Exhibits

The Conner Museum public exhibit is open to the public and does not charge admission. It occupies several rooms at the south end of the first floor of Abelson Hall. The galleries feature several hundred taxidermy mounts of birds and mammals, most from the Pacific Northwest. It is a popular destination for school field trips, campus visitors, and WSU courses.

More Visitor Information

East Gallery

The East Gallery is the largest of the three Museum rooms. The main theme of the gallery is Pacific Northwest wildlife, though animals from all over the world are also on display. This gallery includes birds, large predators, and a table with touchable items.

A table with interactive objects such as antlers, fur, and rubber scat. — This table has a variety of touchable items including antlers and fur.

West Gallery

The main theme of the West Gallery is aquatic life. Most of the displays in this room are mammals. The biggest mount is the bison in the corner of the room. Other displays include beavers, penguins, and a whale skull.

The Bison mount lived in a tavern before it was donated to the Museum.

Wolf display — Wolf mount. Longtime curator George Hudson mounted this large wolf from Canada.

North Gallery

The North Gallery features exhibits about evolution and adaptation which showcase animals from all over the world. It also includes our popular dinosaur exhibit.

Aardvark mount — A is for Aardvark. Check out those toenails. What do you suppose they are for?

Dinosaur cast of a large hadrosaurid species, *Prosaurolophus maximus*. It is a full-scale cast of a skeleton found in Canada.

A table with animals furs for guests to touch — Most museum displays are strictly “Look, but don’t touch.” The “Touch Table” in the North Gallery is an exception. Visitors are encouraged to touch the different types of fur on the table.

Hallway Displays

Several exhibits line the hallway at the south end of the museum. On one side of the hallway is a deer exhibit with mounts of deer species that occur in the region, including a moose. The other side of the hallway has smaller exhibits featuring skeletons, fossils, and the paleoartist Charles Knight.

Moose mount — Moose looking out of the deer herd display in the hallway.

Owen Science Library

If you have time, visit the Owen Science Library, just south of Abelson Hall, to view a few more Museum displays. There is a large mounted Brown Bear on the first floor and several display cases of exhibits on the second floor.