The university of colorado museum of natural history will improve storage conditions and long-term care for its vertebrate collections

The Institute of Museum and Library Services awarded The Regents of the University of Colorado $937,396 on September 1, 2026, under the Museums for America program (CFDA 45.301) to improve storage conditions and long-term care for the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History's vertebrate collections.

The museum will process 642 backlogged tissue specimens—including birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians—to meet appropriate curation standards and generate approximately 1,900 new tissue samples, more than doubling the current volume of existing genetic resources. The museum will hire a specimen preparator and engage two graduate assistants and a graduate intern to support the senior collections manager. The project will purchase a walk-in freezer and an ultracold freezer to improve storage conditions for study skins, hides, fluid-preserved specimens, skeletons, and wings. The specimens will be made more readily available to research and educational communities, government agencies, conservation organizations, and public audiences.

Performance occurs in Boulder, Colorado. The period of performance runs from September 1, 2026, through August 31, 2028. The assistance type is a Project Grant.

The museum will hire a specimen preparator and engage two graduate assistants and a graduate intern to assist the senior collections manager in the implementation of project activities. Project activities will involve processing 642 backlogged tissue specimens, including birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians, to meet appropriate curation standards. The museum will purchase both a walk-in and ultracold freezer to improve storage conditions for study skins, hides, fluid-preserved specimens, skeletons, and wings. The project will generate approximately 1,900 new tissue samples, more than doubling the current volume of existing genetic resources, making the specimens more readily available to research and educational communities, government agencies, conservation organizations, and public audiences.