Earth Sciences Collections

The Department of Earth Sciences contains six major collections. In geology: rocks, minerals, and meteorites. In paleontology: fossil vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants

The vertebrate paleontology collection consists mainly of Jurassic and Cretaceous dinosaurs, Cretaceous Seaway fishes and reptiles, and Cenozoic mammals from the American West. It also has a major focus in the vertebrates from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar. The paleobotany collection is dominated by Cretaceous-Eocene leaves and is the second largest of its kind in the nation. The invertebrate paleontology collection’s main strengths are Cambrian-Ordovician trilobites, Cretaceous Seaway mollusks, and Eocene insects. The mineral collection focuses on Colorado and includes one of the nation’s most diverse collections of micromount minerals. The rock collection includes historical and building-stone collections, as well as representative rock units from the Rockies. The meteorite collection is one of the nation’s oldest, featuring historic samples from around the world with a significant fraction from Colorado.

 

Staff

Kristen A. MacKenzie, MS

Earth Sciences Collections Manager

Nicole Neu-Yagle, MS

Earth Sciences Assistant Collections Manager

Jennifer Miller, MS

Earth Sciences Collections Assistant

Sierra K. Swenson

Earth Sciences Assistant Collections Manager

Nicole Childs

Assistant Collections Manager

David W. Krause, PhD

Senior Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology

James Hagadorn, PhD

Tim & Kathryn Ryan Curator of Geology

Tyler R. Lyson, PhD

Associate Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology

Gussie Maccracken, PhD

Assistant Curator of Paleobotany

Melissa Bechhoefer, MS

Director of Integrative Collections

Libby Couch

Business Support Specialist III

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