Puget Sound Museum of Natural History

The Puget Sound Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum on the campus of the University of Puget Sound, in Tacoma, Washington, United States.

The museum's collection has ~31,000 mammals, 26,340 birds, 8,237 amphibians and reptiles, 12,500 insects, 13,000 plants, 11,500 fossils and 4,000 rocks and minerals. The collection grows at a rate of one to two percent every year. It was founded by James R. Slater.

The museum is host to the world’s second largest bird wing collection. The images are available to the public through the University of Puget Sound’s Wing & Tail Image Collection.

Educational programs
Nights at the Museum is a series of educational events for University of Puget Sound students and residents of the Tacoma area. In addition to specimens from the museum’s collection, live animals are often featured in partnership with Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium.

Nature in the Classroom is the Slater Museum of Natural History’s science-based curriculum for K-12 grade students that was created in collaboration with the Tacoma School District. The curriculum incorporates specimens from the museum’s collection with the goal of educating students about the natural world. Puget Sound Museum Education and Outreach staff are sometimes available to conduct the curriculum over three 1.5-hour sessions. Alternatively, classroom kits are available for teachers to check out if they are trained to lead the lessons.