Our Natural History Collections
Preserving and Studying Plants and Animals
Our Natural History Collections host a Herbarium and Zoological Museum. They each offer a unique and engaging learning environment allowing students and visitors to explore and discover the natural world hands-on, enhancing their understanding of biological concepts and interdisciplinary fields like Forestry and Geobiology. Since 1929, our faculty experts have curated an incredible assemblage of plant and animal collections, including rare and fossil specimens. These biological collections showcase the beauty of our flora and fauna to the community.
Our Zoological Museum
Explore our exceptional Zoological Museum collection. With a diverse array of entomology, mollusk, skeletal, fossil, vertebrate, and invertebrate specimens, there's something for everyone to marvel at. We are committed to educating the public and our students, and providing a unique, an enriching experience. Our dedicated curators maintain this one-of-a-kind collection for our college, serving as a valuable resource for students and the community. Special collecting permits are also maintained by our curators. From tiny ants to a majestic Okapi, our collection includes a variety of fascinating animals, including a horseshoe crab, a platypus articulated skeleton, and an intriguing fossil replica of the American Ground Sloth.
Notable Vertebrate Collections
We've recently added an incredible display of an ichthyosaur fossil replica, along other marine reptiles like the plesiosaur. Students are able to experience these remarkable animals up close and personal.
Projects
Our curators are dedicated to preserving the beauty and diversity of the animal kingdom through taxidermy. Future projects will expand on this incredible artistry and skill, while also educating students and visitors about the importance of animal and habitat conservation.
Notable Entomology Collections
A curious biology major student recently collected a fascinating insect in our local mountains! While exploring the San Bernardino area, she found a Yucca Weevil enjoying a meal on a Chaparral Yucca plant.
Notable Collections
Aquatic plants from what it is known today as Urbita Elementary School were collected in the early 1920s. These plants are locally extinct now, but they used to be common before the Urbita Hot Springs became developed land. These Springs were also used by Native Americans living in the region of San Bernardino.
Projects
Through student independent projects, we plan to advance our understanding of plant evolutionary ecology and molecular biology in our local native plants. A project of DNA analyses in the existing plant collection will be established soon, and in the meantime we will continue to work with our partners from College of the Canyons in cataloguing native bees and their unique or general plant hosts.
Plant-Insect Interactions
When plants are collected, observations of insects are made and sometimes our students may be able to collect the insect for further identification and pairing with our entomological collection. Plant-insect interactions may be beneficial for the entire ecosystem, thus it is critical that we document these in our climate-changing world.
Our Herbarium
Our herbarium is a treasure trove of botanical specimens with at least 2,000 catalogued specimens, carefully collected and preserved by faculty and students since the foundation of San Bernardino Valley College.
We aim to promote the study and appreciation of plants from California's diverse ecosystems. Our collection offers a unique opportunity to learn about plant diversity, anatomy, physiology, phenology, and evolution, and we are committed to making it accessible to everyone. Each collected specimen has beed pressed dried and affixed to a herbarium voucher with a label that contains its genus and species name, geographical location when collected, and with specific morphological and ecological characteristics at the time of collection. Learn more about the importance of herbariums.
