Hi, you're listening to cultivate
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This podcast is perfect for anyone curious
about the world we live in, because.
You never know what we'll talk about
next.
Hi, my name is Jacie and I'm
the social media coordinator at the
Emerald Coast Science Center.
Hi, my name is Harley.
I'm an educator and the community affairs
coordinator at the Emerald Coast Science
center.
Hi, I'm Diane and I'm the director.
Today we're going to talk about natural
history museums.
In the heart of cities worldwide,
monumental buildings stand as gateways to
the wonders of our planet's past and
present, the natural history museums.
These institutions serve as repositories
of knowledge and housing collections that
span millennia and encompass the diversity
of life on Earth.
Natural history museums offer a window
into the intricate tapestry of our world's
ecosystems and evolutionary history, from
the tiniest microbes to the mightiest
dinosaurs.
The roots of natural history museums trace
back to the Renaissance era, when private
collectors assembled cabinets of
curiosities filled with exotic specimens
and artifacts from distant lands.
These early collections often blended fact
with fiction, showcasing genuine natural
wonders and imaginative creations.
However, in the 17th century, the concept
of the modern Natural History Museum began
to take shape, with institutions like the
National Museum of Natural History in
Paris leading the way.
Over time, these museums evolved from
exclusive domains of scholars to welcoming
spaces accessible to the general public,
exemplified by the Ashmalean Museum in
Oxford.
The evolution of natural history museums
played a significant role in the emergence
of science museums.
Natural history museums traditionally
focused on the collection, preservation,
and display of specimens related to the
natural world, including fossils,
minerals, plants, and animals.
Over time, these institutions expanded
their educational outreach efforts to
engage broader audiences beyond the
scientific community.
As natural history museums began to
incorporate interactive exhibits,
educational programs, and handson
activities, they paved the way for the
development of science museums.
These new institutions aim to foster
curiosity and exploration across various
scientific disciplines, including physics,
chemistry, astronomy, and technology.
In addition to natural history, science
museums.
Offer immersive experiences and
interactive exhibits designed to inspire
visitors of all ages to explore the
wonders of science and technology.
They provide opportunities for handson
learning, experimentation, and discovery,
fostering a deeper understanding of
scientific principles and their real world
applications.
Moreover, the success of natural history
museums in attracting public interest and
support demonstrated the potential for
science museums to serve as a dynamic
educational resource and community hubs.
As a result, science museums begin to
proliferate offering diverse exhibits and
programs to engage visitors in the process
of scientific inquiry and discovery.
These institutions continue to play a
vital role in inspiring curiosity,
promoting scientific literacy, and
fostering a deeper appreciation for the
natural world and the principles that
govern.
It, which we actually have some curiosity
cabinets.
They're kind of doing a little bit
of a remodel right now.
So that's really cool that we have
something that was in the Renaissance era.
We also have our taxidermy black bear
alcor.
So that kind of pays homage to
natural history museums and how they have.
The taxidermy animals, taxidermy
everything pretty much.
I know that's kind of like a
natural histories thing, is the collection
of taxidermy animals.
And I think that one of the
ways that we're trying to do that
is to be a little bit of
both, have a little bit of natural
history here, and then also have the
hands on experimentation and discovery
portion as well.
I think one of the museums that
does that really, really well is the
California Academy of Science in San
Francisco.
And that is an incredible, incredible
museum.
I highly recommend it.
There is also a hands on museum
in San Francisco called the Exploratorium,
but the California Academy of Sciences is
worth a visit if you're in that
area.
There is also a natural history museum
in LA that is such a popular
natural history museum.
The other podcast that I listen to,
ologies, she has interviewed a lot of
people that work at the La County
Natural History Museum.
So they have like a huge collections
department for all different areas of
insects, bears, big cats, all of so
well.
That kind of goes to the thing
about what a natural history museum kind
of straddles two different areas.
One is the public facing part of
it, which is the exhibits, and then
there's a research part of it as
well.
So they actually have scientists on staff
that are actively researching and
collecting information and working behind
the scenes on the actual exhibits that
they have.
So it's a curation for the public
view, but then also it's a research
portion to understand the place of those
animals in the world and their
biodiversity.
That's one of the biggest things is
how different are all of these animals
in the world.
