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Dear Supporter,

There’s much to celebrate this May! The museum set a new attendance record in April with over 3,700 visitors, and in just a few weeks, we’ll be honoring the 2025 graduates—including more than a dozen students who work or volunteer at the KU Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum.

Our students, both undergraduate and graduate, are a big part of what makes this place so special. They help care for our collections, support research, assist visitors, and lead educational programs. Within the community, they serve as ambassadors—encouraging friends and family to visit, promoting events, and sharing their passion for science and discovery at conferences and outreach events. Their energy and dedication inspire us every day, and we’re so proud of the impact they’ve made and will continue to make as alumni.

On behalf of the staff at the BI/NHM, thank you to our students for being part of our community and for helping make our mission possible! You can learn more about our graduates in the Student and Staff Spotlights section below. 

Sincerely, 
Natalie Vondrak
Communications Coordinator 

Monarch Watch Spring Open House

International Day for Biological Diversity

Over a century ago, KU naturalist Charles Bunker led an expedition across Kansas to document the state’s wildlife. Today, the KU Biodiversity Institute is retracing his steps with the Bunker Resurvey Project to study how species diversity and abundance have changed over the last 100 years. Among the recent specimens collected is this striped skunk, prepared by KU staff and students with the help of dermestid beetles—tiny insects that clean skeletal material by consuming flesh.

This technique, popularized by Bunker in the early 1900s, has since become a standard practice in museums worldwide. And as of this month, KU’s Dermestid Beetle Facility—also known as the "Beetle Bunker"—has found a permanent home on campus! Check out photos of the facility and learn more about the fascinating history of these beetles here.

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KU Paleobotany graduate student Zane Walker, in partnership with the KU Field Station, presented a program about the fascinating world of mosses—both past and present—for Green Works in Kansas City, an organization dedicated to empowering future leaders through outdoor experiences. Photo: KU Field Station

After 27 years of digging up the past, David Burnham is retiring from his role as Vertebrate Paleontology Preparator. His extensive research and fieldwork—including helping to uncover a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex—have left a lasting mark on the field and contributed to KU Paleontology's legacy.
Photo by Lawrence Journal-World. Read More »

Victor Gonzalez, research associate at the KU Biodiversity Institute & Natural History Museum was recently featured in #KUFieldWorks for his work on understanding how bees respond to environmental changes. Read more »

The Red Hot Research series featured not one, but two curators last month! Paleobotany Curator Brian Atkinson and Mammalogy Curator Jocelyn Colella shared insights into their work in the polar regions, studying Antarctic plant fossils and investigating hybridization in high-latitude mammals.

Congratulations to the Class of 2025! Students play a vital role at the KU Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum contributing to collections care, research, and so much more. We are deeply grateful for their invaluable contributions and wish them all a bright future.

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