Opportunities

Pause
Museum student Ghennya Shain posing with her live mounts (ca. 2022).

Museum student Ghennya Shain posing with her live mounts (ca. 2022).

Zalophus californianus (California sea lion) skeleton mount by museum student Itsi Trejo (ca. 2022).

Zalophus californianus (California sea lion) skeleton mount by museum student Itsi Trejo (ca. 2022).

Student Jessica Hernandez preparing a long-tailed weasel skin.

Jessica Hernandez preparing a long-tailed weasel skin.

Students working on preparing mammalian specimens.

Students working on preparing mammalian specimens.

Student Brandon Zelaya skinning a gopher snake.

Brandon Zelaya skinning a gopher snake.

Thomomys bottae (Botta's Pocket Gopher) skeleton mount by Nathan O Johle.

Thomomys bottae (Botta's Pocket Gopher) skeleton mount by Nathan O Johle.

Museum student Tegan Alberts curating weasels and skunks. 

The Prep Lab

The Vertebrate Museum facilities include a preparatory space (The Prep Lab) as well as a dermestid beetle (Dermestes maculatus) colony. There are a number ways to be involved with the museum! Students interested in museum sciences have the opportunity to learn how to prepare museum specimens (skin, stuff, and/or prepare skeletons), curate collections, and/or learn database management. Limited volunteer opportunities exist in the VM collection, and are dependent on availability and interest of the applicant. Interested students should submit a volunteer form and email Dr. Silvia Pavan, the curator, at Silvia.Pavan@humboldt.edu or museum@humboldt.edu.

 

Museum Studies (BIOL 499)

Students interested in museum-based sciences have the opportunity to enroll in BIOL 499 units and pursue independent research projects. Projects pursued within the museum make use of research collections and the various on-campus facilities.

 

 

Undergraduate or Graduate Thesis/Directed Study (BIOL 490/499 or 690/699)

These courses are a series of ways for undergraduates (BIOL 490/499) and graduates (BIOL 690/699) to earn course credit for conducting research and writing a thesis. BIOL 499 can provide one or two units for undergraduates who participate in research projects. Students can also perform more intensive research and complete a written thesis (BIOL 490). Enrollment in these courses is by permission number only, and there is limited availability for mentoring within the museum, so interested students should contact the curator Dr. Silvia Pavan at Silvia.Pavan@humboldt.edu or the collections manager. Some current research projects are highlighted below.

 

 

Student Spotlight

Andrea standing under a moose shoulder mount, pointing and smiling
Andrea Gonzalez-Gaona is a general biology major planning to attend veterinary school outside of the states to pursue her dream of becoming a Zoo veterinarian for large, exotic animals & smaller domestic ones. She does not intend on working for a zoo, but rather with wildlife conservation agencies.  In her free time, she enjoys painting, playing the guitar, video games, cooking, exercising, epically binging shows/movies, and going on adventures with her adventurous cat Juneau and boyfriend Jeff. She is always willing to try new challenges and is very excited to be working and learning the literal ins and outs of so many amazing species in her time at the museum's laboratory.
BIOL 499 Project: Assisting in the prep lab by skinning, articulating, and taxidermizing mammal and avian specimens specimens to be added to the museum's teaching and research collections.

Student Spotlight

Aviva Saadatfar is excited to be a part of a community that addresses conservation in a meaningful way. She loves learning about all kinds of plants and animals in her classes and enjoys field work as well. Her favorite outdoor activities are hiking and birdwatching, and she absolutely loves filling her home with houseplants. She also cherishes the time she gets to spend with friends and family. Her favorite bird is the green-winged teal - because they are so cute and funny. Her favorite type of flower is an orchid - she loves how beautiful and diverse they are! 

BIOL 499 Project: "Mechanisms of echocation in the shrew". Aviva uses CT scans of museum specimens to study the hyoid-tympanic anatomy of various shrew genera and its relation to echolocation.

Student Spotlight

Christina skinning a raccoon

 

Christina Glitzow is a wildlife major who has skillfully prepared opossums, harbor and Guadalupe fur seals. She is now experimenting with artistic taxidermy on a raccoon.

 

BIOL 499 Project: Assisting Dr Silvia Pavan with DNA sequencing Trowbridge's shrew, Sorex trowbridgii.

Student Spotlight

Tegan Alberts is a wildlife major interested in studying museum practices and reproductive biology. In his free time, he enjoys embroidering, playing Dungeons & Dragons, painting, and collecting South African succulents. His favorite animals are sea otters and thylacines. 

BIOL 499 Project: "Identifying Pleistocene Ursus fossils from dental morphology analyses of American black bear (Ursus americanus) and brown bear (Ursus arctos) specimens". Tegan will be using specimens from Humboldt's Vertebrate and Wildlife Museums, in addition to UC Berkeley's Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and Museum of Paleontology.

Student Spotlight

Ghennya Shain, a biochemistry major, has been our intrepid taxidermy live mounter. She braved the live mounting of both a skunk (you might have smelled it around SciC!) and 'Jeb' the gray fox (pictured here). Beyond her interest in the fringe, Ghennya is a talented chemist and, as part of her undergraduate research project, tested  mammlian hair samples from our museum for the presence of 2,4-D Amine Weed Killer.