Work in the Collections Department is very much “behind the scenes” and ongoing. Our Collections staff diligently catalogues and preserves the objects and information in our diverse collection and works […]
Examining How and Why Scientific Names Change
While interning in the Collections Department this summer, I became interested in how and why the scientific names of species evolve over time. Each individual species has a unique scientific […]
Into the Rabbit Hole of Woods Hole
My first encounter with Woods Hole was not during a summer trip to Cape Cod, but instead here at the collections facility of the Nature Museum. What I thought to […]
The Importance of Digitizing the Botany Collection
For the past few months, I have been a part of the Chicago Academy of Sciences’ effort to digitize their botany collection. This consists of mounting specimens from the backlog, […]
Flora of the Frontier: Mounting Specimens from the Wheeler Survey
There’s a unique thrill in preserving historical specimens. It makes history real and gives me an affinity for the individuals who were really there at the time the specimens were […]
When Working at the Nature Museum Doesn’t Feel Like Work
I am approaching my second year of working at the Nature Museum and through my journey I have come upon unexpected discoveries, both personally and professionally. When I first graduated […]
The Red-Bellied Snake
I have spent the last three months georeferencing the herpetology collection for the Chicago Academy of Sciences / Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. Georeferencing is the practice of digitally mapping spatial […]
Club Mosses and their Mighty Ancestors
Some of the most visually striking organisms bear a resemblance to their extinct prehistoric relatives. They transport our imaginations to a time when the land beneath our feet looked very […]
Are there savannas in Illinois?
What is a savanna? What makes a wetland a wetland? We’re exploring some Midwestern ecosystems in our new, permanent exhibit – the Hawver and Lacy Families Nature’s PlaySpace. This play […]
Do Atlas moths eat?
Morpho butterflies and Atlas moths are two very cool insects that you can find in Animal Crossing AND see in real life at the Nature Museum! Entomologist Allen works with Atlas […]
