Many people aren’t aware that one of the largest zoological collections representing the Northern Rocky Mountains is right here in Missoula. The Philip L. Wright Zoological Museum at The University of Montana is home to more than 24,000 specimens of vertebrates. It is definitely worth a look.

The museum began over 100 years ago, in the 1890s, and contains collections that date from the 1860s to the present. There are Skins and Skulls collections, collections of Complete Skeletons, Tanned Hides, Specimens in Alcohol and Mounted Specimens.

Exhibits include An Ornithological Perspective, which highlights the vast ornithological collections housed in the museum. Off-campus collections include several Bull Elk at the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation in Missoula, and the Hornaday – Smithsonian Bison Exhibit in Fort Benton, Montana.

It may not be for everybody, but if you’re interested in this sort of thing, you won’t find a better collection in Montana.

Check it out the next time you’re staying at our Missoula Bed and Breakfast, or make a special trip to town to see it. It is located on the second floor of the Health Sciences Building. For additional information, please see Zoological Museum.