The building's titanium-coated, stainless-steel outer covering sparkles with stars created by embedded fiber-optic lighting. This system emits a subtle glow without contributing to the light pollution above University Circle. On June 24, 2021, ground broke on a 50,000-Square-Foot Expansion as part of the museum's Centennial Transformation Project. The design by DLR Group is said to evoke the melting ice that made the Great Lakes region and the impact of water on the communities. The project is expected to be completed in 2026. Collections Museum collections total more than four million specimens and include specimens of paleontology, zoology, archaeology, mineralogy, ornithology, and a variety of other scientific subjects. , these items are off display: An extensive collection of Late Devonian fossil fish from the Cleveland Shale, including several mounted skulls of the arthrodire placoderm Dunkleosteus. Nine hundred monkey and ape skeletons, and more than 3,100 human skeletons (the Hamann-Todd Collection). A controversial skull of a juvenile tyrannosaur that was the basis for the species Nanotyrannus lancensis. This skull was discovered by a field crew led by former CMNH curator David Dunkle. The holotype of the Haplocanthosaurus sauropod, nicknamed "Happy". The most complete mount of a Coelophysis bauri, a composite skeleton composed of multiple adult skeletons from the famous quarry at Ghost Ranch, New Mexico. Mounted taxidermy remains of Balto the sled dog. An extensive mineralogy collection that includes a Moon rock and the Jeptha Wade gem collection. Replica skeletons of Triceratops, an adult Tyrannosaurus, and Jane, a juvenile tyrannosaurid formerly designated as the controversial species Nanotyrannus lancensis. Multiple mastodon and mammoth specimens. A cast and a lifelike recreation of an Australopithecus afarensis skeleton, an early hominid affectionately dubbed Lucy. A partial Allosaurus skeleton. A collection of 30,000 plant fossils acquired from the University of Cincinnati by former curator of paleobotany, Shya Chitaley. A Foucault pendulum underneath in which the Bicentennial Education Time Capsule was buried in 1996 and will be opened in 2046. The museum has made many discoveries over the years. A new ceratopsian, Albertaceratops nesmoi, was named in 2007 by former CMNH curator of Vertebrate Paleontology Michael Ryan. Hamann-Todd Collection The Hamann-Todd Collection is a collection of more than 3100 human skeletons and over 900 primate skeletons that were assembled starting in 1893. The collection was originally housed at Western Reserve University Medical School in a new medical building that was built for that purpose. The first floor of