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 […]
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 […]
Collections Reveal Traces of Living Animals
What if there were a way to look back in time and observe living animals interacting directly with their environment? Natural history collections preserve the remains of organisms and the […]
The Ghosts of Prairies Past: Uncovering Yesterday’s Truths with Museum Collections
From expansive cities to agricultural fields, it may come as a surprise that Illinois was once covered in millions of acres of prairies and forests. In 1820, about 22 million […]
Women in Science: Anna Pedersen Kummer
As Women’s History Month comes to an end, we’re taking a closer look at Anna Pedersen Kummer, former honorary curator of botany and a lover of all plants! She was a […]
Caring for houseplants in the winter
Give your houseplants the best care this winter. Our manager of horticulture, Seth Harper, has laid out some great tips to make sure that your plants look their best all […]
Exploring leaf litter
Have you ever stopped to take a close look at the soil leaves that crunch under our feet as we walk outside? These leaves and loose soil that sit atop […]
Mounting plant specimens at home
Pressing plants at home is an easy activity and a fun way to learn more about the plants in your yard or neighborhood. This guide will show you how to […]
