University of Arkansas Museum
Biomass Research Center 125,
2435 N. Hatch Ave.
Fayetteville, AR 72701
P 479-575-3456
E-mail: lalamb@uark.edu
Education
One of the ways the University of Arkansas Museum fulfills its public service and outreach mission is through community engagement.
Staff members provide collection tours for visiting groups, research services, and
talks on a variety of subjects. The Museum also collaborates with the University community
to help enhance student learning experiences, from exhibit creations to class activities
on-site.
If interested, please fill out the form below. Whether you're part of the UA community, an outside organization, or from the general public, we'd love to speak with you!
Upcoming Events
14th @ 6PM: Curator Talk - "Merci Train"
Where: Bella Vista Public Library
After World War II, Americans banded together to send hundreds of boxcars of relief
supplies to Europe. In return, French citizens sent gifts of gratitude to the United
States in what were called Merci Trains. The boxcars included a variety of materials,
from art to postcards to furniture. One such train for Arkansas arrived in North Little
Rock on February 13th, 1949. Merci Train gifts were dispersed to various organizations,
including the University of Arkansas Museum.
Join UA Museum Curator Laurel as she delves into this fascinating story of international
friendship and recovery efforts after World War II, as well as see a selection of
Merci Train gifts from the Museum’s collection up close!
16th from 11PM - 2PM: Museum in the Union - Paleontology
Where: Arkansas Union
Stop by the Arkansas Union on University of Arkansas campus to see awesome fossils
up-close (including the Arkansas State Dino!), learn about paleontology, and chat
with a UA Museum Curator!
This event will be casual & come-and-go. Find us on the 3rd floor at the entrance
of the Union Food Court anytime between 11-2PM on January 16th!
BE THERE OR BE EATEN.
16th @ 7PM - Monthly Speaker:
UA Associate Professor from the Dept. of Geosciences 's Dr. Celina Suarez's “The Vertebrate Fossil Record of the Lower Cretaceous Strata of Arkansas: A Rapidly
Evolving Picture”
Where: UA Museum (2475 N Hatch Ave)
The UA Museum will host Dr. Celina Suarez’s talk “The Vertebrate Fossil Record of
the Lower Cretaceous Strata of Arkansas: A Rapidly Evolving Picture” on January 16th
at 7PM.
Associate Professor in the Department of Geosciences, Dr. Suarez was part of the research
team that studied the first theropod dinosaur trackways found in Arkansas and published
their findings in the journal PLOS ONE last year. The tracks were found in 2011 at
a gypsum quarry in SW Arkansas. It was determined the tracks belonged to the large
carnivorous dinosaur Acrocanthosaurus. Plaster casts of the tracks were made and later
donated to the University of Arkansas Museum. Dr. Suarez will discuss the team’s findings,
as well as some of her other recent work.
A sampling of the casts will be on display specially for the program. Those who attend
will also get a chance to see other fossils from the Museum on display, including
the Arkansas State Dinosaur.
Dr. Suarez will be the first in the Museum’s new Monthly Speaker series this year.
The series aims to connect the Museum’s collections with exciting, related research
conducted by the UA community.
Light refreshments will be served. This series is free and open to the public.
20th from 11AM - 2PM: Museum in the Union - Snakes
Where: Arkansas Union
Stop by the Arkansas Union on University of Arkansas campus to see awesome snake specimens
from the Museum's collections up-close and chat with a UA Museum Curator! (Note: There will be no live specimens at the event.)
This event will be casual & come-and-go. Find us on the 3rd floor at the entrance
of the Union Food Court anytime between 11-2PM!
BE THERE OR BE SSSSQUARE.
21st @ 7PM - Monthly Speaker:
UA Associate Professor from the Dept. of Biological Sciences Dr. J.D. Willson's "Challenges in Understanding Population and Community Dynamics of Secretive Snakes"
Where: UA Museum (2475 N Hatch Ave)
How do you manage or conserve species that you seldom see, even where you know they occur? This is a fundamental challenge for snake biologists who must overcome the secretive behavior, cryptic coloration, and often low abundances of the species they study. In this seminar, Dr. Willson will share his research on population and community dynamics of some of our most unique, but poorly understood, snake species, and approaches that he and his students use to study them.
Plus, see a special selection of snake specimens from the Museum's collections on display for that night only! (Note: There will be no live specimens at the event.)
Event is free. Light snacks will be served.
13th from 11AM - 2PM: Museum in the Union - Archeology
Where: Arkansas Union
Stop by the Arkansas Union on University of Arkansas campus to see awesome archeological
materials from the Museum's collections up-close and chat with a UA Museum Curator!
The featured specimens will be related to two talks the Museum will host later that
week by Research Station Archeologist Elizabeth Horton on plant domestication and
prehistoric weaving traditions from the region.
This event will be casual & come-and-go. Find us on the 3rd floor at the entrance
of the Union Food Court anytime between 11-2PM!
15th @ 7PM - Monthly Speaker Series
Archeologist Dr. Elizabeth Horton on “Woven Worlds: The Archeology of Textiles and
Basketry in the Pre-Columbian Southeast"
Where: UA Museum (2475 N Hatch Ave)
Although most people will think of the dry landscapes of the American Southwest or
Egypt when it comes to well-preserved ancient textiles and basketry, there are, in
fact, substantial amounts of archeological fabrics found in the humid southeastern
United States.
