Science Building Laboratories and Classrooms
The Science Building at Eastern Kentucky University provides state-of-the-art laboratory and instructional spaces well-suited for engaged and transformative learning and cutting-edge research. The outside of the building was also designed as a learning space including a waterway populated with native plant species.
Herbarium
The Ronald L. Jones Herbarium at EKU houses over 70,000 plant specimens making it the largest collection in the state of Kentucky. Most specimens are from central and eastern Kentucky, but there is a good representation from western Kentucky and of the southeastern United States. There is also a set of woody plant specimens recently collected in Costa Rica. Nearly all of our specimens are of vascular plants (ferns, gymnosperms, wildflowers, vines, shrubs and trees); there are only a few collections of algae and bryophytes. A number of important sets of specimens are housed at the EKU Herbarium, including sets from Lilley Cornett Woods, Maywoods Environmental and Educational Laboratory, Pine Mountain, Breaks Interstate Park, Brodhead Swamp and the headwater regions of the Green River; collections from the Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission; collections of Mary Wharton, E.T. Browne, and Raymond Athey; and county collections from Madison, Estill, Jackson and Garrard Counties.
Dr. Branley Branson Museum
The Branley Branson Museum of Zoology located on the first and fourth floors of the EKU Science Building contains the largest zoological research collection of amphibians, reptiles, mammals, insects, freshwater fishes, crayfish, gastropods and unionid bivalves in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Greenhouse
The Department of Biological Sciences Greenhouse at EKU is located directly behind the Science Building. This 3,600 square foot greenhouse features the latest in climate control and automation. The greenhouse is divided into four rooms, each of which can simulate different terrestrial environments. There are five zones in the greenhouse which include a tropical room, a ferns and orchids room, a cacti and succulents room, a research room and the main hallway.
