Black in Natural History Museums

Now Open

Included with any admission.
Floor 3, Gilder Center

Text reads Dr. Margaret Collins 1922-1996 with an image of Margaret Collins, seated and working with an insect specimen..
Dr. Margaret Collins was a trailblazing entomologist whose discoveries allowed us to better understand termite evolution.
Black in Natural History Museums 
Explore the stories of 17 modern and historical Black scientists, artists, and curators in natural history.

Presented as a timeline starting in the 1600s through today, Black in Natural History Museums features profiles of scientists, artists, and curators across natural history fields, from entomology and botany to anthropology and marine biology. 

Learn about John Edmonstone, a former enslaved person who taught taxidermy to Charles Darwin, and Margaret Collins, the first Black woman to earn a doctorate in entomology, among others. In addition to celebrating the featured naturalists and their accomplishments, the exhibition notes the challenges and adversity Black naturalists have faced in pursuing their work. 

Text reads Black in Natural History Museums, and a timeline indicating 1600s and 1700s, with panels about naturalists from those eras.
Daniel Kim/© AMNH

Find out about scientists who are working around the world today, including Brandon Kilbourne, a mammalogist at the Natural History Museum Berlin, and American Museum of Natural History’s Curator Jessica Ware, an entomologist who specializes in the study of dragonflies. 

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Included with any admission. 

This exhibition is produced by the Black in Natural History Museums organization.