So let's take a glimpse into the
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural
History.
That's a mouthful.
Among the pantheon of natural history
museums, one stands out as an epitome
of exploration and discovery, the
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural
History in Washington, DC.
Spanning an area larger than 18 football
fields, this iconic institution houses the
world's largest natural history
collection, comprising millions of
specimens and artifacts within its
hollowed halls, visitors embark on a
journey through time, unraveling the
mysteries of Earth's geological past, the
evolution of life, and the
interconnectedness of ecosystems.
From the hope diamond to the towering
Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton, each exhibit
beckons with stories waiting to be
uncovered.
But you don't have to travel all
the way to Washington, DC.
If you're listening to this from Florida
to see a marvelous natural history museum
located on the picturesque campus of the
University of Florida in Gainesville is
Florida.
Museum of Natural History.
Yes, go gators.
And this stands as a beacon of
scientific discovery and educational
excellence.
Founded in 1891, this esteemed institution
boasts one of the largest collections of
natural history specimens in the
southeastern United States, including
fossils, minerals, plants and animals.
Its diverse array of permanent and
temporary exhibits offers visitors a
captivating journey through the rich
biodiversity and cultural heritage of
Florida and beyond.
With a dedicated team of researchers,
educators and volunteers, the museum
serves as a hub for interdisciplinary
research, public outreach and community
engagement, inspiring curiosity and
fostering a deeper appreciation for the
natural world among visitors of all ages.
Whether exploring prehistoric fossils or
learning about the conservation of
endangered species, the Florida Museum of
Natural History offers an immersive and
enlightening experience for all who walk
through the doors.
Whenever I was there in college, you
can get in for free if you're
a student, so you can just show
your student id and walk in there
and explore around.
And it is very calming.
There's lots of seats in there too
where you can just go in and
relax if you want to get away
from everyone.
I think on their website I was
saying it's free except for like the
butterfly.
Yes, that's the only thing you would
have to pay.
Butterfly exhibit or butterfly rainforest
exhibit.
Yeah, you have to walk in and
you pay for that.
But I believe it was free whenever
I went there too for just like.
Anyone to come in.
Okay.
Yeah, but it's beautiful.
Everything is curated.
Amazing.
And they also have, which I think
is super cool, and it's probably at
a lot of other natural history museums.
They have like an area where you
can watch the people who are doing
the curating.
That's cool.
And it makes them look like an
exhibit, which is probably not super fun
for them, but it is very interesting
to see how they do the specific
curating.
And it was mostly the insects that
they were doing because I assumed that
if it was like mammals or big
cats, I would probably be a little
bit more intensive and maybe not super
welcoming for the public eye, but it
was very cool.
I assume they probably have students who
help do research and stuff like that.
Probably, too, since they're on the.
Oh, absolutely, yeah.
I've seen it at other museums, like
the paleontology section.
They'll be in there working on dinosaur
fossils and stuff like that.
And you'll be walking by and you
can see them in know their microscopes
or their dusting things.
Yeah, dusting things off or things like
that.
So I picked this topic this week
because I recently did a big trip
and visited a lot of different natural
history museums in Europe.
And so I told JC, I said,
let's talk about natural history museums,
which.
Is great because they were the forefront
of science museums.
Exactly.
And that's kind of where the whole
thing started out.
So in the course of our travels
in last month, we went to the
London Museum of Natural History, which is
kind of like one of the granddaddies
of natural history museums.
Huge collection of dinosaurs.
And I will tell you what, Europeans
love geology.
They love their minerals.
I mean, the mineral and geology section
in each of the museums that I
visited was tremendously huge.
I mean, it was really, really huge.
A great dinosaur exhibit in the London
museum.
And there was a little sign that
said, meet here for our women in
science walk.
I was like, oh, how cool is
that?
So, of course, they didn't have it
at the time that I was there,
but they had, like, a little walk
that you could go through, because a
lot of natural history museums were built
in the time when science was done
by a lot of men, but they
had a special walk that you could
sign up for, and they would show
you the different women that were
highlighted within the museum, which I
thought was really, really great and sort
of was the springboard for the idea
of our pinot and pioneers event on
March 14 here at the science center.
And then, well, of course, also in
Europe, some of these buildings are in
castles.
