Perkins Museum of Geology

Museum remains closed due to the ongoing reorganization of the Geology Department.

Geological sample identification services are suspended until further notice.

Meanwhile, take a look at our Educational Materials, and Geology Resources.

Learn more about the Perkins Museum of Geology.

Perkins Museum: Did you know?

The skeleton of the Charlotte Whale, deemed the Vermont State Marine fossil, is part of Perkins Museum collection. In 1849, railroad workers unearthed the bones of a mysterious animal in the town of Charlotte. Buried nearly 10 feet below the surface in a thick blue clay, the bones were identified as those of a "beluga" or "white" whale, an animal that inhabits arctic and subarctic marine waters in the northern hemisphere.

Unlocking the "but how"?

How to explain the bones of a marine whale buried beneath the fields of rural Vermont (over 150 miles from the nearest ocean)? Today, we can use the Charlotte whale to aid in the study of the geology and the history of the Champlain Basin— once a part of an inland sea. Learn more about the Charlotte Whale.

Eye on education

A mission of the Perkins Museum is to educate those interested in the geological legacy of Vermont. Explore our educational materials.

Behind the Wall: Uncovering the Lone Rock Point Mural Monday, October 1, 2019 Art conservator Emily Philips talks about recovering and restoring 1930's WPA mural in Vermont

Perkins' Vermont legacy

George Henry Perkins, 1898-1933, served for 35 years as the 8th Vermont state geologist. Perkins subsequently became the dean of UVM's College of Arts and Sciences.

About the collection

UVM has been sharing the geological history of our home state since 1826 when the collection was housed in the Old Mill Building. In 1962, the Perkins museum received a dedicated home and now holds UVM's geology gallery as well as the Vermont State Collection, which is believed to be the oldest state geologic collection in the country.