Speaker: Ainsley Seago, PhD, Associate Curator, Invertebrate Zoology, Carnegie Museum of Natural History Yellowstone, the crown jewel of America’s national park system, is visited annually by millions of sightseers from around the world, who are thrilled by the prospect of glimpsing bison herds, grizzly bears, elk, and other majestic wild creatures. However, the most spectacular […]

Speaker: Benjamin R. Lee, PhD, National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow, Holden Arboretum, University of Pittsburgh; Botany, Carnegie Museum of Natural History Climate change poses one of the largest existential threats to natural systems. In North American temperate forests, hotter, drier summers are expected to negatively impact plant performance directly, while changing conditions are also likely […]

Rose-Marie Muzika, PhD, Director of Science, Carnegie Museum of Natural History Former museum director Dr. M. Graham Netting once characterized Powdermill Nature Reserve as “ideally suited to the study of plant and animal life,” a promise which it continues to fulfill today. Studies over time have yielded valuable long-term data about birds, small mammals, forest […]

Jan Janecke, PhD, Research Associate, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Associate Professor, Biological Sciences, Duquesne University Many mammals are cryptic and difficult to study, particularly felids and canids. Genetics and camera trapping are two very different approaches that shed light on the ecology of carnivores, from the snow leopard and wolf on the Tibetan Plateau […]

Kristina Gaugler, MA, Collection Manager, Anthropology, Carnegie Museum of Natural History With over 100,000 objects from around the world, CMNH’s ethnographic collections are a source of knowledge and inspiration. Becoming fully acquainted with the breadth of this collection can take a lifetime, a journey that its new Collection Manager is excited to begin. Learn more […]

Nicole Heller, PhD, Associate Curator, Anthropocene, Carnegie Museum of Natural History Protected areas are designed to protect biodiversity, but they are also linked to the dispossession of land and lifeways for local and indigenous people. To improve conservation, scientists and local and indigenous people are collaborating to revitalize place-based stewardship traditions and restore land and […]

Jennifer A. Sheridan, PhD, Assistant Curator, Amphibians and Reptiles, Carnegie Museum of Natural History Curators build collections for a number of reasons, from documenting biodiversity to deciphering evolutionary relationships among species. A discussion of a recent visit to north Borneo will highlight some notable new additions to the Section of Amphibians and Reptiles’ collection, and […]

Kevin Keegan, PhD, Collection Manager, Invertebrate Zoology, Carnegie Museum of Natural History Bizarre, beautiful, and fascinating; The world of caterpillars abounds with amazing natural history. From predators to parasites and land to water, caterpillars do far more than just munch on your tomato plants. Hear the tales of some of the spectacular and surprising life […]

Serina Brady, MSc2, Collection Manager, Ornithology, Carnegie Museum of Natural History Considered one of the largest ornithological collections in the United States, the Section of Birds houses over 190,000 specimens spanning the globe. With various preparation types ranging from study skins to skeletons to spread wings and even bird “pickles,” Carnegie Museum’s Section of Birds […]

Mariana P. Marques,MS, Collection Manager, Section of Amphibians and Reptiles, Carnegie Museum of Natural History Rising to 8,166 feet above sea level, Serra da Neve is an isolated mountain surrounded by miles and miles of arid habitats in southwestern Angola. This extinct volcano harbors a well-preserved forest and rich but unexplored biodiversity. In the last […]

Deirdre M. Smith, Teaching Assistant Professor of Museum Studies, University of Pittsburgh; Assistant Curator, Carnegie Museum of Natural History In 1973, the "M. Graham Netting Animal Portraiture Collection" was established through a grant by the Scaife Family Charitable Trusts. In the years that followed, Graham Netting—former Director and Curator of Amphibians and Reptiles at CMNH […]