Some of these museums are in castles,
like the Museum of Natural History in
Vienna.
It's actually an incredibly beautiful,
beautiful castle, which is, I can't even
tell you how tall that building is.
And the atrium part is, and it
just opens all the way up to
the ceiling.
So that was incredibly beautiful.
So you're awed by the building, and
then you're awed by the amount of
history that's there, the number of years
that they've been doing these collections.
So Vienna is one of the oldest
zoos in Europe, and it is at
the summer palace, which is where the,
you know, this is where they were
located.
And they ran Europe for a really,
really long time.
So I thought was really interesting
because they had this rhinoceros that they
had originally tried to send over to
put into the zoo, but in transit,
the animal passed away.
So when it arrived in Vienna, instead
know it being homed in the zoo
because it was dead, they taxidermied it,
and it was in the Museum of
natural history.
So they had, like, a little sign
that had explained how this rhinoceros had
came to be in the Museum of
natural History.
Originally it was supposed to go to
the zoo, and then we went to
Budapest.
And their natural history museum now,
remember that Hungary was after World War
II, became part of the.
Was under communist rule.
So they had an uprising in 1956,
and that natural history museum had
explosive devices that had been thrown
into it and had caught fire.
So they lost a lot of their
collections.
But obviously, they're in a new location
now.
And if you walk in, they have
a huge fin whale skeleton, which is,
like, right in the entryway, there's a
sign that says, if you see, like,
the scorch marks on the jawbone of
the fin whale, that's because of the
fires.
Because the fire in 1956.
So I just thought that was absolutely
fascinating.
And then when we were talking about
natural history museums starting out as,
like, personal collections in the
Renaissance, and these people started
collecting items, of course, we have a
lot of travel around the world, and
people are bringing back specimens in
Lubliano, Slovenia, and then also in
Verona, Italy.
They have some natural history museums
there that I also visited.
Both of those had started out as,
like, individuals, personal collections,
and then they had been turned into
natural history museums.
And both of them focused a lot
on their local ecosystems.
So especially the geology part and things
like that.
So it's just interesting to see the
differences in the way the museums are
organized.
We're going to dig into the linnaean
system in just a minute, and that
sort of goes like, some of them,
the collections were done by the linnaean
system.
Some of them were done by their
ecosystem.
So, like, these are the animals that
live in the tundra.
These are the animals that would live
in the savannah.
And they put all of their animals
together that way.
Other ones do.
These are all the big cats.
These are all the apes.
So it's just interesting to sort of
see that as you move through these
different natural history museums as well.
We went over to one of the
natural history museums in Ireland.
They had a bunch of different ones.
It was in Dublin, and my favorite
thing to see in there was the
irish worms.
They had them all in a jar
ready to look at, but that was
how they decided to put them in
a group, was that they're the irish
worms.
Like, this is where you're going to
see them.
Really weird to look at.
But I liked the ecosystem part of
it, and that you can only find
it there because that's what's going to
keep people going to natural history
museums is not being able to see
the same thing at every single one.
It's seeing how those animals live in
that ecosystem over there, but also maybe
how they live in an ecosystem similar
across the world.
I looked up the know most famous
natural history museums, and London,
Vienna, and Dublin were all in Europe.
And then, of course, the American Museum
of Natural History in New York and
the Smithsonian and the one in Los
Angeles were like the top ones in
the United States as far as, like,
natural history museums.
So what's the role of a natural
history museum?
At the core of every natural history
museum lies a commitment to stewardship
and conservation.
These institutions serve as custodians of
Earth's biodiversity, safeguarding rare
and endangered species for future
generations.
Through scientific research and public
education initiatives, museums contribute
to our understanding of the natural world
and advocate for its protection.
Moreover, they foster collaborations with
academic institutions and governmental
organizations, driving innovations in
fields ranging from taxonomy to climate
science.
So now let's talk about the linnaean
classification system.
Central to the mission of Natural History
Museums is the linnaean classification
system, named after the pioneering
taxonomous erylus linnaeus.
Linnaeus.
This system, based on hierarchical
classification and binomial nomenclature,
provides a standardized framework for
naming and categorizing species.
By organizing specimens according to
Linnaean principles, museums facilitate
research, enable species identification,
and promote the sharing of knowledge
across disciplines.
