National Museum of Natural History Unearthed

Teens Focus on Ocean and Climate Issues for National Summit

Students from the Suquamish Tribal Early College High School, part of the Seattle Aquarium Delegation to the Third Student Summit on the Ocean & Coasts, are working on a project to raise community awareness of how ocean acidification impacts the Suquamish community–economically, environmentally, socially, and culturally. They will present their plans in Washington, D.C., tomorrow in a program that will be webcast live from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. Learn more about the Student Summit and webcast, and enjoy their video!

Ocean Portal Team

Video courtesy of: Coastal America

Want Your Students to Take Active Roles in Global Environmental Issues? Just Shout!

Image courtesy of the Shout Learning Project.

A week from tomorrow, three of our staff will take part in a free online event for students and teachers called Study the Land. Study the Land is the second in a six-part series connecting experts in environmental sciences with you and others around the world - both during these live webcasts and through ongoing connections with Microsoft’s Partners in Learning Network, the Smithsonian Institution, and TakingITGlobal's online community.

Put together, this rich array of resources coalesces around themes about environmental responsibility known as “shouts.”  These six themes – Live, Study, Change, Sustain, Value, and Celebrate - make up the Shout Learning Project, and as described on its website:

Shout gives participants a framework for success, with resources and tools for exercising social responsibility while building the 21st-century skills of collaboration, innovation, and critical thinking. When students are connected through technology and empowered to build activities in their own way the learning experience extends far beyond the four walls of a classroom ...take your own stand in making the world a better place. Now that’s something to Shout about!

The NMNH staff participating in this second “shout” come from our Botany Department and bring their expertise in a variety of areas including plant conservation, scientific illustration, and systematic biology. Explore their profiles linked below:

• Gary A. Krupnick, Ph.D., is the Head of the Plant Conservation Unit [link to his staff bio]
• Alice Tangerini is a Staff Scientific Illustrator [link to her staff bio]
• W. John Kress, Ph.D., is a Curator and Research Scientist, as well as the Director of the Smithsonian's Consortium for Understanding and Sustaining a Biodiverse Planet, and Adjunct Professor at The George Washington University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Yunnan [link to his staff bio]

We hope you’re now brimming with questions and excited to join them on January 26th. Don’t forget! Registration is free and only takes a few seconds. Can’t watch it live?  Watch the archive, follow the tweets, and join in their Facebook community.   We hope to see you there and at future Shouts.

Sarah Banks, Audience Engagement Specialist, Education and Outreach

Be Part of the Future of Your Museum

Image courtesy of Smithsonian Instution.

Staring into the brilliance of the Hope Diamond.

Gazing up at an African bush elephant.

Discovering exhibits and browsing collections online.

Getting up close to a Coelacanth fossil.

Participating in a free, interactive educational program.

These are just a few of the memories experienced every day at NMNH. There are many more memories that you, the Museum’s community, shared with us this past year. Whether you visited the Museum as a child, or brought your own children to explore the wonders of science today; if you browse our blogs or stay up to date on our scientific research and discoveries—however you are involved—you are an important part of this Museum’s past. As we begin our next 100 years, we hope you will continue to be a part of our future. And one way you can start is by showing your support and giving back to your Museum. Your gift today will help us fulfill our mission tomorrow. You can contribute to one of our newest exhibitions, like Human Origins, donate to the Ocean Portal, or select a field of scientific study. Wherever you choose to give, your tax-deductible gift will help ensure this Museum continues to provide dynamic educational programs, important scientific research, interactive websites, and amazing exhibits for you and generations to come.

Thank you for being a part of the future of your Museum.

 

Crafting for a Cause: The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef Comes to the Smithsonian

 

Natalie Zarowny. Image courtesy of Natalie Zarowny.

