Keeping Up with Education & Museums

I have been told several times by varying museum professional that it is the Education Coordinators who work the hardest and are stretched out the most in the museum world. At our Museum of Natural History, I have learned this rings true here also. Just sitting in the education dept's office, you can hear the phone ring and many people pop in and out working on varying projects or adding to the list of duties. The amazing piece of this is, however, that when I have seen and met with Sarah Horgen, the education coordinator, and Ashlee Gloede, the assistant education coordinator, they seem to love what they do. Sarah spoke with our Intro to Museum Studies class about her job and I could tell that she is enthusiastic about her job, even in trying to describe all that she does and in speaking of her 45+ hours work week. This semester, I've been able to speak with and work alongside Ashlee a few times and she always seems to have a smile on her face. As you recall, last month, I attended and assisted with a "Night at the Museum" event. That event was themed after archaeology and I'll never forget the magical excitement of the kids as they learned and experienced atlatls for the first time and explored the museum after hours. An event like this does not come about magically, though. This week I was able to see and assist behind the scenes in preparing for a NATM event to take place on November 18, themed on dinosaurs. Remember, all NATM events must be pre-registered and you're about to learn why.

When I arrived to help Ashlee, she had a list on a clipboard. Parents had been calling to sign-up for NATM all month. They call and Ashlee has to answer questions and remember to ask the parents for their names, child's names, requested hat color and give them all the pertinent information and payment information for the $25 entry fee. Then, a list is compiled, this time there are 22 attendees. Now, with this list, Ashlee brought me a few boxes of items. All the children receive a fun bag of goodies and a miner helmet just for attending this event. So, these bags must be compiled. I was handed bags that already had a few items in it like education information, museum event schedules and more. Then, we added one of the coolest dinosaur rings I've ever seen, a MNH pencil, postcard and a necklace. These were little take home bags to remember the fun they had that night. After all the bags were full, it was time to make the children's name tags and prepare the miner helmets. The miner helmets can normally be purchased in the museum, but each child who attends a NATM will receive one to bring back with them again and again. The miner helmets come in varying colors and the kids get to choose their color when they register. To prepare them, we had to use a tiny screwdriver and get into the light to put in batteries. Once you get the hang of it, popping open the light, putting in batteries and putting it back together isn't a hard task, but it is very time consuming. After getting them to light, the children's names get put on the back so everyone knows who gets which ones. All in all, these tasks took about an hour and a half to complete for the event. However, I was happy I took the time to help, because Ashlee was so busy that she was in and out working and meeting with other people. Had she been taking all the time out to do this project herself, who knows what else could have backed up for her. When I was finished, I brought the large box back to the Education Dept.'s office. When I asked Ashlee where to put it, she almost laughed. The office is about half the size of a classroom and has 2-3 desks. To the left sat several varying wooden dinosaur models. These, I can assume, were in preparation for Friday also. There are shelves of books, educational materials and other objects throughout their space. Clearly, you have got to be a very organized and focused, yet flexible individual to work in the education dept in a museum! Although the work is long, sometimes difficult and exhausting, I can see how rewarding this can be. A museum is an institution on the basis of educating the public. An education coordinator must make that education entertaining and unique to enhance the experiences of each patron who attends. From what I've expierienced all semester, this is well worth the time and effort and creates a fantastic time for those who attend. I hope you all attend an event put on by this dept at our museum, you will not be upset that you did! To attend any NATM event, or for questions about any event like it (including adult events) please contact them at #319-335-0606.

Visit the MNH website to learn more.

Here's information from the website about the next Night at the Museum Event about Birds taking place on December 9 from 6pm-9pm; Call to preregister your kids before all the openings are filled!:

This month:

Soar through the Museum of Natural History after dark to learn about birds from Iowa and around the world.  The group will have a fun evening of pizza, behind the scenes tours, games, and more!

Miner Helmet

Bags and trinkets

Cool Dinosaur Rings!

