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The mouth is big enough to eat any little kid. Makes one want to think twice if you meet this animal in the wild face to face.

As we arrived in early in Havre, Montana, we read about the MSU-Northern collection in a magazine, and after talking to the people at the friendly Chamber of Commerce there, we felt we had to stop in and check it out. Not just because we had some time to spend but the preview was good enough to get our appetites ready for a real university collection. During the school year, you can just pop in and see it, but over the summer, it’s better to announce yourself first, which is what we did, and the collection really was pretty darn interesting, I have to say myself. 

Instead of handsomely stuffed animals in provocative poses, there were skeletons, jars of unique creatures, and other such things you might expect to find in a natural and/or educational setting. However, the biological, anatomical collection is designed for education, rather than entertainment, which is probably why it was so fascinating to us and the family. 

These aren’t stuffed animals, they’re skins, bones, anatomical displays and more. By “more” I mean it’s everything considered indigenous to the Northern plains area, so there are also a number of donated native American artifacts, and they’re all very well preserved and respectfully displayed. In fact, I learned a few things myself to take back to our own local museum to enhance it’s image and visitors attention. 

This isn’t a museum as such, but a collection held by the university, and it’s managed, maintained and showed by the individuals on hand who know it, get it, and really care about it.

The MSU-N (Montana State University, Northern) collection is mostly displayed for visiting school groups as part of educational programs, but it’s also open to the public. Don’t be fooled by the geography, this is a school that has 1,000 to 1,200 students in higher education at any given time in fields like nursing, education, diesel mechanics, and applied technology.

The hall in which the collection is displayed is the Hagener Science Center, named in honor of a professor and Montanan who made the university what it is today, is open for self-guided tours year-round, with guided tours available by request.

Dr. Hagener was a paleontologist and an expert in botany and invertebrates, and amassed much of the collection himself. His widow still lives in Havre, but if you want to see the collection, you can contact Vaughn Rundquist to setup a time. The longer lead time allowed, the better, as there is no official curator, but he does work his best to have someone available to show you around.

Groups are welcome of course, especially with advance notice. The MSU-Northern collection can be viewed in the Hagener Hall on the campus of MSU-Northern in Havre, Montana. If you get lost, just ask anyone you see and they’ll point you in the right direction, or check them out online at www.msun.edu