This past summer, I was lucky enough to intern at the National Museum of Natural History as they prepared for an exhibit that is coming to the museum this weekend: The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef.  This project is a collaboration of Margaret and Christine Wertheim, two sisters from California who combine art, science, conservation, and mathematics to create a unique coral reef-like structure constructed out of crochet.  Unbeknownst to my supervisors, this project was right up my alley.  An avid craft enthusiast since childhood, I have always wanted to explore the medium of crochet, and the fact that this exhibit involves so many different disciplines made it even more fascinating to me.  What better way to raise awareness about coral reefs than creating one in our own community made out of beautiful and delicate needlework? (Plus: Who doesn’t like crafting for a cause?)

As part of my internship, I created a video podcast documenting the construction of the Smithsonian Community Coral Reef, which will be the largest part of the display in The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef.  In this podcast, I interviewed participants and shot footage of them crocheting individual pieces – called polyps - that put together will make up the reef.  Making this podcast was such great experience not only because of the unique nature of this project, but also because of the wonderful people I got to meet at events held at several D.C. area yarn shops as well as the Smithsonian itself.  Before I would film anything, I always sat down with the participants, a great majority of whom were women.  I was fascinated by hearing their stories of how they came to be involved in this project, from the woman who was crocheting in memory of her deceased, former-diver husband to a teacher involving her pre-teen students in the projects.  There was no shortage of stories.

Polyps created for the Smithsonian Reef. Image courtesy of Natalie Zarowny.

Most of the participants came from the artistic perspective of the exhibit, avid crocheters who are always looking for a new project.  But along the way, they became interested in the science, mathematics, and conservation of aspects as well.  One specific image comes to mind of one of the workshops held at the Smithsonian.  As I came in, one woman was taking out a small stack of books she had brought with her from her local library to help educate her fellow crocheters on making their coral pieces naturally accurate.  Another woman had checked out books from the kids’ section of the library that included vibrant illustrations and pictures, inspiring her to branch out in crocheting different types of coral then the ones that had been initially suggested.

The Fiber Space Reef. Image courtesy of Jennifer Lindsay.

The sheer enthusiasm for being accurate in their designs was impressive enough, but the creativity of the participants was truly stunning.  As part of the Toxic Coral Reef section of the exhibit, one woman had the brilliant idea of using old videotape reels as yarn, resulting in a shiny and diseased looking piece of coral.  Along with her design, I witnessed many others crocheting with makeshift yarn made from plastic bags as additions to the reef, creating a stiff, captivating coral that must be seen to be believed.

All in all, I couldn’t have asked for a better internship experience, and I’m so excited to make the drive down from Boston to see the exhibit.

Natalie Zarowny, Intern, Exhibits

Time to Celebrate!

To see NMNH at its best is to see its staff sharing their passion for science and community.   The recent Centennial Festival – Looking Both Ways: Past & Forward – found both these passions in abundance with over thirty activities spanning all three floors of the Museum’s public space.  Here are just a few of the highlights:

Image courtesy of Margery Gordon, Smithsonian Institution

-     Forensic anthropologists and curators of the Written in Bone exhibit, Dr. Doug Owsley and Kari Bruwelheide, shared the investigation into the death of 19th-century naturalist Robert Kennicott
-     “Snugglepus the Platypus” surprised and delighted children in the Behring Family Hall of Mammals, as did a costumed shark in the Sant Ocean Hall (pictured at right)
-    Chief of Temporary Exhibitions Barbara Stauffer challenged visitors to imagine future exhibits at the Museum and encouraged them
to share their fondest NMNH memories

Image courtesy of Joni Foote

 -    Karen McDonald demonstrated the principles of scientific illustration with new technology.
-    Special guest (and world champion elk and turkey caller) Gregory Hubbell, Jr. shared sounds from the wild and James Foote (pictured at left) brought a little presidential flair with his impersonation of Theodore Roosevelt.
 
Feeling like you missed out?  Don’t worry!  Many of these activities occur on a regular basis.  Even if you can’t make it to the Museum, we hope to hear from you!  Share your memories, help us imagine our future, and stay in touch by email, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and YouTube.  As we celebrate our past, we’re looking forward to the next one hundred years.  

