Just as you enter the museum, the hallway connecting exhibits is dominated by a mural of flying cranes.

Originally widely distributed, crane numbers declined as wetlands were drained and by 1942, the species had just 22 individuals.

 “At a small museum, I get to do everything,”  said Jessica Tir, the full-time curator at the Conner Museum. “I get to make displays, get to work with students, teach a little, do tours and that’s really satisfying to me.”

Her passion for the museum matches the energy of the space, where history, conservation and hands-on learning meet in every gallery.

The Conner Museum at WSU gets about 15,000 visitors annually and serves as a special place for students to get hands-on experience with specimens and for community members and visitors to learn more about the region’s natural history. 

According to the School of Biological Sciences website at WSU, Charles R. Conner was the president of the Board of Regents. Conner persuaded the state of Washington to donate its exhibits from the Chicago World’s Fair to the fledgling Washington Agricultural College.

 Those exhibits included anthropology, geology, biology and agriculture. Over time, the museum laid a focus on vertebrate animals. Today, the museum is located in WSU’s Abelson Hall and the public exhibit includes more than 700 mounts of birds and mammals. The scientific collection used by researchers houses more than 60,000 specimens of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and fish.

“I actually started volunteering here and that turned into me being a paid employee,” Tir said. “Which turned into me being in the right place at the right time.” 

The tour of the museum began in the east gallery, where mammals were displayed in glass cases and there was a table in the corner filled with quizzes and scavenger hunts for visitors. 

In the gallery, an African leopard hangs on the wall. Tir shared that the species is endangered and it is illegal to buy, sell or possess leopard parts but a man who went on a safari shot the leopard and brought it home. 

After he died, his estate sent it to an auction house, but it could not be sold legally, so the leopard was donated to the Conner Museum. Although the museum focuses on Pacific Northwest animals, they accepted it and Tir said guests seem to enjoy it. 

Next was the west gallery. In this gallery, Tir created one of her favorite displays and there is an adult sandhill crane and a baby crane that has a background with grass to show off how the babies are camouflaged.

To continue the tour was the north gallery, which had a unique display of a Prosaurolophus maximus skeleton. 

In this gallery, student and visitor Grace Wright shared what makes the museum unique. 

“Just the fact it’s all these animals you’d never see around and getting to see them up close and all their textures,” she said.

After being able to see all the galleries, Tir was able to show off the research lab, where many species are studied and preserved. 

Imaging is a new frontier for the staff and museum. Tir explained that they are working to capture high-quality photos of the specimens and upload them online. The museum wants to make it accessible for scientists and viewers everywhere. 

Tir also said that while other schools hire outside professionals to create displays, students at WSU get hands-on experience and the chance to develop their skills while under her supervision. 

“I think the museum adds a bit of a scenery change almost within campus,” visitor Riley Shapiro said. “It provides students an opportunity to take a minute or two out of their day and learn about the animals that were here before us and now.”

With its unique collections and hands-on opportunities, the Conner Museum invites students and the community year-round at no cost for admission.