Origins of the Biology Department's Natural History Collection
The origin of Radford University museum specimens is quite
varied - students and faculty continue to build up our
collection with contemporary plants and animals, but our
specimens date back to 1881. Indeeed, >80 specimens were
collected before 1900, and an additional 100 individuals are
pre-1950. Most of these older specimens are taxidermied birds.
Although the sources of many of our specimens are yet unknown,
class and independent research projects have explored the
history of some of the older collections. Through these
projects, we are beginning to form a more complete picture of
the history of our collection. Students Researching the History
of RU's Collection Since 2008, a number of students have tackled
independent projects, seeking to learn more about some of the
oldest specimens in the collection or about some of the more
common contemporary collectors.