The Biodiversity Center, together with its field stations and collections, is housed at multiple locations.
- Three affiliated field laboratories are within an hour of campus: the Brackenridge Field Laboratory on Lake Austin Boulevard in Austin, the Stengl Lost Pines Biological Field Station in Smithville and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in South Austin.
- Ichthyology and Herpetology collections are at the University's J.J. Pickle Research Campus about eight miles north of the main UT campus.
- Entomology and Cave Arthropod collections are at the Lake Austin Center Building, adjacent to Brackenridge Field Lab, about 3 miles west of the main UT campus.
- The Plant Resources Center is in the Main Tower of the UT Campus.
- Most faculty and research labs associated with the Center are located in Patterson Labs, BIO labs, and the NMS building on the main campus.
- The Teaching Collections are housed in the BIO labs building on the main campus.
- The Wildflower Center is in South Austin.
- The White Family Outdoor Learning Center is in Dripping Springs.
- The Marine Science Institute is in Port Aransas.
- The McDonald Observatory is in West Texas in the Davis Mountains.
We've provided a Google map to some of these facilities.
Pickle Research Campus
The Ichthyology and Herpetology collections are housed at the Pickle Research Campus in North Austin.
At: 30.38304, -97.72701
Here is a link to our building on Google Maps
Here is a link to our building on the University's campus map
The mailing address for all correspondence and specimen shipping is:
TNHC Building, PRC 176
Directions to the Ichthyology and Herpetology Collections at PRC:
NORTHBOUND METRO RAPID 803
Shuttles from main campus run every 15 minutes, and are free for UT students, staff and faculty (with valid UT photo ID). Travel time is normally about 25 minutes. See the weekday PRC shuttle schedule for details. The collections building (noted as Bldg 176, or LSF on some campus maps) is located in the southeast corner of the PRC, near the intersection of Innovation Boulevard and Harry Ransom Trail. The shuttle stop is at the Pickle Research Commons, about 1500ft NW of PRC 176 (see map).
DRIVING FROM THE MAIN UT CAMPUS TO PICKLE RESEARCH CAMPUS
Take I-35 North to 183 North. From 183, take the Burnet Rd. exit, (2.0 road miles after junction with I-35). Turn right at the light, heading North onto Burnet Rd. The Pickle Research Campus (PRC) is on the left hand side, after the 3rd light (less than 1 mile). After you pass the guard stand you will be on Read Granberry.
DRIVING FROM AUSTIN BERGSTROM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (ABIA)
Head on SH 71 West and merge onto 183 North (about 1.6 miles). Take 183 N and stay on for ~12.5 miles until you reach the Burnet Rd. (FM 1325) exit. Turn right on Burnet Rd., heading N. After the third light, turn left into the Pickle Research Campus. After you pass the guard stand you will be on Read Granberry.
FROM ABIA TAKING CAPITAL METRO BUS
The MetroAirport leaves on the hour and half hour from the far right end of the terminal sidewalk as you leave baggage claim. Get off at 21st St, across from the stadium, and walk away from the stadium on 21st St to Guadalupe. Turn right on Guadalupe to catch the NORTHBOUND METRO RAPID 803 (more info above) at its West Mall stop just N of 22nd Street.
DRIVING TO THE BIODIVERSITY COLLECTIONS, BUILDING 176
From Read Granberry, continue west through the open chainlink fence/gate and take the first left onto Harry Ransom Trail. Follow on Harry Ransom Trail until it dead ends at the intersection with Innovation Boulevard. Take a left (east). Biodiversity Collections (PRC 176) will be the second building on your right, after the Library Storage Facility (if navigating, the University map says our building's physical address is 2900 INNOVATION BLVD, AUSTIN, TX 78758). The Biodiversity Collections entrance and parking lot are on the east side of the building. If you do not have a proper UT parking permit, see staff for a temporary use permit.
We also maintain a facility for preparing skeletons for research and teaching using dermestid beetles, in collaboration with the Vertebrate Paleontology Lab.
Lake Austin Center
Our Entomology and Cave Arthropods collections reside at the Lake Austin Centre Building (LAC). The physical address for LAC is:
3001 Lake Austin Blvd.
Austin, TX 78703
Brackenridge Field Lab
The physical address for BFL is:
2907 Lake Austin Boulevard
Austin, TX 78703
For further information regarding visiting Brackenridge Field Laboratory, see its Visitor & User Guidelines
Stengl Lost Pines Research Station
The physical address for Stengl Lost Pines is:
403 Old Antioch Road
Smithville, TX 78957
For further information regarding visiting Stengl see its Visitor & User Guidelines
BIO Labs, Patterson, and NMS on UT Main Campus
The Biodiversity Center faculty, several Biodiversity Collections and Curators, and the Plant Resource Center all are located on UT's main campus.
Many collections are used for teaching in the Department of Integrative Biology for instruction in Entomology, Vertebrate Natural History, Comparative Anatomy, Herpetolology, Ichthyology, and other courses. These collections are housed in BIO labs on the main UT campus.
Patterson Hall, located on the east side of Speedway just north of 24th Street, is home to many faculty members in the Biodiversity Center, as well as the administrative offices of the Department of Integrative Biology. Faculty also have offices and labs in the Neural and Molecular Science Building (NMS) across Speedway on the west side.
Plant Resources Center on UT Main Campus
The Plant Resources Center is located in the Main Building building on the campus of The University of Texas at Austin. Our main entrance is Room 127 located on the east hallway on the first floor (one up from ground). The collections are housed on six floors within the Main building and tower and are arranged in a modified Engler and Prantl system.
The Plant Resources Center is open for general use 8:00-11:30 A.M. and 12:30-5:00 P.M., Monday through Friday. Visitors wishing to use the collection for research or identification are welcome, but should first contact the curator for an appointment (see visitor policy). Use of the herbarium for teaching is limited to demonstration purposes. Scientists wishing to consult the collections for extended periods may be furnished research space upon formal request to the Director or the Curator outlining their research objectives and funding sources. Scientists wishing to use material for studies that include sampling of specimens should consult our policy on the use of our collection for such studies.
Wildflower Center
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center field station offers scientists and students opportunities for research and learning about a mixed oak-juniper savanna along the Balcones Escarpment with intermittent drainages and a network of cave and karst features. As the newest addition to the field station network, it supports better understanding of native and managed landscapes—using environmental monitoring, original research and discovery-based student learning activities—to inform decision-making about the best ways to support people, plants, wildlife and the natural systems that they rely on.
White Family Outdoor Learning Center
The White Family Outdoor Learning Center in Dripping Springs, Texas serves as a 266-acre living "classroom" in the Texas Hill Country. It provides channels, floodplains and hill slopes that cover a range of steepness and soil occurrences. The topographic, lithologic and hydrologic variability provides an ability to design and implement long-term hydrological and ecological monitoring and data collection for use in research and teaching.
Marine Science Institute
The Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas is a prime location for research on the Texas Coast adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico and local bay systems. The Marine Science Institute also manages the Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve, a federal-state partnership that connects research, education and stewardship to communities.
McDonald Observatory
The McDonald Observatory in Fort Davis is the most recent addition to the Texas Field Station Network and available for the study of the land and the celestial universe. Located on 650 acres in the Davis Mountains of West Texas, this mostly undisturbed land in the Chihuahuan Desert is a valuable natural resource, accessible for research and learning.