Download or read book The American Museum of Natural History and How It Got That Way written by Colin Davey and published by Fordham Univ Press. This book was released on 2019-05-14 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tells the story of the building of the American Museum of Natural History and Hayden Planetarium, a story of history, politics, science, and exploration, including the roles of American presidents, New York power brokers, museum presidents, planetarium directors, polar and African explorers, and German rocket scientists. The American Museum of Natural History is one of New York City’s most beloved institutions, and one of the largest, most celebrated museums in the world. Since 1869, generations of New Yorkers and tourists of all ages have been educated and entertained here. Located across from Central Park, the sprawling structure, spanning four city blocks, is a fascinating conglomeration of many buildings of diverse architectural styles built over a period of 150 years. The first book to tell the history of the museum from the point of view of these buildings, including the planned Gilder Center, The American Museum of Natural History and How It Got That Way contextualizes them within New York and American history and the history of science. Part II, “The Heavens in the Attic,” is the first detailed history of the Hayden Planetarium, from the museum’s earliest astronomy exhibits, to Clyde Fisher and the original planetarium, to Neil deGrasse Tyson and the Rose Center for Earth and Space, and it features a photographic tour through the original Hayden Planetarium. Author Colin Davey spent much of his childhood literally and figuratively lost in the museum’s labyrinthine hallways. The museum grew in fits and starts according to the vicissitudes of backroom deals, personal agendas, two world wars, the Great Depression, and the Cold War. Chronicling its evolution―from the selection of a desolate, rocky, hilly, swampy site, known as Manhattan Square to the present day―the book includes some of the most important and colorful characters in the city’s history, including the notoriously corrupt and powerful “Boss” Tweed, “Father of New York City” Andrew Haswell Green, and twentieth-century powerbroker and master builder Robert Moses; museum presidents Morris K. Jesup, Henry Fairfield Osborn, and Ellen Futter; and American presidents, polar and African explorers, dinosaur hunters, and German rocket scientists. Richly illustrated with period photos, The American Museum of Natural History and How It Got That Way is based on deep archival research and interviews.

Download or read book The Lost Species written by Christopher Kemp and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2020-11-25 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We hear routinely about dinosaurs unearthed in the Gobi Desert, about new marsupials found in the forests of Madagascar, about darling deep sea squid in the polar regions. These discoveries tend to be accompanied by wondrous feats of adventuring scientists. But just as one can experience the world in a backyard, or farther reaches of the world with a good book and a comfy armchair, scientists themselves know that the natural history museums of the world contain some of the best terrain for discovering new species. In recent years scientists have found in museum drawers and cabinets a new rove beetle collected by Darwin, a tiny lungless salamander thinner than a matchstick, a monkey from the Brazilian rainforest, and a 40 million year old beardog. The Lost Species shares the thrill of spelunking in museum basements, digging in museum trays, and breathing new life in taxidermied beings--a in a days' adventure for the scientists in this book. These discoveries help tell the story of life, and the priceless collections of natural history museums.

Download or read book Biological Collections written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2021-01-29 with total page 245 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Biological collections are a critical part of the nation's science and innovation infrastructure and a fundamental resource for understanding the natural world. Biological collections underpin basic science discoveries as well as deepen our understanding of many challenges such as global change, biodiversity loss, sustainable food production, ecosystem conservation, and improving human health and security. They are important resources for education, both in formal training for the science and technology workforce, and in informal learning through schools, citizen science programs, and adult learning. However, the sustainability of biological collections is under threat. Without enhanced strategic leadership and investments in their infrastructure and growth many biological collections could be lost. Biological Collections: Ensuring Critical Research and Education for the 21st Century recommends approaches for biological collections to develop long-term financial sustainability, advance digitization, recruit and support a diverse workforce, and upgrade and maintain a robust physical infrastructure in order to continue serving science and society. The aim of the report is to stimulate a national discussion regarding the goals and strategies needed to ensure that U.S. biological collections not only thrive but continue to grow throughout the 21st century and beyond.

Download or read book Museum Worlds written by Sandra Dudley and published by Berghahn Books. This book was released on 2013-07 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Museum Worlds: Advances in Research' is a new, multidisciplinary, refereed, annual journal from Berghahn Journals that will publish work that significantly advances knowledge of global trends, case studies and theory relevant to museum practice and scholarship around the world. It aims to trace and comment on major regional, theoretical, methodological and topical themes and debates, and encourage comparison of museum theories, practices, and developments in different global settings. Each issue includes a conversation piece on a current topic, as well as peer reviewed scholarly articles and review articles, book and exhibition reviews, and news on developments in museum studies and related curricula in different parts of the world. Drawing on the expertise and networks of a global Editorial Board of senior scholars and museum practitioners, the journal will both challenge and develop the core concepts that link different disciplinary perspectives on museums by bringing new voices into ongoing debates and discussions.