Frank Russell - An Iowa City Gem

In 1892, Frank Russell was a 23 year old graduate student at the University of Iowa. On his own, he went on an epic trek through northern Canada with the task of returning with musk oxen and ethnographic materials. In 1894, he returned to Iowa City to a welcoming parade of excited patrons. He met several tribes along the way such as the Dog Rib and Cree. If you'd like to read a more detailed story of his expedition, the museum's website has it here. He also wrote a book called, "Explorations in the Far North" that can be found in the University library among other book store locations.
So why am I telling you all his? Well, I was lucky enough to visit the Russell collection that is stored away in "The Vault". From my last post, I told you all about my first visit to "The Vault". On Monday, I went back in and this time, I was able to see inside the two state of the art newest cabinets. The collection within these cabinets includes some of the Frank Russell collection, some of the Philippines collection and varying other fragile artifacts. Cindy Opitz, the collections manager, led me through the drawers one by one. Ms. Opitz has been with MNH for several years now, beginning as a part-time position and eventually helped create her full time position as collections manager. Her training has mainly arisen through experience, which is essential in the collections world. She's currently finishing her formal training and attends several conferences which she says is very beneficial in learning new methods. As she puts it, her job allows her to act like a kindergartener every day as she molds new ways to protect artifacts in the collection. She loves her job and it shows in her enthusiasm with the collections.
The funnest part of the Russell collection is how eclectic it is. There are so many varying objects from varying groups. These artifacts are varying, but still somehow connect together. I almost felt like I was seeing the journey and not just a grouping of random artifacts. There were Cree trousers and Dog Rib children's rattles among the varying items. Ms. Opitz explained to me some of the items that had to be wrapped in extra tissue for protection. Some of the items were in makeshift boxes. This opened my eyes to a whole other issue in museum collections. Although these items were housed in state of the art cabinet drawers, they still needed special attention. When you open drawers, some items like bowls, arrows and other artifacts tend to rock or roll around and might touch each other. So, collections managers like Ms. Opitz, have to always be prepared to get creative and protect their items while still being able to see, examine and study them. She explained to me that these issues tend to just come up randomly as she opens a drawer to check on something for a researcher or other purpose. As with everyone else I've had a chance to speak with in the museum world, she always seems stretched thin. Ms. Optiz has one full-time collections assistant and a part-time assistant for her various work, but she still is overwhelmed with work. Currently in a three phase inventory plan, the team is overloaded with inventory work and all the regular collections duties. In the past few years, they conducted the first phase which was a quick count of every item in the collection. According to their old register book, they believed they had about 40,000 items. Once they conducted the count, they realized they actually had 115,000 items in the MNH collections! This was quite a shock to the entire MNH team and they have now moved onto furthering the inventory with updating records and eventually will be digitizing the collection into databases. An inventory plan of this magnitude takes several years to conduct, but when complete will create a very beneficial result.
After viewing The Vault's collection, we traveled up to a storage closet off Mammal Hall that houses several Philippine items and a bit more of the Russell collection. This large storage closet has several shelves on the walls, two more state of the art cabinets and high rolled textiles wrapped in tissue. This little room is a hidden treasure off of Mammal Hall that is easily passed by patrons. This tour was very interesting both because I got to visit pieces of a collection protected in the back rooms and also because I got to learn what another museum professional gets to do on a regular basis. Below are some of my favorite pieces from the collection!

Varying Arrows in a constructed box so they won't roll around.

Beautiful beaded belts from the Cree

My favorite piece: A child's rain parka made of seal bladder. Cindy Opitz said that they would wear these while going out in the ocean in kayaks to harpoon fish!

Shelves and Shelves of woven baskets actually from the Philippine collections; This was in the third floor closet.

