Biology Department Facilities

Animal Room

This two room facility is located in the basement of Nobel Hall and houses animals used in teaching and research laboratories. Typically mice, rats, and rabbits are used. The department also has a number of aquaria, freshwater and marine. Facilities and equipment are available for individual student research as arranged for with an instructor and/or animal room manager. Because of possible contamination with unknown or unwanted pathogens, wild or other animals are not allowed within the research animal section. The animal facility is registered with and inspected by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture.) Any questions should be directed to Maureen Carlson. Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee information can be obtained at IACUC.

Arboretum Waterfall in the Arboretum

The Linnaeus Arboretum located just west of the campus was first planted in the spring of 1973. At the present time, the arboretum includes fifty-five acres but there are plans to develop an additional seventy-five. When the arboretum is completed, it will contain all the trees and plants native to Minnesota including conifers, hardwoods, and prairie as well as an area where introduced species are displayed. Animals in the arboretum include mice, pheasants, jack rabbits, gophers and deer. Birds of all kinds pass through including hawks and eagles. There are several bluebird houses located throughout the arboretum. The Coneflower Prairie was planted in 2008 with significant input by a Biology Honors student. Several biology classes utilize the arboretum for laboratory and field studies. Any questions concerning the arboretum should be directed to Scott Moeller. 

Cell Culture

The cell culture facility in Room 225 is used for student research and in immunology, cell biology, and cell culture classes. Any questions about cell culture should be directed to Laura Burrack.

Greenhouse Corpse flower in bloom

The greenhouse is housed in Nobel Hall and is the responsibility of the Biology department. It is used for student and faculty research, general biology, botany, and ecology laboratories. The greenhouse contains a variety of flowering plants, including cactus, other succulents, ferns, and tropical plants. Students are encouraged to explore the greenhouse. Any questions about the greenhouse should be directed to Pamela Kittelson.

Herbarium

This facility contains many plants from Sweden and Minnesota from as far back as the 1700's. Field botany students use the collection and prepare specimens to enlarge the holdings. The herbarium is located in Room 324A in Nobel Hall. Questions may be answered by Pamela Kittelson.

Licensed Radiation Facility

The biology department houses a licensed facility in Room 327 for the use of radioactive materials in lab courses and research projects. All students and faculty desiring to use radioactive compounds must take a videotaped radiation safety course. The tapes can be obtained from Dale Plemmons, the institutional radiation safety officer. 

Visualization and Imaging CenterZeiss

The Center is a three room facility that offers a range of capabilities. One room contains a Zeiss LSM 700 laser scanning confocal microscope, built using an inverted Zeiss Axio Observer stand augmented with a fully motorized stage and a second detector, a high-resolution CCD camera. The Center also has a fluorescence imaging room with a HORIBA Fluoromax-4 fluorescence spectrometer equipped with integrated cuvette stirring, brackets for supplemental filters, programmable temperature control, and rotatable filters for polarized light (i.e. to detect anisotropy). An accompanying computer suite contains six dual-monitor workstations with imaging and molecular modeling software, including two with stereographic viewing capability, plus both stereographic and high-definition image projection systems. These spaces are used for faculty-student collaborative research and for instructional purposes. The Center was equipped in part due to generous support from a Howard Hughes Medical Institute science education grant. Questions about the facility and reservation requests can be directed to Jeff Dahlseid. The reservation calendar for the Center can be accessed by those with a Gustavus network username using the link below. 

Note: If you get directed to a Google login page when using the link below, put your full Gustavus e-mail address in the "Email" field and leave the "Password" field blank. When you click "Sign in" you will be directed to the Gustavus login page where you can log in using your Gustavus credentials.

Visualization and Imaging Center Calendar