This website was the first online exhibit developed by the Florida Museum of Natural History and was launched in 1997 as the Fossil Horse Cybermuseum. The site was reformatted in 2020 with some updated photos and illustrations.

Restyled illustrations by Drew Wilson and Eric Schmittgen.

Original Project Team

Bruce J. MacFadden, Ph.D.
Project Director and Principal Investigator
Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology; and Professor of Geology, Latin American Studies, and Zoology. Dr. MacFadden has studied fossil horses for more than 25 years. He was also Project Director of National Science Foundation funded fossil horse research (grant# IBN-9528020) and was the scientific advisor to the Florida Fossils: Evolution of Life and Land exhibit at Powell Hall, the Florida Museum’s Education and Exhibition Center on the University of Florida Campus.

Betty Dunckel, Ph.D.
Co-Principal Investigator
Dr. Dunckel worked with natural history programs and museum exhibits for more than 25 years. Her interests included exhibit and program research and evaluation. She was a member of most of the exhibit teams working on the development of the permanent exhibits for the Powell Hall Education and Exhibition Center and was responsible for the design and implementation of all evaluation studies.

Missi Mercer
Evaluation and Marketing Consultant
Missi has her Master’s degree in Museum Education and is dedicated to the study of informal educational settings. She has taught Science Methods and Field Experience courses for elementary education majors at UF.

Bill Paine
Computer Consultant
Mr. Paine developed database applications for most of the Museum’s collections and searchable applications for several collection databases on the museum’s website.

Jay O’Sullivan
Content Consultant
Jay studied the evolution of primates and marsupials for his Master’s degree in Anthropology. He then broadened his studies to include horses as a Ph.D. student in the Department of Zoology at the University of Florida. In particular, Jay studied the genus Archaeohippus, the dwarf horse found at the Thomas Farm fossil site in Florida.

Laurie Waltz
Graphic Designer with Anima Art, Gainesville, FL
Laurie is dedicated to science education and communication using digital technology.