An afternoon with the Curator ,Trina Roberts, and The Vault

     On Thursday, I had the opportunity to meet and sit down with one of MNH's newest administrators. Trina Roberts, the newly appointed curator, shared with me her past, present and hopes for the future of our beloved museum. I loved sitting down and speaking with such an interesting woman new to Iowa. She started with the museum on August 15th of this year and has seemingly faced a few challenges, but also seems to be embracing them very well. Many of you may not know this, but the Pentacrest Museums on campus reorganized their administration recently. Dr. Roberts position is actually brand new, which can pose its own issues. From what I could gather, there are still kinks in figuring out who does what and when, but luckily, she told me that they all get along very well so they've been able to sort through the delegation pretty easily.
     As for Dr. Roberts, she has a very strong academic background. She is a biologist and has worked with the Field Museum and University of Alaska museum throughout her training. Speaking very strongly about her experiences as a museum scientist, she seems to bring a new life to the museum and its connection with the University. She has done a significant amount of research within museum collections, that many people may not realize exist. One of her goals and mandates is to reconnect various university departments, such as biology, geology, anthropology and more, to the museum collection and to encourage them to utilize the specimens. As many museum-goers know, the collection on display is only a portion of the specimens owned by a museum. What may not be as easily known, however, is that these hidden collections pose a very real possibility for student research. As Dr. Roberts is able to reconnect with various departments, I believe we will see an even stronger research ability and result in the university. Hopefully soon we will be able to see more and more internships and research projects revolving around the museum collection. Some of Dr. Roberts' other goals include bulking up the museum studies program alongside Dr. Russell Ciochon, assisting in renovations to current galleries and assist in creating new exhibits in the temporary space in the Old Capitol Museum.
     To further understand what was being talked about, Dr. Roberts took me somewhere I never knew existed. "The Vault" is a room hidden down a small hall in Macbride Hall. Being a student for two years in the Anthropology department housed in Macbride Hall, I never noticed this room. The nickname "The Vault" comes from the door that encases this room. The door is an old metal door that is supposed to be blast proof, but due to its age has become an artifact of its own. On the other side of the door are cabinets of various size, shape and material. I was drawn to the biography of the cabinets themselves. One row to the immediate left of the entrance are a brown metal that resemble old file cabinets and house many mammals. A little further are rows of wooden cabinets, the oldest of the collection, that house mainly birds which stand next to the reptiles and insects that lay in jars of alcohol on shelves. Off in the right corner are two brand new metal cabinets of the newest style that house some of the most treasured pieces in the collection. Finally, there are very large custom built wooden cabinets that are home to large, mounted specimens that cannot fit into drawers.
    Dr. Roberts, as a mammalogist, was seemingly very drawn to the mammal drawers. She showed me rodent skins and rabbits in varying drawers. The interesting difference between research skins and display specimens are the way they are preserved. You've all seen the display specimens. Taxidermists post them in ways that they may be presented in the wild and will appear lifelike. Research specimens, however, tend to just be flattened skins labeled with pertinent information such as: measurements, areas that it lived, death locations, gender. These specimens are the ones laid out in flat drawers and can provide helpful research to anyone around the world. A new movement across the museum world is driven towards digitizing the collections into a database. This database would provide the ability to search collections anywhere for useful specimens for a project being conducted. Perhaps a graduate student in Pennsylvania would never think to ask the University of Iowa if they have Red-tailed hawk specimens, but by using this database, they'd be able to find out immediately who would have such specimens. To me, this is a huge opportunity to create stronger connections with the rest of the academic and museum world. A problem with this movement, of course, is the time it takes to organize. Museum staff everywhere are generally wearing multiple hats already, so organizing ways to digitize a collections of thousands of specimens is not only time consuming, but also stretches staff even thinner. Perhaps, as this movement continues, students can conduct internships to help complete these projects in the future.
      Now, do you recall that large custom case I described above?  Within those cases lies numerous hidden treasures that are seen in stock areas of museums around the world. Inside those cabinets are beautifully maintained specimens patiently waiting for display space to open up for them. There are a couple gorgeous birds of paradise, crows, owls, and various other creatures hidden inside its doors. On the side is an entire polar bear mount, which is also one of many large animals that are housed in the attic. Space becomes an issue with specimens with storing, but even more so with display. As anyone who's wandered the halls at MNH knows, there isn't much space left for more cases of exhibits. So, these specimens have to stay protected and hidden until future exhibits need their beauty and others are hidden away again. The result of seeing these spaces is realizing that our museum has such an extensive research and display collection for everyone to utilize and enjoy. Who knows, maybe with the new temporary exhibit space in the Old Capitol Museum, my fellow museum studies students and I will someday be able to fully experience planning an exhibit with currently housed collections! I would like to thank Trina Roberts again for meeting with me and giving me a behind the scenes scoop on what she does and taking me to the hidden treasure that is "The Vault".