Sarah Banks, Social Media and Special Projects Manager, Office of Education and Outreach

**Special thanks to Margery Gordon and her assistant Elizabeth Gerold for their herculean efforts to bring us all together for this memorable event!

Still Blue After a Century of Marine Science and Exploration

Models of a giant squid and an octopus hang over display cases in the "Lower Invertebrates" exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution Building ("the Castle") in 1901. The Smithsonian has been conducting marine science and building the world's largest marine collections for more than a century. Learn about the rich traditions and long-standing research of the National Museum of Natural History as we celebrate 100 years. Image courtesy of Smithsonian Archives.

This year marks 100 years since the National Museum of Natural History opened its doors, but the Smithsonian’s work in marine science dates back more than 160 years. In fact, our collection of marine plants and animals —the largest in the world at more than 33 million specimens—has its roots in The U.S. Exploring Expedition (or “Ex Ex,” for short). From 1838 to 1842, six vessels and more than 340 men, including a team of nine scientists and artists, sailed the seas exploring, establishing a diplomatic presence, demonstrating a new nation’s Naval prowess, and documenting cultural and scientific diversity. The Ex Ex crew literally journeyed to uncharted waters and conducted surveys of the Antarctic coast, Fiji and other Pacific islands, the Columbia River, and U.S. coast along Oregon and California. The ships also circumnavigated the globe making stops in Manila, Singapore, Sydney, Cape Horn, and other ports.

The data, observations, and objects they collected were overwhelming. The budding scientific community in the U.S. struggled to manage the 4,000 cultural objects, 50,000 pressed plants, 2,150 birds, 134 mammals, 588 species of fish, 400 species of coral, 1,000 species of crustacea (crabs, shrimp, lobster, and related organisms), 300 fossil species, and more than 5,300 insect specimens. Eventually, members of the original expedition reconvened in Washington, DC to unpack and organize the collection and to prepare objects for exhibition in the Patent Office's Great Hall. The exhibition was very popular with the public, and the collection served as source material for volumes of important scientific publications, cultural studies, maps and nautical charts, and even new research institutions. In many ways, the Ex Ex marks a milestone in the development of scientific practice in the United States—marine and beyond.

The journey of the Ex Ex collection did not end there. In 1858, it found a permanent home among the holdings of the recently established Smithsonian Institution. Although the objects from the Ex Ex make up a small portion of the Smithsonian’s modern collections, its historical and scientific significance still loom large. Since then, the Smithsonian has made strides in ocean science and conservation. You might say that the institution has really “found its blue.” As the decades passed, the Institution expanded its collection, developed a scientific diving program, established four research stations on the coastlines of North and Central America, and created the Marine Science Network to draw together the efforts of scores of marine researchers who work in many corners the institution.

In September 2010, we are celebrating new marine milestones: the second birthday of the magnificent Sant Ocean Hall at NMNH and the launch of the award-winning Ocean Portal website —a collaboration among more than 20 leading organizations in ocean science, conservation, and education. And we’re preparing to host the second installment of Changing Tides, our ocean science lecture series sponsored by the National Science Foundation. At the same time, our collections are continually proving to be relevant in new ways. In 1842, no one could have imagined that DNA sequencing technology would allow scientists to study specimens in incredible new detail or how our collections from the Gulf of Mexico could help researchers make comparisons of life before and after the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.

More than a century after our founding (and nearly two centuries since the Ex Ex set sail), our vision as an institution has expanded. The “grand challenges” we face in the modern era, demand that we not only collect and identify marine species, but protect them as well—so that 100 year from now ours is a healthy, biodiverse Blue Planet.

Christine Hoekenga, Online Community Manager, Ocean Portal/Office of Education and Outreach

Dive Deeper: Read more about the U.S. Exploring Expedition and browse the catalog from the voyage.

