Gustavus Specialty CollectionsA Guide to the College's Unique Academic Spaces

Gustavus Adolphus College is home to many unique collections and museums. Located around campus, these spaces are open to all students, faculty, visitors from the Gustavus community, and researchers from afar. Whether you're looking to do a class project, searching for a cozy place to study, or interested in learning something new, consider visiting one of these cabinets of curiosities. 

The Arboretum

Location: Arboretum Parking Lots M & N (south end of campus)
Contact: (507) 933-6181
arboretum@gustavus.edu 

The Arboretum provides an enriching environment to educate the mind, revive the spirit, and delight in Minnesota's natural history for both the Gustavus and surrounding Saint Peter communities. Living collections within the Arboretum include the Thompson Herb Garden, Johnson Waterfall Garden, Uhler Prairie, and Bassett Orchard. Browse the digital catalog of Garden Flowers, Trees and Shrubs, Prairie Grasses and Wildflowers or view the birds and insects that have been identified in the Arboretum since 2004. 

Artifact Compilation Collection - College Archive and Manuscript Collection

Location: Folke Bernadotte Memorial Library, 3rd Floor 
Contact: 507-933-7554
archives@gustavus.edu

In addition to printed matter and digital research databases, the Library has object and artifact collections ranging from typewriters and prehistoric tools to Swedish dolls and woven baskets. Materials in the College Archive and Manuscript Collection (CAMC) document people and organizations affiliated with Gustavus. This includes groups and alumni along with former members of the faculty, administration, and staff. Beyond the Artifact collection, there are thousands of fascinating files, peruse a Finding Aid to get started.

Chester Johnson Geology Museum

Location: Alfred Nobel Hall of Science 1300
Contact: g-geology-museum@gustavus.edu

The Chester Johnson Geology Museum is home to ten (and counting) undergraduate student-made exhibits where visitors can explore natural history and geology through engaging with various displays housed in the museum. The Chester Johnson Geology Museum is located in the lower level of Nobel Hall on the north side of the building in room 1300. 

College and Lutheran Church Archives

Location: Folke Bernadotte Memorial Library, 3rd Floor 
Contact: archives@gustavus.edu 
Follow: On Instagram at Archives at Gustavus (@gustavusarchives) 

The College and Lutheran Church Archives makes available for use and study significant historical materials documenting Gustavus Adolphus College and the Lutheran Church in America. The Archives makes available for research and study: Photographs, recordings, and documents concerning Gustavus; Materials from students, faculty, administrative offices, and alumni; manuscripts and miscellany relating to the College's history from 1862 to present; and more. 

Greeenhouse

Location: Alfred Nobel Hall of Science 3222
Contact: Pam Kittleson pkittels@gustavus.edu 
Follow: On Instagram at Gustavus Greenhouse (@gacgreenhouse)

The greenhouse is housed in Nobel Hall and 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. Our living collection includes Perry the rare Corpse Flower (Amorphophallus titanium) which drew over 7,000 visitors to campus when it first bloomed in 2007.

Herbarium

Location: Alfred Nobel Hall of Science 3328
Contact: Amy Kochsiek akochsie@gustavus.edu 

Amidst thousands of specimens held at the Gustavus Herbarium, two historic collections from the 1880s have been digitized: John Sandberg Specimens and the Swedish Plant Specimens. To explore these collections, use the links below. John Sandberg was a Swedish born botanist who collected extensively in the Northern Midwest and Rocky Mountains of North America during the 1880s. The Minnesota portion of his collection is housed here. Some other places where his collections are housed include: New York University, Harvard University, and the Smithsonian Museum. 

Hillstrom Museum of Art

Location: Jackson Campus Center 124
Contact: 507-933-7377
hillstrom@gustavus.edu

The Hillstrom Art Museum stewards over 600 works of art with an emphasis on 20th-century American prints, drawings, and paintings. The Museum activates its collection for student learning and leisure. Student-centered narratives and a focus on innovation make the museum a place for interdisciplinary education. By exchanging ideas and encouraging collaboration with the community, the Hillstrom provides cultural context for our histories and offers a safe environment to engage in critical conversations. Stop by, take an art history class in the museum, or inquire about research opportunities.