Pirates, the Kracken and Superheroes invade the Museums

Well, it's that time of year for Jack-o-lanterns, candy and fun costumes. On Friday night, October 28th, the Museum of Natural History (MNH), Old Capitol and Paleontology Repository hosted one of their largest events of the year, Creepy Campus Crawl. The Old Capitol and Paleontology Repository themed their event as Pirates of the Caribbean and sea creatures whereas MNH hosted an event called, "Rusty the Sloth: The First Avenger" and produced a lot of superhero themed games. This was my first time attending the event and I brought along a few people: My husband, Randy, my friends, Randi and John and John's kids, Johnny (4) and Allen (7 months). We all knew we had to fully partake and all dressed up in our own costumes to get the full effect. Although Allen was still too young to actually enjoy the events, he seemed to be pretty content riding around and people watching while Johnny partook in everything he could!

The Kracken at Old Capitol

We began in Old Capitol where a giant kracken was controlling the front steps. As we entered, I recognized many of the museum administrators all dressed up in their pirate themed costumed, which made the effect much stronger. In the museum, they had rooms with Calypso telling fortunes who informed Johnny, dressed as Mario from Super Mario Bros, that he was going to become a video game creator someday. He seemed to enjoy that future! Also, a puppet show was taking place in the Senate Room, a short scene walking the plank in another room and storytime in yet another room. There were quite a few different areas for the kids to enjoy. All of the workers seemed to be enjoying themselves playing their parts and handing out candy to the kids. The older kids seemed to be more drawn to the puppet show and other mini shows than my little friend Johnny was. However, he seemed more at home at his mere 4 years old at creating a pirate hat and getting a cool pirate tattoo. So, I would say the event was well suited to entertain children of different ages.

Calypso will tell you your future!

Next, we ventured over to MNH, which sadly always has a sort of directional issue due to the strange layout of the building. Since I spend most of my time in Macbride Hall, I knew exactly where to go, but I can see how confusing it can be for other visitors. There were signs posted, which were very helpful, that said what events were taking place upstairs in other exhibits. Everyone seemed to be finding their way through everything pretty well with only a few that seemed a little lost. In MNH, we changed gears to superheroes. (This was a little more fitting for my WonderWoman costume!) Throughout MNH, there were lots of activities that ranged from drawing mutant animals with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, making slime, making spiders with Spiderman, and many more tables. For Johnny, he seemed to most enjoy Haunted Mammal Hall. The lights were dim and several mystery boxes were spread throughout the exhibit. He would put his hand in a box and feel an item like petrified wood and homemade plastic and try to figure out what it was. A very well placed informative note was placed on top of the box. Johnny seemed to like the mystery and learning what these new things were. He was also very pleased with all the candy provided at each station! Johnny went through the Kryptonite Cave (created with cardboard boxes) and used a flashlight to find his way. He seemed to really enjoy the crawling around and adventuring through that area. We then finished our MNH visit in Bird Hall. There, a Captain Planet quiz helped the kids learn their power and received a power ring. There was also a very simple bird matching game that Johnny really enjoyed . Overall, the kids seemed to be really enjoying all of the festivities in MNH and again, many ages were drawn to different aspects. This whole event is nice for that because anyone could bring their children of various ages and see them enjoy different areas.

