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by Susie Shupert '06
Trying to find the largest skeleton collection in the Hampton Roads area? Look no further than Virginia Wesleyan College. A natural history specimen collection is located in Blocker Hall on campus and is accessible to students every day. The bones are set up in various cabinets along the hallway in Blocker that 
people pass by on their way to class. However, there are some students who get to study these bones during their class time.
"Rather than just seeing a picture in a book, we can put these out in lab and they can have a 3-D experience," said Assistant Professor of Biology Victor Townsend. "I think students are delighted and seem to enjoy working with the material."
The collection consisted of 50 pieces in 2000 and has now expanded to 300 pieces of real bones, skeletons and replicas. The palentological set consists of roughly 80 replicas of fossil. There are even real monkey skeletons, a real cape buffalo and a real black bear.
"I've taken some of the material for school children to look at," said Townsend. "It helps to put these things out and talk about evolution or the diversification of planet earth."
Some students from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., also use the collection. There is a teaching assortment not on display that includes cats, birds and marine mammals like a killer whale.
"Our most valuable piece was discovered in the 1820s in 
England," said Townsend. The skull is reptilian in a flipper-like structure.
With a collection valued at roughly $50,000, Townsend hopes to improve how the models are showcased in the future.
"In the new building we'd like to have a museum and exhibits," said Townsend. "We want to make it as accessible as possible. The collection has come a long way and we're continuing to expand. Our goal is to have the best science program in the area and the museum is a part of that."
Megan Zirkle '06 contributed to this article.