KU Natural History Museum

10/22/2026

Hello there! 🐍🦎

Meet our new museum tenants, an Eastern racer snake and a Monkey anole lizard. Two animals with the most literal common names!

As their common name suggests, Eastern racer snakes (Coluber constrictor) are extremely fast and can reach speeds of up to 4 mph. Similarly, the common name Monkey anole (Polychrus marmoratus), derives from their arboreal habitats and their long semi-prehensile tails that help them hold on to branches.

Stop by the 6th floor and say hi to all of our reptile residents! 👋🏼

10/20/2026

Research by Kevin Mulcahy, doctoral student at the Biodiversity Institute and Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, is challenging a long-held assumption about s*xual dimorphism in uintatheres, extinct large mammals known for their horns and prominent canine teeth.

While measuring unitatheres skulls at the American Museum of Natural History, Kevin noticed variation that didn’t fit the pattern of two groups: male and female. Historically, paleontologists have viewed uintatheres as the prime prehistoric example of s*xual dimorphism, or physical differences between males and females of a same species.

By combining morphological data and statistical analysis of fossil uintatheres with comparisons to modern bison, whose s*x is known, the study found that differences between male and female uintatheres may be less pronounced than previously thought.

Read the full article: https://rockcha.lk/uss

📷: Illustration of uintatheres that scientists thought were a prime illustration of s*xual dimorphism. Credit: Wikimedia Commons
📷: Illustration of uintathere skeleton. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

10/15/2026

Learn about how nocturnal animals explore the night with the Kansas Postdoctoral Outreach Project! 🦝 🌕 🦇

During this month’s family-friendly, drop-in style event, visitors can learn how bats use sound waves to navigate and locate prey, find an object using your sense of smell, create bracelets that send signals without sound, and discover how to read without a sense of sight.

📍KU Natural History Museum
📅 Sunday, Oct. 18
⏰ 1:30-2:30 p.m.

10/14/2026

Still dreaming about the Biodiversity Bash? Same!

Lucky for us we had KU student photographer Sophia Bradshaw there to capture the evening’s magic and success. 🪄

10/13/2026

On National Fossil Day — Wednesday, October 14 — step back in time with our gallery activity and explore life from the Late Pleistocene to the Early Holocene, spanning approximately 130,000 to 10,000 years ago! 🦴🐅

Pick up a gallery guide at the Visitor Services desk, then embark on an adventure through our Fossil Hall. Discover ancient animals, including saber-toothed cats, giant ground sloths and more! This self-guided activity is fun for visitors of all ages.

10/09/2026

Hey KU students, we're hiring! 🎉

We’re looking for a someone be our new Graduate Assistant for Biodiversity Outreach (GABO). This graduate student position will help develop and coordinate activities about research happening in the Biodiversity Institute and present those activities to museum visitors.

Required Qualifications:
🔹Admitted in a KU graduate degree program
🔹Bachelor’s degree in relevant field: biology, geology, etc.
🔹Science teaching or facilitation experience

Preferred Qualifications:
🔹 Master’s degree in relevant related field: biology, geology, etc.
🔹2+ years professional science teaching
🔹Experience with activity or program development

Read the full job description and apply ➡️ https://rockcha.lk/3rx

10/08/2026

Maggots...in the mouth!?! 🪱🦎

Explore the folklore of Salta Cocote in our new temporary exhibit, "Maggots in the Mouth," created by Alexa Lee. The exhibit highlights her research examining maggots found in the oral cavity of three species of anole lizards from the Dominican Republic.

10/06/2026

Explore the wonders of our natural world this October. Whether you’re a fossil enthusiast, interested in studying biodiversity, or love nocturnal creatures like bats and owls, there’s something for everyone this month!

Discover all the exciting details here: ✨https://rockcha.lk/607272 ✨

🔹For details about the Backyard Bash visit 👉 Spencer Museum of Art
🔹For more information about Crimson and Blue Day visit 👉 The University of Kansas Admissions

09/30/2026

Raise your hand if you’re registered for Family Weekend 2026! 👋

We can’t wait to welcome Jayhawk families back to campus and the KU Natural History Museum this weekend! To celebrate, our Visitor Experience team is offering special 30-minute highlight tours every hour from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 2.

Explore some of the museum’s most iconic exhibits and specimens, including the Panorama, Comanche, the Bunker Mosasaur and more! After your tour, stick around and explore the galleries at your own pace. 💙❤️

09/30/2026

We are a proud partner for this Artist Talk featuring Josh Goering. Learn all the event details in the original post below. ⬇️

Artist Talk: Josh Goering, BFA '21 | The Commons
MON, NOV 16 | 5:30PM
"Goering is a Ceramic artist whose work hinges on his environmental disposition, an inquisitive nature surrounding materials, an adoration of process, and a study of historical pots. His current work involves a dialogue with the landscape using local clays and rocks, as well as hand-building forms that reference objects involved in his process. Goering holds a BFA and BA from KU and an MFA from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln."
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Supported by the KU Departments of Visual Art and Earth, Energy & Environment, the KU Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum - Archaeology Division, (KU Natural History Museum) KU Field Station and The Commons at KU
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Events held in Spooner Hall are offered in hybrid form by request while work to ensure compliance with NAGPRA is ongoing. If you require virtual attendance or another accommodation, please email [email protected].