Museum of Southwestern Biology
Hours
- The MSB is open by appointment Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. To arrange research visits, please contact divisional staff directly.
Admission
None
Location
302 Yale Blvd. NE
Albuquerque, NM 87131
About Museum of Southwestern Biology
The Museum of Southwestern Biology (MSB) is one of the finest university-based natural history museums in the country. Its facilities and collections are an engine for research, teaching and public service in the Department of Biology. The MSB houses historically important collections of vascular plants, invertebrates, and vertebrates from southwestern North America and throughout the world. The expert staff and faculty of the MSB perform cutting edge science, provide natural history information to the public, and serve irreplaceable biological samples to the scientific community.
The MSB collections are comprised of eight divisions: Amphibians and Reptiles, Arthropods, Birds, Fishes, Genomic Resources, Herbarium, Mammals, and Parasites. Each of these MSB collections is the largest and best developed of its kind in the state or the region. Together, these collections are used in over 200 scientific publications per year. The MSB collections of Mammals and Genomic Resources, respectively, are among the largest, fastest growing, most diverse, and most scientifically valuable such collections in the World.
Dozens of UNM students each year have the opportunity to conduct original research at MSB on wild species, their evolution, ecology, genetics, and conservation. After graduation, MSB-affiliated students have gone on to be leaders in collections-based biology and natural history museum curation, as well as to a variety of academic and non-academic careers in STEM fields. Donating to MSB in support of student research is a direct way to boost our mission.
The MSB also houses one special program, Natural Heritage New Mexico, dedicated to the research of conservation and sustainable management of New Mexico’s biodiversity. NHNM is helps to shape conservation efforts by state and federal agencies using a state-wide database of rare species and ecosystems (NM Biotics).
More on Location
The MSB is on UNM Main Campus in the CERIA building (building 83). Once you’ve parked, you’ll need to locate the museum on foot. To do this, orient from the intersection of Central Ave. and Yale Blvd. From here, continue North onto campus along Yale, cross Redondo South Drive, and continue along the promenade until you reach the fountain. CERIA is the building NE of you. The main door to CERIA faces the fountain.