Rusty!

 We ended our evening in the Paleontology Repository's set-up in the Geology building. The Paleontology Repository on campus is one of my favorite places. I visited it in my Intro to Museum Studies course and was hooked. This is where thousands of specimens are housed from various organisms and locations in a room the size of a couple classrooms, so clearly, the events were in the halls and classrooms of the geology building. The theme was sea creatures and they had various rooms throughout the halls. There was another crawl through cave here which was designed like the Kracken. Johnny liked this one so much he went through twice! The Geology exhibits throughout the building also seemed to catch his eye and we'd stop and spend some time talking about the cases between rooms. There was a "fun room" set up with face painting and a few other activities. This room was PACKED! We were roaming these halls near the end of the evening so we passed on that room so we could see the rest. Clearly, however, this was one popular place. We saw several kids showing off their face paint proudly. One of the last rooms was a fossil room, where we helped Johnny uncover a fossil in the sand and looked at various bones of different animals. It was a very educational, yet fun set-up. In the final room we entered, there were a couple real snakes for the kids to look at and more specimens on display. Overall, I would say that the activities hosted by the repository were very well organized and educational at every turn. We all really enjoyed this building, as did the several visitors around us of varying ages.

Digging up fossils

 Overall, the event was very entertaining! I was happy I was able to get my favorite little boy to attend with me because the event is completely focused on the kids, of course. I enjoyed watching his reactions at every turn and seeing all the kids in their costumes react differently to different sections of each museum. This event was entirely free and the kids were provided with candy bags and ended up with lots of candy and take home items from the event's stations. I've been told thousands come through this event every year and there is an obvious reason for it: it's just a blast! Not only is this a great way to experience the museum in a new way, but you can also learn of all the great events that also happen at the museums. I encourage you all to take the kids to Creepy Campus Crawl next year and make sure you check out the museum's ongoing events on the website! I know I've already planned to bring more of my friend's kids with me next year!

My husband and I at CCC! Happy Halloween!

Throwing an Atlatl and Eating Pizza

I would like to start by apologizing for the major delay since my last post. October has proven to be very busy for both me and the museum world! Without further adieu, let's dive right back in!

On Friday, October 14, I had the pleasure of attending "Night at the Museum: Archaeology" (NATM). Night at the Museum is an event that the education department runs in the Museum of Natural History (MNH) on a monthly basis. They choose one theme and base an entire evening festivities upon that. I was able to arrive early to partake in the the team's practice of the games they'd play with the kids. They were able to obtain a few atlatls to show the kids and explain to them their purpose. For those of you who may be unfamiliar, the atlatl was a weapon throwing technology used by Native Americans to hunt. By using the atlatl, they would create more force and precision with their spears. You can read more here at Atlatl Technology. The NATM staff was practicing how to throw them in order to be able to properly demonstrate for the children. However, the atlatls are so interesting that seemingly the whole student staff stopped by to toss one or two and learn more. In my world, this would be seen as a sort of experimental archaeology which the kids would be able to learn how something was done by trying it, not just by reading about it. The act seems like play, but is truly a great learning experience. The very idea alone of throwing a spear intrigued all of us, no matter what age we were. My throws went about six feet out, which helped me learn how hard the technology may been to master, especially when dinner was the result!

Atlatl Practice

After some practice, it was time to go meet with parents and children as they arrived. Everyone had their duties varying from checking children off as they arrived, giving name tags or handing out informational packets to take home. The packets were filled with fun information, coloring pages and educational information about the museum and archaeology as a whole. As the kids began to arrive, I quickly noticed a trend. The parents seem both a little relieved and a little nervous to be leaving their kids for a few hours. Every parent needs a little time to themselves sometimes, so why not let them come learn and have fun with museum staff'? The staff worked so well with the kids, letting them have fun, but making sure they weren't hurting themselves or others in any way. The kids were taken through the museum to explore as we waited for everyone else to arrive. As nearly every parent left, they uttered those famous words, "Be good!". Yet once Mom or Dad was out of sight, many of the kids let loose and wanted to walk all through the museum. They were learning with every step they took and didn't even seem to realize it.

