Collection Tours


Students visiting the Mammals Collection looking at a variety of mammal skulls

Our Behind-the-Scenes-Tours of collections are offered for the University of Kansas and other university and college classes, as well as for a limited number of public groups. These special tours are led by researchers, collection managers or graduate students and are dependent upon staff availability. They are generally limited to pre-arranged times Tuesday-Friday, 9am-5pm. Note: availability is further limited during summer months due to researchers conducting field work. Please request your tour at least two weeks in advance of your anticipated visit date. 

Academic or university-level groups, please use the Academic Tour Request Form

Public groups, please use our Public Tour Request Form

Preparing for your tour:

The KU Collections have limited space in restricted areas, so we do ask the following of all tour participants. The group leader is responsible for making sure all participants are aware of our policies:

  • Tour participants must arrive on time, and be ready to stay with the group for the duration of the tour without breaks.
  • With the exception of taking photos, cell phone use is not permitted during tours.
  • Food and drink are not permitted on tours.
  • Firearms are not permitted on tours owing to lab safety.