Collections
Natural History Resources For Everyone
We have thousands of preserved plants, insects, and birds that are available to the public. In our lab, you will have access to our specimens for identification, comparison and art, as well as natural history literature, field guides, microscopes, and knowledgeable staff.
Herbarium
Our small herbarium has over 9,000 plant specimens that are a comprehensive representation of what you will find in Yavapai County and neighboring regions.
You can search our herbarium anytime online through the Southwest herbarium portal SEINet. It is like Google for plants!
If you are interested in donating voucher specimens, collecting for the NHI Herbarium, or are requesting corrections or additions to specimen data on SEINet, please contact us.
Lisa Floyd-Hanna, Ph.D., Curator, Herbarium
Insects
Ours is a growing collection of insect species found in Yavapai County and surrounding areas. Our staff took several, small donations of insects, compiled their data and catalogued them neatly into cabinets donated by the University of Arizona. We invite local and visiting entomologists to contribute to, view, and identify insects within our collection.
Ty Fitzmorris, Curator, Entomology
Birds
Under authorization of the US Fish and Wildlife Service for educational purposes, we have a collection of 194 bird study skins that were donated by Yavapai College in 2014. These specimens have been used in a variety of college courses, including Wildlife Managment, Ornithology, and Scientific Illustration.
Our federal permit allows for accessioning new specimens under a salvage agreement. Please contact us first if you are interested in contributing prepared birds that lack representation in our collection. The list of bird species available in our collection may be found below:
Researchers
The Natural History Institute welcomes researchers and students from all institutions to utilize and contribute to our collections, as well as collaborate on other natural history endeavors.
Loans
Arrangements may be made to loan specimens to other institutional collections. Please contact us for more information. The Natural History Institute’s lab and biological collections are located at 126 N. Marina St. in Prescott, Arizona.
