Like many science classrooms, Nathan Gregier’s is not short on specimens. Room 321 has been accumulating artifacts since before Gregier’s time at CMR.

“That room was originally Don Kenska’s, who is sort of a figurehead in science at CMR,” Gregier said. “He brought in a lot of that stuff originally, and when I moved into the room, I started bringing in stuff that I had and encouraging kids to bring in stuff that they had.”

Many of the animals that reside on his shelves are no longer available to the public. In fact, some of the eagle and hawk mounts would now be considered illegal.

“You can’t mount an eagle and you can’t mount a hawk without special paperwork or privileges, but because they were done before those types of laws were passed they’re kind of grandfathered in,” Gregier explained. “They’re not something I could get today.”

That’s why they’re his favorite.

Although Gregier, a CMR graduate, has been teaching at CMR since 2006, he plans to continue collecting for as long as he can. The items are conversation starters.

“Just trying to bring in the types of things that make science more interesting.”