My Amazing Experience with the YES! Program

Camila Moscoso at work in the Fossil Lab. Image courtesy of Camila Moscoso.

This summer I had the wonderful opportunity to be an intern in the Youth Engagement through Science (Y.E.S.!) program at the National Museum of Natural History as we celebrate its Centennial. As part of this internship, I got to work alongside a real paleobiologist on part of a current project involving 73 million year old fossilized charcoal. Not only did I learn about this exciting project, but I also discovered a lot more about the Museum and different fields of science.  I was exposed to so much during my internship!

The Museum's collections, for example, are massive and so much more than what you see on display.  In fact, less than 1% of its inventory is on public view out of over 126 million specimens.  Before my internship, I thought the purpose of the Museum was to educate the public with this 1%, but the Museum does so much more! It is a major research institution, with a large variety of projects in action all the time. I was amazed to see what happens behind the scenes and all kinds of interesting artifacts stored in the basements, like real mummies, shrunken heads, skulls, and ancient pottery shards - to name just a few.

I could not be more impressed with the mind-boggling amount of collections, and the fact that almost all these specimens serve a purpose for research today is just amazing!  Like in the Feather Identification Lab, I wondered why they would need so many stuffed birds, eggs, and nests today. Well, research using collections like the museum’s egg collection helped scientists build a case against the use of pesticides that were bad for the reproductive success of birds, especially eagles. By measuring the thickness of eggshells from eggs that were put into the museum before the widespread use of DDT and after the pesticide was commonly used, scientists determined that DDT was causing eggshells to thin. Eagles are no longer listed as endangered due to the great come back after the ban of these dangerous pesticides. And that’s just one tiny example, using eggshells!

Stay tuned next Tuesday for the conclusion of my post!

Camila Moscoso, Intern, YES! Program

Meet Elena Ponds - the Summer 2010 Social Media Intern

As a teen growing up in the twenty first century, I, like many of my peers, spend a great deal of time on the internet. I find myself on sites like Facebook and Twitter, and watching silly YouTube videos for hours at a time.  Growing up in the DC metropolitan area, I have also repeatedly visited the Smithsonian museums, coming back again and again to check out the new IMAX’s and my favorite interactive exhibits.  It was not until I arrived here at Natural History to intern for the Social Media Manager, however, that I realized how much of both realms I was missing!

Did you know that in 2009, 30 million people visited the Smithsonian Museums and National Zoo while there were approximately 188 million website visitors?  The millions of people checking out the Smithsonian websites are not just there to plan a visit. They are also there to explore the endless learning opportunities available beyond the walls of the museums such as education resources for teachers, behind the scenes looks at collections, access to interviews with scientists, and much more.  While the NMNH staff and volunteers constantly work to make sure visitors have a great experience here at the Museum, the use of technology allows them to provide an enriched experience before and after a visit as well. 

Every day on the job here, I have been exposed to, and get to participate in, this effort and dedication.  A great deal of my internship this summer has involved researching information for the Social Media posts as there is always more to find in order to engage the thousands of followers on sites like Facebook and Twitter.  One reason I think Social Media is so popular and effective is because it goes beyond observation. Instead it encourages participation; followers are consistently giving their input on what they want to hear about, as well as sharing their own experiences visiting, volunteering, interning, etc. 

Like Social Media, NMNH's centennial celebration encourages us to reflect on the Museum's past and look towards its future.  In the last one hundred years, various departments - including the relatively recent addition of the Department of Education and Outreach - have continued to work towards bettering each visitor’s experience of NMNH; phasing in some of our visitors’ favorite features such as the hands on carts, Insect Zoo, Butterfly Pavilion, Forensic lab, Scientist Is In, and the social media pages.  It has been one hundred wonderful years of curiosity and learning that I have no doubt will continue to grow and strengthen!  Some of my most memorable moments from this internship will be the web seminars, meetings, and a panel discussion that I attended on ways to enhance visitors’ experiences through technology; all addressing the question “What will the next 100 years bring?” As a  college student caught up in the here and now of media and technology, it is refreshing to learn that great institutions like the Smithsonian are there to strengthen our futures.

