Through a collaboration of private and public resources, valuable products such as pharmaceuticals are scaled up from the lab bench to the production line with the help of microorganisms and fermentation. These research collections are designed as a mechanism to catalog the biological diversity of the world's birds, mammals, insects and plants. Over a million specimens are housed in these collections and are used for teaching and research purposes. The U of M Herbarium is the sixth largest university collection of plant specimens in the country. This facility is one of the few in the world designed to serve as a hospital for sick and injured raptors such as hawks, eagles, osprey, owls and falcons.
Visitors see the clinic, talk with volunteers and meet several of the resident birds.
There is a small charge for this tour. This is a project coordinated by the Fisheries and Wildlife Department to develop and test means of growing fish as a viable agriculture product. This is an opportunity to visit the labs in which faculty members and students work on biological research in areas such as genetics, biochemistry, microbiology, ecology, and animal behavior. Medical School and School of Veterinary Medicine Tours can be arranged for these facilities on a limited basis for small groups. Both involve walking tours of the buildings and discussions with current students.