The Estelle Siebens Science Center opened in 2004. Designed in consultation with the faculty, the Science Center has 70,000 square feet of floor space, 18 teaching laboratories, and three research areas. Other features include:
Collections and Databases
BVU has a collection of 1,300 mammal specimens, 35 of which are mounted. Collection highlights include whole body taxidermy mounts of an elk, Kodiak brown bear, seal, cougar, snow leopard, leopard, Bengal tiger, red panda and black jaguar; head mounts of a walrus, lion, rhino and many African ungulates; and articulated skeletons of a white rhino, elephant and giraffe. A substantial portion of the collection originated at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha. The collection is on display in the Estelle Siebens Science Center.
The University also maintains the Kaiser Herbarium (plant collection) and has compiled a macro-invertebrate database for regional freshwater systems that identifies over 130 orders.
Confocal Microscope
BVU's Olympus Fluoview FV1000 Scanning Laser Confocal Microscope is the latest in point-scanning, point-detection, confocal laser scanning microscopy. The microscope lets student and faculty researchers see three-dimensional images of living organisms in incredible clarity and precision.
Greenhouse
The campus greenhouse features desert and rainforest rooms that display species from different continents alongside each other, allowing visitors to see how plants from various ecosystems have adapted to similar environmental conditions.
Outside the greenhouse is a prairie exhibit that preserves a small tract of Iowa's native grassland. "Iowa is probably the most developed state in the nation," says Dr. James Hampton, professor of biology. "Less than half of one percent of it is left in its natural state. Comparatively, New York, which many people think of as an extraordinarily developed state, is only around 70 percent developed."
The greenhouse also has a room devoted to ongoing research projects.
A visiting professor once asked me, 'Do you allow the students to use the equipment?' I said, 'Doctor, we require them to.'
Professor emeritus of chemistry
BVU Students Make Presentations at Iowa Academy of Science Annual Meeting
The largest group of Buena Vista University students in over two decades made presentations at the Iowa Academy of Science annual meeting in Mason City April 20-21. Read more...