The kids asking questions about the tree.

As we moved outside, there were three game stations to rotate between. They were games like: atlatl throwing, using a bull roarer and a stick game also played by the Native Americans. Clearly, the kids were most excited about the atlatls and I was lucky enough to spend the whole time at this station. The kids were told to stay in the tree's mulch ring and informed of how dangerous this activity could be if they weren't careful. With close supervision, they were very well behaved and knew to play one at a time only. One child would go learn and throw the spears with one worker while the others stayed with two of us. While standing next to one of the largest tree in Iowa City, they would turn their wonderment on it instead. They asked many questions and found ways to entertain themselves safely with us. As the rotations continued, the kids were clearly getting more and more excited. They were rowdier as time continued, so the time for pizza had arrived! Fortunately, we didn't need to catch our dinner anymore!

The museum staff orders a few pizzas and feeds the kids dinner, which is very convenient considering the event is from 6pm-9pm. The kids sit down with their pizza in the auditorium and watch an educational show. This time, they watched a Magic School Bus episode and seemed to really enjoy watching it on the very large screen.

At this time, I had to leave unfortunately, but after dinner, the kids continued on to get their miner helmets, which come free with their Night at the Museum fee and attendance. They choose their favorite color ahead of time and their name is placed on it for them. This time, they then all went up to Bird Hall and Mammal Hall to explore parts of the museum that many museum goers miss on the third floor. There, the lights are turned off and many staffers spread out to help keep a close eye on them as they explore the halls with their miner helmets and flashlights. Ashlee Gloede, the coordinator of the NATM event, commented that the kids love this portion of the night. I would assume that they become little explorers themselves and feel as though they are discovering new specimens in their cases.

Overall, this event is not only very popular, but very educational. This can be one of the instances where these kids come in to have fun and leave knowing new words like atlatl and new information about Native Americans. The next NATM event will take place on November 18 and is themed Dinosaurs. You must pre-register your children for this event. The fee is $25, which includes a free miner helmet, a night of educational fun and dinner! Please contact Ashlee Gloede at 319-335-0606 or via email at uimnh@uiowa.edu

Who thought mice could be so intriguing?

On Thursday, the Pentacrest Museums (Old Capitol Museum and Museum of Natural History) held the inaugural Director's Lecture Series with special guest Dr. Hopi Hoekstra. This was the first in a monthly series presented by the museum this year. These lectures are presented to the public for free. This session was held in the historic Old Capital Museum in the Senate Chamber. The setting was only outshone by the outstandingly presented lecture by Dr. Hoekstra. Dr. Hoekstra is the Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology in the Department of Organismic & Evolutionary Biology and the Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology as well as the Curator of Mammals at the Museum of Comparative Zoology. Don't let that string of complex titles fool you into thinking you couldn't enjoy this lecture. Dr. Hoekstra successfully made her research with beach and mainland mice in Florida seem understandable to everyone. In a nutshell, she discussed her research with color variation and the genetics behind it in these mice. By collecting and tagging mice in both the mainlands and beautiful white sandy beach coasts of Florida, her and her team were able to begin isolating the genes responsible for the color variation and the importance of the variation in their environments. She's also done work with mice in the Nebraska sand dunes and various other beach locations where variations of the mice can be found. She also connected this to the capabilities to discover color variations from fossils and the possibility that Neanderthals had their own color variation genes that humans do not. You can read multiple articles about her research with mice that vary from morphology to behavior at her lab website here: Hoekstra Lab.  

