Did you know that you can experience 28 DAYS OF (discounted) MUSEUM FUN during February in San Diego?
"Explore the fun during San Diego Museum Month with 50% off admission to 45+ San Diego County museums, historic sites, gardens, zoo/aquariums and more. Just pick up your pass at a San Diego Macy’s store or one of 75 libraries throughout San Diego County."
We began Museum Month at The Nat. Founded in 1874, the San Diego Society of Natural History is the oldest scientific institution in southern California, and the third oldest west of the Mississippi. It has grown from a small society of natural history lovers and collectors to a big museum with 8 million specimens, spectacular programs, and award-winning exhibitions.We hadn't been since the boys were little. What a blast! It has it all. WOW.We were greeted by this 140-million-year-old Allosaurus fragilis. Close to 75 million years before T. rex evolved, there was Allosaurus. The two dinosaurs are related- both are theropods, the carnivores of the dinosaur world. And they roamed the same region in what is now western North America. One key difference between Allosaurus and T. rex, are the dinosaurs' finger-like claws. Allosaurus has three on each forelimb, T. rex had only two.Next, we viewed nearly 200 of the weirdest, wildest, and most fascinating skulls from the research collection. Rarely on display, the skulls featured are research specimens of animals from around the world—mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians, ranging from the big and spectacular (a rhinoceros, a big-horned sheep, a giraffe) to the miniature (California’s own tiny Western Black-headed Snake).I really liked the exhibit unshelved: cool stuff from storage."Big. Small. Beautiful. Bizarre. The Nat's collection has it all. But only a tiny part of what we store behind the scenes is ever put on display. We're sharing some of these rarely seen specimens with you. Come in and explore nature in all of its wonderful and weird forms."All of the specimens in the collection are real. The animals were once alive. In order to study animals for scientific research, scientists must collect real specimens in the wild. When scientists do this, they follow strict state and federal guidelines for treating the animals humanely and protecting species under threat of extinction.
And how cool is the Doleschallia bisaltide, the autumn leaf butterfly found in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Australasia. So very, very cool.Oh, and the Museum collects poop! There's lots to learn from animal poop. Scientists refer to animal poop as "scat." By collecting scat, scientists can tell which animals live where. By looking closely at scat, scientists can tell what an animal eats. Something for everyone!
Nature's beauty continues to astound me. What a wondrous collection of fantastic specimens.There were some man-made artifacts unshelved as well. Contemporary Human, 2021, was made possible through a unique collaboration between The Nat and the Institute of Contemporary Art San Diego. Mexican artist Gabriel Rico has created this site-specific installation within the Unshelved exhibition using objects such as neon lights and plastic balls. I'm not sure what I think about it, but there it is.
When John James Audubon created his monumental book of illustrations of North American birds, he wanted the birds to be life-sized-which is why the original edition is so large. Known as the "Double Elephant Folio," it was printed on the largest paper available at the time, 50-inch paper known commercially as "double elephant" size (1858-1860).
This compilation of 150 prints from Audubon's original paintings is one of the largest books ever produced-and one of the rarest. It's estimated that only 75 were completed before the Civil War halted production.
We had the opportunity to learn about Laurence M. Klauber, a San Diego engineer, polymath, CEO, mathematician, inventor, poetry buff, bibliophile, and consummate citizen scientist. Although educated as an engineer, Klauber was completely self-taught as a herpetologist and remains one of the world’s authorities on snakes today, and probably THE world authority on rattlesnakes. His two-volume Magnum Opus titled Rattlesnakes: Their Habits, Life Histories and Influence on Mankind, is still the herpetologist’s bible for any and everything you ever needed or wanted to know about rattlesnakes, including their biology, reproduction, systematics, physiology, and geographic distribution as well as cultural and mythological significance throughout history. I was very intrigued by this exhibit case. The Nat's Rare Book Room holds many treasures, but not many of them challenge the very notion of what it means to be a “book.” The American Woods is a marvel of both book artistry and scientific dedication. Instead of bound pages, each of its 14 volumes holds hundreds of paper-thin, translucent samples of wood from American trees, painstakingly mounted into gilt-edged cutouts in individual cardboard plates.
The man behind this unique project was Romeyn Beck Hough (1857–1924), a physician who at age 29, undertook the hobby project that would become his life’s work. His goal was to collect wood samples from as many tree species in North America as he possibly could. The final product compiled more than 1,000 wood samples representing 354 species in a 14-volume set that he worked on until the end of his life. The masterwork of a consummate citizen scientist, The American Woods was an unparalleled contribution to our understanding of North American plant life in its time. Some of the trees it documents are extinct today.
I really don't know how many of San Diego's museums we'll get to this month, but I know we started at one of the best! One down, 45+ more to go.
“A visit to a museum is a search
for beauty, truth, and meaning in our lives.
Go to museums as often as you can.”
– Maira Kalman
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1 comments:
We are on it! We went to the USS Midway Museum yesterday. Such a fun day.
I hope we can make it to the Natural History Museum, but the month is full!
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