Collections & Research Almost half of the Western Center’s building houses the research labs and curation facility that serve as a significant regional resource for research and advanced educational training. The facility is climate-controlled, equipped with security safeguards, and was designed as a repository for the paleontological and archaeological materials recovered during the excavation of Diamond Valley Lake. |
The collection: The nearly 1,000,000 specimens, artifacts, and accompanying documentation are accessible for qualified researchers according to the Western Center Collections Policy. Inquiries should be directed to Dr. Paisley Cato via email. Click here to email your inquiry now. | |  |
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 | The facility: The Collections Repository (6,500 sq. ft.) serves as a repository in Riverside County for paleontological and archaeological collections derived from cultural and natural resource management projects as well as individual research projects that focus on Riverside County locations. The collections are housed in a state-of-the-art system: mobile compactor carriages holding 14' high steel shelving equipped with seismic restraints and steel cabinets with aluminum drawers. Pallet racking houses larger, jacketed specimens. Managed by a collections management professional with 30 years experience caring for natural history collections, policies and procedures exceed the standards established by relevant museum and discipline-based professional societies. |
The Research and Teaching Lab (940 sq. ft.) is our primary research lab that functions as a versatile space for both research and teaching. This lab has expanded bench space and cabinetry to accommodate both research and teaching, and it is equipped with a fume hood, two dust extraction vacuum trunks, microscopes and supplies. |
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The Receiving Bay and Preparation Lab (2,400 sq. ft. combined) are designed for receiving and initial preparation of collections. Equipped with 12' wide rollup doors, equipment for heavy lifting, floor drains, and water outlets, the space can be used to wash down samples taken directly from the field or to process bags of matrix with microsamples. The Curation Lab (1,100 sq. ft.) provides clean working spaces for the Western Center’s curatorial staff, visiting scholars and researchers, and representatives of cultural groups interested in studying the collections. This lab has the highest level of secured access.
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