There was a nice crowd of University faculty, employees, students and local citizens ranging in all ages who all were hanging on Dr. Hoekstra's every word. I brought along a couple friends from very different backgrounds to see what they would also think: a friend, Miranda Utzinger, a graduate student working on her Ph.D in Biological Anthropology and my fiance, Randy Armstrong, a computer science major. With my primary focus on museum studies and cultural anthropology, I was a little concerned if the genetics would go over my head, but I walked away feeling very intrigued and interested. Although her subject matter is very scientific and complex, she was able to make even someone with very minimal genetic background (like me!) understand her research and the importance within the results. By including small historical anecdotes, we all walked away with some knowledge that may come in handy on a future Trivial Pursuit game! Miranda was extremely intrigued by the mention of Neanderthals in the lecture, as this is her primary study focus and thought the lecture was very well presented. Randy, on the other hand, just thought the research sounded interesting and I think we were both a little jealous of Dr. Hoekstra's gorgeous beach study sites! Everyone seemed to laugh right along with her as she brought humor into her slideshow to break up the science. This seems to be one major reason why Dr.Hoekstra was chosen: not only is she well known in her field, but she is very capable of speaking to a general public audience. Following the lecture, there was a dessert reception including coffee and yummy treats where everyone could mingle and have a meet and greet with Dr. Hoekstra and several museum staff members including the somewhat newly appointed Director of the Pentacrest Museums, Dr. John Logsdon. 

Did you attend this lecture? If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Please leave a comment below and let me know what you thought!


Don't miss out on the following Director's Series lectures this fall!
 **Dr. Steven Holen of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science on October 23rd 
** Dr. David Mindell of the California Academy of Sciences on November 10th

Guided through Iowa History

     Recently, I had my fiance, Randy, meet me at the museum for us to tag along for a tour. Drew and Andrew were to give a tour to a group of local 5th grade students. We began in the entrance diorama of the Marquette-Joliet arrival in Iowa. The kids sat in front of the large display and asked questions about its contents. One little girl asked about the noises she was hearing. Of course, if you've been inside the museum and stood in front of the diorama, you know that you're surrounded by a few trees and leaves above your head and there's a distinct whistle of birds in front of the diorama. The children were looking around trying to discover the source. Drew just told her that the museum is set up to feel like you're actually out walking around in Iowa. Our University museum has a great interactive feature within those sections that include sound and outside elements that can make you feel more involved. As we pulled out of the entrance, we began our tour in the archaeology section of Iowa Hall discovering the past artifacts and the changing faces that were present in Iowa. The students visiting were pressed all the way up against the glass trying to identify different artifacts within the displays and asking Drew questions about the ones that intrigued them. Clearly the tour guides are well trained in touring with children and ask them questions and keep them involved and interested during the whole event.
     As we started to move towards the geology section of Iowa Hall, the group turned the corner and you could hear "Oooh" and "Awww" through the halls instantly. As you turn the corner, you're immediately faced with the Devonian era exhibit which houses the very dynamic Dunkleosteus, warmly referred to as "Dunky". As we moved through the geology exhibits, Drew was very able to pick and choose the pieces to talk about that the kids would enjoy the most. He was able to inform all of us about the grand history of our state and made the tour enjoyable for both the students and the adults chaperoning them. I learned lots of great new facts that I previously had not heard which included that the Meskwaki Indians sometimes settled disputes with a game of lacross. Finally, we made it to our last stop with Rusty the Giant Sloth. Rusty, clearly a treasured gem of our University, has been decked out in a Hawkeyes tie since the semester started. One of the students asked why it was there. With a little laugh, all Drew could respond with was that "he was dressed up for the semester". I think all of us University students forget how an outsider would view our common desire to dress up our beloved sloth!