Elena Ponds, Social Media Intern, Education and Outreach

Your NMNH Memories

From the amazing to the ordinary, visitors to our Centennial exhibit share what they most remember about their time spent at NMNH. We'd love to hear your memories too, so send us your videos, photos, and tweets!  We plan to feature the funniest, most stunning, startling, or interesting stories here on the blog and on our exhibit website.

Get involved with our centennial celebration and share your memories!

• Celebrating 100 Years Website
• Share Your Memories

Cultural Collaboration at Natural History

Dr. Michael Mason. Image courtesy of the author

When I came to Natural History in 1994, I felt thrilled to join the exciting, new initiative that became the “African Voices” exhibition. The project team was charged with renovating the previous African Hall, which reflected outdated paradigms of representing cultures to the public.  After drafting a statement of purpose for the new exhibition, our exhibition team convened an Extended Team of more than 120 Africans, African-Americans, Africanists, and community leaders to forge a broad consensus regarding how to represent Africa and the African Diaspora to the American public. By the end of that year, the statement of purpose had evolved significantly, and our team had agreed with the advisors about the direction of the exhibition: It would highlight Africa’s history, diversity, and dynamism; Africa’s long-standing connections to the wider world; and African people as the primary actors in their own lives. The exhibition’s title reflects a fundamental shift seen in exhibitry: Rather than simply telling visitors about the continent, the “African Voices” exhibition literally resounds with the actual words, songs, poems, and proverbs of African people–contemporary and historical.

Having started with a robust community consultation, the work of translating these themes into a 3-D exhibit quickly moved us into community collaborations.  As we sought dynamic ways to link objects to people, we forged new relationships with African immigrant communities in the Washington Metropolitan area.  For example, we decided to highlight a Somali nomadic house, called an aqal, and have Somalis-Americans speak directly to visitors about their memories of living in an aqal. The house, along with many everyday objects, was donated by the Foundation for Cross-Cultural Understanding, but no one on our team knew how to construct it. So in 1999, we reached out to the Somali community. One hot Saturday morning, a group of local Somali women came and taught the Museum’s staff how to erect the house. With incredible ease—and good humor—the women anchored the bowed poles to create the house’s characteristic semicircular shape, adding a straight central pole and smaller supports. Then they tied several layers of mats to the frame as a covering.  Many of Somali women’s children had grown up in the States, and so they learned alongside our team.  It did not all go smoothly, but mistakes—and collapses—were met with smiles and laughter. Still on display in African Voices, the aqal remains the most popular installation in the show, highlighting this object’s centrality in the Somali imagination. (Check it out on our website http://www.mnh.si.edu/africanvoices/ . Click on Themes, then on Living in Africa and scroll right till you see “The aqal.”)

This model of consultation and collaboration characterizes all our work on cultural research and public interpretation at Natural History.  Our approach is exemplified by a recent collaboration between the Museum’s Arctic Studies Center and Native people in Alaska  which produced an impressive new exhibit, both online (http://alaska.si.edu/) and at the Anchorage Museum of History and Art. Looking forward, the Museum’s strategic plan has identified several priority initiatives to focus our work, and these include the Recovering Voices project.  An estimated 90% of the world’s more than 6,000 languages will disappear or be threatened with extinction by 2100. The loss of languages in small, indigenous communities – and the associated loss of traditional knowledge embodied in those languages – is universally regarded as one of the 21^st century’s key global and societal challenges. As our museum works to engage the public about this crisis through access to speakers of endangered languages, cultural experts, researchers, and collections, we will again collaborate with communities around the world to tell their stories to the public.

Dr. Michael Mason, Director of Exhibitions