Åke and Kristina Bonnier Reading Room Library for Jewish Studies

Location: Old Main 303

The Bonnier Reading Room was created in celebration of scholarship, learning, community, and study - all are welcome. Search the catalog or just stop by to browse the shelves or study in a quiet, welcoming space. 

Invertebrate Entomology Collection (Insects)

Location: Alfred Nobel Hall of Science
Contact: Margaret Bloch Qazi mqazi@gustavus.edu 

Insect collections are an important resource for studies in taxonomy & natural history. Collections document species diversity, polyphenisms, and phenotypic differences between regions. Gustavus Adolphus College has an extensive insect collection, comprising thousands of insects from at least twelve different orders. Many of these insects are decades old - preserved from the 1950s and 60s. Thousands of specimens were collected by various professors and students over the years. The specimens in this collection are used by several classes at Gustavus, including Organismal Biology, Invertebrate Zoology, Entomology, Freshwater Biology and Aquatic Stewardship. The collection is also used by Entomologists in the broader, scientific community. 

Schaefer Art Gallery

Location: Schaefer Fine Arts Center, Studio Arts Building (FAA)
Contact: Nicolas Darcourt ndarcour@gustavus.edu 

The Schaefer Art Gallery offers exhibitions and events to support the Art and Art History Department, augment the educational experience of Gustavus Adolphus College as a whole, and engage members of the surrounding communities. The annual 9 month exhibition calendar includes a combination of Art and Art History Department student exhibitions, contemporary work by regional and national artists or artist groups, artist lectures, and discussion based workshops. 

Special Collections & Rare Books (SCRB)

Location: Folke Bernadotte Memorial Library, main floor
Contact: 507-933-7554
archives@gustavus.edu

The Special Collections and Rare Books Room, or SCRB (pronounced skrib) is located on the main floor of the library between the computer lab and room 211. There are 28 languages represented in the collection, and it is home to rare books such as a first edition of Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and Dr. Seuss books that are no longer in circulation. Although books within the collection are not available to be checked out, the room is open for use during regular library hours for students to come in and study, research, or ask an Archivist to handle the collection. 

Vertebrate Collection - Birds

Location: Alfred Nobel Hall of Science
Contact: 507-933-7333
biology-dept@gustavus.edu

The Vertebrate Collection of the Biology Department is a collection of live-mounted bird specimens includes members of 16 orders and 36 families. Study skins from 3 orders and 20 families providing additional diversity in the collection. Students work with these collections in courses such as Vertebrate Zoology and Comparative Anatomy. Highlights include dabbling and diving ducks from the family Anatidae, including the green-winged teal, common and hooded merganser, wood duck, and ring-necked duck. Also well represented are specimens from the family Phasianidae, including the ring-necked pheasant, gray partridge, greater prairie chicken, and ruffed grouse. In addition, the collection includes a variety of species from the family Icteridae, including the common grackle, red-winged blackbird, and eastern meadowlark. Each bird specimen has an image, details, and a link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website in order to provide a greater breadth of information.

Vertebrate Collection - Fish

Location: Alfred Nobel Hall of Science
Contact: 507-933-7333
biology-dept@gustavus.edu

Much of the original Vertebrate Fish Collection (specimens and field notebooks) was destroyed in the tornado of 1998. As a result, many of the specimens now only exist as a teaching collection serving a variety of aquatic and vertebrate courses at Gustavus including Aquatic Biology, Vertebrate Biology, Comparative Anatomy, and Fish & Fisheries. There are 58 lots (at least 140 individual specimens) mostly from the freshwater and marine habitats of the Pacific Northwest. Thirteen families of freshwater fish and several families of marine fish are represented in the collection. Northern gamefishes like rainbow trout and mountain whitefish are present, but so are commercial seafood species (capelin, Pacific hake) and evolutionary wonders (seahorses, hagfish, parrotfish and frogfish). Each specimen has a link to a corresponding page in Fishbase, the most comprehensive fish database in the world.