"Dunky"

     After the tour ended, Randy and I were still in the mood to look around. So, we headed on up to Mammal Hall where Randy had not previously been. The minute you step into the hall, you can see a bit of the grand whale skeleton hanging from the ceiling. He wandered in and we viewed the skeletons and animals of the world on display. We took the trip through the auditorium and made our way to the Hall of Birds. Randy seemed to enjoy the Laysan Isand exhibit which quickly has become one of my favorites also. It's not only a unique set up, but also very well organized and a true gem of the University of Iowa as a personal quest done by a previous museum director. If you've never made it up to the cyclorama, it is quite the beautiful display. Finally, we ended up at the Biosphere off of Bird Hall where we watched some of the videos on the crisp updated displays in the biosphere, which is clearly the newest section of the museum. The displays are new and modern throughout that space. There are videos about archaeology in Iowa and methods used in archaeological digs.

Randy viewing the cyclorama

     Overall, the tour was a great success. See the information below taken from the MNH's website to learn more about scheduling a formal tour. Even if you've visited the museum several times, like me, you will absolutely see a new side of the museum by taking a tour with the well trained and informed tour guides! Any age and any group would great enjoy the experience. Until next time, keep exploring and let me know if there's any questions you've always wanted to ask and I will do my best to find you the answer!

Whew, I hope you can all excuse my delay! I am getting very excited to start bringing you the inside scoop on our beloved Museum of Natural History! I've been busy setting up meetings and arranging all the fantastic events I will presenting to you over the next couple months. Because the museum world is so vast, there are so many ways to begin this journey. Later this week, I will be bringing you first hand feedback from a formal tour of the museum given to a fifth grade class. However, while you wait, perhaps you should check out some of the links along the right side of our blog here. For museum insight, check out the museum's website. For a laugh, you've got to visit Rusty the Sloth's Twitter page.

There are some great events occurring this week at the museum worth checking out. Please see some information below. Hope to see you there!

• Thursday, September 15 at 7pm in the 3rd floor of the museum in the Biosphere Discovery Hub/“The History and Geology of the Legendary New Madrid Earthquakes of 1811 and 1812”
• Click here for more detailed information: Ray Anderson Lecture Information
• Friday, September 16 from 6pm-9pm at the Museum
• Night at the Museum: Animal Safari
• The super popular children's series. You must pre-register your children by contacting the Education Dept. Please visit the museum website for more information. Here is the museum's description:
• Lions! Tigers! Bears! Oh my!  Join us for a safari through the Museum of Natural History after dark to learn about mammals from around the world.  The group will have a fun evening of pizza, behind the scenes tours, games, and more!

This Is Only The Beginning

Hello everyone and welcome to the brand new blog for the Museum of Natural History! My name is Veronica and I'll be your guide as we journey into the depths of the museum. I am a Junior at the University of Iowa majoring in Anthropology and Museum Studies. I will be conducting an Undercover Museum project that will bring us into the sections of the museum that are normally hidden from visitors. I hope to show you how anyone, at any age, can enjoy their time in the museum and discover new ways to get involved. I have always had a profound admiration of museums and enjoyed the many depths and corners hidden within its walls. The Museum of Natural History at the University of Iowa is majestic beginning at its entrance. The Greco-Roman architecture of the university's pentacrest is dramatic and commanding and the museum is absolutely a beauty. Once inside, Iowa history overtakes your senses. Journey through Iowa Hall and you'll be taken back in time to see what our landscape previously looked like and those who previously lived here. As you continue through the museum, you'll take in more and more animal and human history. There's always something new that will catch your eye.

So, what should you expect to see over the next few months? We will be exploring events provided for children and adults and how they come together from planning to conducting them. I'll bring you information about the collections yet to be presented in the museum's main halls. We'll even see a first hand account of a child's first visit to the museum. If you have anything you've always wanted to know, please add a comment below and let me know. I can't wait to bring you along on this journey! Whether you've never visited the museum or been there several times, I hope to peak your interest to return again and again with a new vision.

Please take a minute and explore the Museum's website, especially the history of it's beginnings at: History

Me with my friend, Rusty the Sloth, at the Museum of Natural History