Hutchison Hall Specimen Collection (Univ. of Rochester)

After decades forgotten in storage, the University of Rochester’s natural science specimen collection has been rediscovered and partially put on display. In Hutchison Hall’s second-floor hallway, visitors now see a “treasure trove of antique specimens” – cabinets filled with 19th-century skeletons, skulls, taxidermy mounts, preserved animals in hand-blown glass jars, fossils, and vintage microscope slides. This once-renowned collection (assembled by famed naturalist Henry A. Ward) offers a fascinating glimpse into the university’s bygone natural history museum