Coordinate a Visit
To coordinate school or group tours, contact Steve Sullivan at 708-937-6253 (sulliv55@miamioh.edu). Your trip will be confirmed via email.
Hefner Museum of Natural History
Connecting you to the nature in your neighborhood...and the world.
The Hefner Museum of Natural History uses exhibits, collections and specimens, and interactive programs to teach visitors of all ages about animal biodiversity, conservation, and ecology.
Museum Hours and Visiting Information
The Hefner Museum is open to the public from 9am-4pm Monday - Friday.
The Museum is closed on University holidays, including:
- December 23, 2023 - January 7, 2024 for Winter Break
- January 15 for Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Discovery Trunks
Imaginarium
Phase one of the museum's OEEF-funded renovation to the Imaginarium is complete, and the Imaginarium has re-opened! Come by and see the beautiful magnetic murals created by scientific illustrator and artist Julia Ferguson, and the hissing cockroaches in the new "Bugs Rule the World" exhibit.
Watch Now: 49th Hefner Lecture
Watch Dr. James W. Porter, "superstar scientist" present the 49th annual Hefner Lecture “Blurring the Lines between Medicine and Ecology while Saving Coral Reefs in the Florida Keys” on YouTube.
Dr. Porter's expertise and influence is diverse. He is an expert in coral, climate change, and the connections between these issues and human health and social justice. He was the scientific advisor of the award-winning film "Chasing Coral" (presently on Netflix) and their educational and outreach materials. His testimony before Congress on the connections between coral and productive human society "greatly influenced the U.S.’s decision to sign this U.N. Ocean Biodiversity Treaty."
Watch RecordingView Our Past Hefner Lectures
Our Staff
Staff members are available Monday-Friday, 9am-4pm, to help Miami faculty and staff incorporate specimens and exhibits into their classrooms or research programs. Faculty and staff are encourage to contact the Hefner to arrange a class visit, review and select specimens for classroom or lab use, and check out museum Discovery Trunks or other resources.
Steve Sullivan, Director
513-529-4617
sulliv55@MiamiOH.edu
Sullivan serves as the Director of the Hefner Museum of Natural History. Steve's passion for museums as a teaching tool began at an early age. By high school, he had transformed his parent's basement into "Steve's Museum"—a place where local kids could come to learn about the nature in their neighborhood through examining the living and preserved specimens Steve had collected. At Brigham Young University, while majoring in zoology and conservation biology, Steve worked at the university's museum of natural history, and volunteered at the museums of art and paleontology, and took courses through the museum of anthropology, learning more about the technical aspects of running a professional research and display institution.
Carla Blackmar, Exhibitions, Graphics, Cur. Tech.
513-529-8577
blackmc3@MiamiOH.edu
Blackmar brings a diverse background in communications, ecology and design to her work at the Hefner Museum. A lifelong gardener who has lived on both coasts, Carla is working to learn the flora and fauna of the Midwest while designing exhibits, communications materials and signage for the museum. Carla holds a BA in Visual and Environmental Studies from Harvard University, and a MA in City Planning from San Diego State University.
Give to the Hefner Museum of Natural History
Help us continue to teach visitors of all ages about animal biodiversity, conservation, and ecology.
Hefner Museum of Natural History
100 Upham Hall
Bishop Circle
Oxford, OH 45056
