Don Hoover, a member of the Ozark Mountain Gem and Mineral Society, looks at the collection in the annex. He helps the institute with mineral issues.

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Dustin Pruett, an intern at the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau, sizes himself up against a woolly mammoth leg bone.

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Fossils of pre-historic sea urchins, or echinoderms, found near St. Louis, are on display at the annex. The fossils are believed to be 350 million years old.

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A large woolly mammoth skull is on display at the Missouri Institute of Natural Science annex.

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A large woolly mammoth skull is on display at the Missouri Institute of Natural Science annex.

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Chris Day and Heather Buckner look at woolly mammoth fossils held in the Missouri Institute of Natrual Science annex.

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Friends, officials and staff of the Missouri Institute of Natural Science cut the ribbon on the new annex near Riverbluff Cave on May 5. Pictured from left to right: Jacy Graves, a neighbor of Riverbluff Cave and future paleontologist; Dave Coonrod, Greene County Presiding Commissioner; Matt Forir, Missouri Institute of Natural Science Executive Director; Roseann Bentley, Greene County Associate Commissioner; Renetta Thomson, daughter-in-law of the late MSU geologist Ken Thomson; and Layla Harding, Missouri Institute of Natural Science board member and Springfield Business Journal account executive.

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Missouri Institute of Natural Science Executive Director Matt Forir speaks at the annex ribbon cutting ceremony on May 5.

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The ribbon was cut on the Missouri Institute of Natural Science annex on Tuesday, May 5. It adds 2,500 square feet of space to house collections of fossils and bones.

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A large woolly mammoth skull is on display at the Missouri Institute of Natural Science annex.

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