In this talk, Horton focuses on some of the largest (and closest!) assemblages of
well-preserved textiles and basketry from the region - the Ozark Bluff shelters of
Arkansas and Missouri and Spiro Mounds in Oklahoma. She will explore what we know
about the fabric traditions of the Southeastern United States, from what people wore
to what plants they used to produce clothing, social roles of textiles and basketry
in the Mississippian period cultures, and fabric traditions that persist in the artistry
of contemporary Southeastern Native weavers.
The Museum houses the largest and most significant collection of Arkansas archeological
material anywhere, which Dr. Horton has studied on numerous occasions. Those who attend
will have a chance to see a selection of relevant collection materials on display
for that evening only.
The event will be held in the Arkansas Archeological Survey building at 2475 N Hatch
Ave. Light refreshments will be served. It is free and open to the public.
16th from 10AM - 12PM:OLLI at University of Arkansas Course
Research Station Archeologist for Toltec Mounds Archeologial State Park Liz Horton
on Prehistoric Plant Domestication
Location: UA Museum (2475 N Hatch Ave)
Calling all gardening and plant enthusiasts! Join us at the University of Arkansas Museum to learn about the history of plant domestication in the region.
When asked “what did the Indians of Arkansas eat?”, most Arkansans answer “corn, beans,
and squash.” While this triad of crops were staple foods for Arkansas Indians, they
were only the latest addition to a sophisticated system of land management and horticulture.
Dr. Horton will talk about the experimental garden at Toltec Mounds State Park and
the Eastern Agricultural Complex, or the ancient domesticated and
cultivated crops like sumpweed, may grass, little barley, sunflower, goosefoot, and
erect knotweed, that people planted and tended thousands of years ago. She will also
discuss why the archeological record of Arkansas is so critical to a broad array of
research concerning plant domestication, and why Arkansas’s natural lands are vital
to the future of research into crop domestication and crop genetics.
The program will include a behind the-scenes tour of the Museum’s collections by
its curators, a lecture about prehistoric plant domestication by Dr. Horton, and a
chance to see prehistoric archaeological materials up close!
Event is not free. It is $30 for OLLI Members and $45 for non-OLLI Members.
30th from 11:30AM - 2PM: UA Museum Open House
In conjunction with Arkansas Archeological Survey - UAF's 6th Annual Celebrate Archeology Day. The Museum's vast collections will be open for the public to view. *Please note that bags, purses and heavy coats will need to be left outside the collections storage area. A dedicated Museum staff member will watch over these personal items.
25th @ 7PM - Monthly Speaker Series
UA Students will explore the cultural, linguistic and ethnic diversity of the African
continent through art.
Location: UA Museum (2475 N Hatch Ave)
UA students Trinity Kai, Eden Leal and Deena Owens will discuss the research they conducted for the Africa in Action: Selections from the University of Arkansas Museum exhibit currently located in Old Main, 5th floor. The exhibit explores the rich cultural, linguistic and ethnic diversity of the African continent, featuring objects from the highlands of Ethiopia in East Africa to the savanna that stretches across West Africa.
A special selection of relevant ethnological materials from the Museum's collections will be on display for that night only!
Event is free. Light snacks will be served.
Museum in the Library: Meteorites
When - June 20th, 5-6PM
Where - Fayetteville Public Library
On December 26, 1934, a meteorite landed just west of Fayetteville. It was recovered
and is now housed at the University of Arkansas Museum. The Museum's Curator will
visit the Fayetteville Public Library to share a selection of meteorites from the
collections. See these space rocks up-close, learn about them through history, and
chat with a curator!
This event will be casual & come-and-go. Stop by on Thursday, June 20th. Museum specimens will ONLY be available to view during this event!
Rocks from the Sky: Meteorites in Human History
When - June 24th, 6PM
Where - Bella Vista Public Library
On the evening of May 19th, 861, something bright fell from the sky above Japan’s southwesternmost main island, Kyushu. Residents of what is now known as Nogata collected what fell – a meteorite. Amazingly, it still exists in the same place today, over 1,158 years later.
Humans have observed meteors and collected meteorites for thousands of years. Yet,
it wasn’t until the early 1800s that scientists began to accept that such rocks actually
came from space, not Earth. Why?
University of Arkansas Museum Curator Laurel Lamb will explore this question and more in “Rocks from the Sky”! Stop by to learn about meteorites, their place in human history (including one found in NWA!), and see a few of them from the Museum’s collections.
Fayetteville Public Library's Walk and Talk: Museum Collections Tour
When - July 13th
Where - UA Museum (2475 N Hatch Ave)
Space is limited; registration required. Learn more here.
Museum in the Library: Sharks
When - July 31st, 5-6PM
Where - Fayetteville Public Library
Did you know that sharks don’t actually have bones? Or that some sharks remain pregnant for up to two years? A University of Arkansas Museum Curator will visit the Fayetteville Public Library to share a selection of shark specimens* from the collections. See them up-close, learn more about these awesome animals and chat with a curator!
This event will be casual & come-and-go. Stop by on Wednesday, July 31st. Museum specimens will ONLY be available to view during this event!
*No living animals will be at the event.
Program Request Form
