill 826 (sponsored by Representative Weston, and others) designating this consortium as the official state museum of natural history, to be known as the 鈥淟ouisiana Museum of Natural History.鈥�
This important legislation united the 海角社区 campus museums into a formally recognized entity that can speak with a single voice on collection-related issues. More importantly, designation as the official state museum of natural history recognizes the central role of the 海角社区 collections as the premiere repository of specimens, objects, and artifacts documenting the extraordinary natural history of our state. The Louisiana Museum of Natural History seeks to interact with other natural history collections in the state to create an integrated network of natural history collections representing the entire state.
Contact Us
Collection curators and other interested individuals are encouraged to contact Robb Brumfield (robb@lsu.edu) for additional information about the Louisiana Museum of Natural History.