In doing so, they honor Linnaeus's legacy
and perpetuate a tradition of scientific
inquiry that spans centuries.
So to start out with, linnaean used
latin terms.
So there's going to be a lot
of mispronunciation as we sort of kind
of lay out what the linnaeyan system
looks like.
Because I don't speak latin and don't.
Judge, you probably couldn't pronounce
either.
The linnaeian system of classification,
devised by Carolus Linnaeus in the 18th
century is a bedrock of modern taxonomy.
At its core, the system organizes living
organisms into hierarchical categories
based on shared characteristics and
evolutionary relationships.
Starting with the broadest category, the
kingdom organisms are progressively
classified into phyla classes, orders,
families, genera, and species.
For instance, consider the classification
of a domestic dog, canis familiaris.
It belongs to the kingdom animalia the
phylum cordata, which includes animal with
spinal cords class mammalia mammals order
carnivoria, which is carnivores family
Canadae dogs wolves foxes genus Canis true
dogs and species familiar
domestic dog.
Similarly, the classification of a bald
eagle would be haleist.
Leukocephalus follows a similar pattern.
Kingdom Animalia phylum cordata class
aves, which is birds order Acta Pitraforms
birds of prey family Acta pitra day
hawks eagles Genus Halitis sea
eagles species leukocephalus bald eagle.
By systematically categorizing organisms
in this manner, the Linnaean system
provides a universal language for
biologists to communicate and understand
the diversity of life on earth.
Linnaeus'groundbreaking method of binomial
nomenclature stands as a cornerstone of
modern biology, revolutionizing the way
species are named and classified.
Through this system, each organism is
assigned a distinctive two word latin name
comprising the genus and species epiteth.
Take, for instance, the example of homo
sapiens, which denotes humans.
Here, homo refers to the genus
encompassing modern humans and their close
relatives, while sapiens signifies the
species.
This approach not only provides a
standardized and universally understood
means of identification, but also
encapsulates key characteristics or traits
of the species.
Much like a person's first and last
name, the combination of genus and species
names serves to precisely pinpoint and
differentiate among organisms.
But not only is there a different
name for each level of the system,
some of them also are capitalized and
some of them are also lowercased, and
some of them are also supposed to
be italicized.
It's supposed to be written such a
specific way when you're putting things
into their correct binomial.
There's like abbreviations and stuff like
that.
It's across the board system, so everybody
in the whole entire world uses this
system.
So that way it's easy for scientists
in different locations to look up
information and to share information,
which is also.
Very important because a lot of times
common names can be anything like a
dog, corn, snake, red rat, snake.
Those are common names, and those are
typically used interchangeably.
But the specific scientific name is going
to be specific for that species.
So I think why?
A lot of people call things by
their common names specifically for
plants.
Wild, there's like ten common names for
one type of plant, and it's like.
Well, which one are you talking about?
Yeah, which one?
The Linnaean system provided a
foundational framework for understanding
the diversity of life on Earth.
However, as scientific knowledge advanced
and new discoveries unfolded, it became
apparent that revisions to linnaean
hierarchy were necessary to accommodate
these findings.
One significant modification was the
introduction of a higher taxonomic rank
known as the domain.
Unlike traditional categories like
kingdom, the domain represents a broader
and more inclusive classification
encompassing multiple kingdoms.
Three primary domains now recognized by
most biologists are bacteria, archaea, and
eukaryota.
Bacteria and archaea compromise
singlecelled prokaryotic organisms, while
eukaryota encompasses a vast array of
eukaryotic life forms, ranging from
unicellular protists to complex
multicellular organisms like plants,
animals and fungi.
This restructuring reflects insights
gleaned from molecular biology and
phylogenetic analysis, which have
illuminated the evolutionary relationships
among different organisms.
By integrating these new taxonomic
insights, scientists can more accurately
map the tree of life and elucidate
the shared ancestry and diversity of
living organisms on our planet.
This is taking me back to 7th
grade.
Well, I know.
I also have heard people talk about,
well, now that we have DNA, is
it better for us to just do
DNA analysis and then change the
classification system based on DNA instead
of based on the linnaeian system?
Oh, like, who has the closest DNA?
