Museum of Comparative Zoology

The Museum of Comparative Zoology is a research facility at Harvard University in Cambridge that holds millions of animal specimens and skeletons. The collections include departments for insects, reptiles, mammals, and other animal groups.

The museum was founded in 1859 by Louis Agassiz and grew into one of the world's largest animal collections. Over the decades, the institution expanded through expeditions and donations to support scientific work.

The collections show animals from different periods and regions of the world. Visitors see displays that reveal how diverse wildlife is and how species relate to one another.

The museum is located on the Harvard campus and open for public visits with free or low-cost admission. The building is centrally situated and easily reached, with the collections arranged so visitors can walk through the various animal halls.

The collection includes a sand dollar fossil that Charles Darwin gathered in 1834 and pheasants that once belonged to George Washington. These two unexpected items connect two important historical figures to a modern research institution.