But no, it's just an interesting
conversation for future generations to
sort of take on.
That's very interesting.
Well, we already talked about it earlier,
but as you mentioned, some natural history
museums use the linnaeian system to
organize their collections, and then
sometimes they'll use those ecosystems for
habitats.
Yeah, it's just really interesting to see
the difference.
I did have one really unique experience
at the Natural History Museum in Budapest,
which is actually a beautiful museum.
And they do it based on ecosystems,
is how they have their animals arranged
there.
But they had at the end of
the building what looked like Noah's ark.
And they had the animals, like, some
of the animals were lined up along
the side of the wall like they
were going to go on Noah's Ark.
And I thought, this is so interesting,
especially since this know, coming from a
country that had been communist for a
number of years.
Then once you got inside the ark,
because it was just the end of
the building, width wide, and you had
an entrance and you walked through, and
then you came out the exit on
the other end.
They had animals in there as well,
behind like a rope netting.
So it was like these animals had
already entered the ark area.
But interestingly enough, on there, it
talked about biodiversity in all of the
signage and everything.
But I just thought, wow, that was
just a unique way to approaching that.
And I just shook my head and
was like, okay, there we go, that's
something new.
I thought you had sent me that
photo.
I was looking for it.
Yeah, I showed it to you.
I showed you the photos.
It's something.
Yeah.
So it was just not something.
I guess it grabs your attention at
least.
Well, very much so, because I'm still
talking about it.
That's something.
And we also use binomial nomenclature in
our signs because all of our animals
have their scientific name as well as
their comet name on there.
So if you ever want to know
what the different species are for our
animals, we'll have that on their signs
for you.
Come practice your latin.
Yes.
And you can learn the difference between
a rat snake and a corn snake.
Species, even though people still call
them the same the same or get
them easily confused.
It's like, wait, no.
Yeah, they look, unfortunately, almost
exactly the same.
So looking ahead at some potential
challenges and opportunities as we stand
on the precipice of a new era
marked by rapid environmental change, the
role of natural history museums has never
been more vital.
However, these institutions face a myriad
of challenges, from funding constraints to
the imperative to adapt to digital
technologies.
Yet within these challenges lie
opportunities for innovation and
collaboration.
By harnessing the power of technology,
expanding global partnerships, and
engaging with diverse communities, natural
history museums can continue to inspire
curiosity, foster discovery, and advocate
for the preservation of earth's precious
heritage.
So I know we mentioned this before,
but I know a lot of natural
history museums don't just contain animal
collections.
They also have a cultural aspect to
them as know.
Like if you go to the American
Museum of Natural History in New York,
they have a huge egyptian section.
They have sections on indigenous people
depending from different places all around
the world.
And so a lot of them now
are really looking at the stories that
they tell inside of those collections.
A lot of them are also looking
at repatriation.
So this is know how did we
come upon all of these egyptian artifacts?
Were they straight up just stolen out
of Egypt?
So I think that this is something
that is going to be a challenge
for museums moving forward.
I know some of the egyptian government
is like, hey, we'd like our stuff
back now.
But I think the reason why that
they have those is so that people
that were never going to make it
to Egypt would have some understanding of
what historically it looked like.
Because our culture is so wrapped up
and it comes out of Greece and
it comes out know roman times and
it comes out of egyptian times.
And this was just a way to
showcase what that history looked like so
that we can understand part of the
way of why we are the way
we are now is because of the
influences of those historical cultures.
So it's going to be interesting to
sort of see how it plays out.
This is sort of not necessarily new,
but something that is actually actively
being pursued in the broader museum
industry as a whole.
So in the grand tapestry of human
civilizations, natural history museums
emerge as beacons of knowledge,
enlightenment and wonder.
They invite us to bark on a
journey of exploration, to delve into the
depths of time and space, and to
marvel at the beauty and complexity of
life on earth.
Let's embrace the invaluable contributions
of these institutions, cherishing them as
guardians of our planet's diversity and
stewards of its legacy for generations to
come.
So that's all we have for this
episode of cultivate curiosity.
We'll see you guys in two weeks.
Bye bye.
Thanks for listening to this week's
episode of cultivate Curiosity.
If you have any questions, feel free
to email us at socialmedia@ecscience.org.
Tune in for our next episode in
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