Download or read book The Museum written by Samuel J. Redman and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2024-10 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Celebrates the resilience of American cultural institutions in the face of national crises and challenges On an afternoon in January 1865, a roaring fire swept through the Smithsonian Institution. Dazed soldiers and worried citizens could only watch as the flames engulfed the museum’s castle. Rare objects and valuable paintings were destroyed. The flames at the Smithsonian were not the first—and certainly would not be the last— disaster to upend a museum in the United States. Beset by challenges ranging from pandemic and war to fire and economic uncertainty, museums have sought ways to emerge from crisis periods stronger than before, occasionally carving important new paths forward in the process. The Museum explores the concepts of “crisis” as it relates to museums, and how these historic institutions have dealt with challenges ranging from depression and war to pandemic and philosophical uncertainty. Fires, floods, and hurricanes have all upended museum plans and forced people to ask difficult questions about American cultural life. With chapters exploring World War I and the 1918 influenza pandemic, the Great Depression, World War II, the 1970 Art Strike in New York City, and recent controversies in American museums, this book takes a new approach to understanding museum history. By diving deeper into the changes that emerged from these key challenges, Samuel J. Redman argues that cultural institutions can—and should— use their history to prepare for challenges and solidify their identity going forward. A captivating examination of crisis moments in US museum history from the early years of the twentieth century to the present day, The Museum offers inspiration in the resilience and longevity of America’s most prized cultural institutions.

Download or read book The Museum written by Michael S. Sharpiro and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 1990-07-24 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This critical bibliography of museum studies comprises an organized collection of essays on the various types of museums--art, natural history, history, science and technology, and folk--and on general aspects--collections, education, exhibitions, etc.--that cut across the media. Most of the essays are cogent, substantial if not comprehensive, and clear. The editor has taken care to see that they follow a similar format of historical essay followed by a full bibliography of items discussed. Library Journal As the number of museums in the United States has grown to more than 6500 in this century, the museum profession has experienced similar growth. In addition to academic training and accreditation programs in the field, an expanding body of literature on museum history, philosophy, and functions has evolved, little of which has received the critical attention it deserves. This reference volume serves as an up-to-date guide to this wealth of literature, identifying and evaluating works that introduce the general reader, the museum studies student, and the beginning professional to the history, philosophy, and functions of museums. The volume presents a series of informative, historical outlines and critical bibliographic essays on all aspects of museum history, philosophy, and functions. Contributors treat such subjects as art museums, natural history museums, science and technology museums, history museums, collections, exhibition, education and interpretation, and the public and museums. Each chapter consists of an introductory historical narrative, a survey of sources, and a bibliographic checklist that contains cited and additional sources. A set of appendices include a geographically organized bibliography of museum directories, a guide to archives and special collections, and a selective list of museum-related periodicals. The book concludes with a comprehensive general subject index. This work will be an important reference tool for museum professionals and cultural historians, as well as for courses in museum studies. It will also be a valuable addition to both academic and public libraries.

Download or read book Natural History Research written by and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Value and Valuation of Natural Science Collections written by John R. Nudds and published by Geological Society of London. This book was released on 1997 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Ahab s Rolling Sea written by Richard J. King and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2019-11-11 with total page 449 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick is beloved as one of the most profound and enduring works of American fiction, we rarely consider it a work of nature writing—or even a novel of the sea. Yet Pulitzer Prize–winning author Annie Dillard avers Moby-Dick is the “best book ever written about nature,” and nearly the entirety of the story is set on the waves, with scarcely a whiff of land. In fact, Ishmael’s sea yarn is in conversation with the nature writing of Emerson and Thoreau, and Melville himself did much more than live for a year in a cabin beside a pond. He set sail: to the far remote Pacific Ocean, spending more than three years at sea before writing his masterpiece in 1851. A revelation for Moby-Dick devotees and neophytes alike, Ahab’s Rolling Sea is a chronological journey through the natural history of Melville’s novel. From white whales to whale intelligence, giant squids, barnacles, albatross, and sharks, Richard J. King examines what Melville knew from his own experiences and the sources available to a reader in the mid-1800s, exploring how and why Melville might have twisted what was known to serve his fiction. King then climbs to the crow’s nest, setting Melville in the context of the American perception of the ocean in 1851—at the very start of the Industrial Revolution and just before the publication of On the Origin of Species. King compares Ahab’s and Ishmael’s worldviews to how we see the ocean today: an expanse still immortal and sublime, but also in crisis. And although the concept of stewardship of the sea would have been entirely foreign, if not absurd, to Melville, King argues that Melville’s narrator Ishmael reveals his own tendencies toward what we would now call environmentalism. Featuring a coffer of illustrations and an array of interviews with contemporary scientists, fishers, and whale watch operators, Ahab’s Rolling Sea offers new insight not only into a cherished masterwork and its author but also into our evolving relationship with the briny deep—from whale hunters to climate refugees.

Download or read book Dinosaurs written by David E. Fastovsky and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2016-11-28 with total page 495 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The ideal textbook for non-science majors, this lively and engaging introduction encourages students to ask questions, assess data critically and think like a scientist. Building on the success of the previous editions, Dinosaurs has been reorganised and extensively rewritten in response to instructor and student feedback. It continues to make science accessible and relevant through its clear explanations and extensive illustrations. Updated to reflect recent fossil discoveries and to include new taxa, the text guides students through the dinosaur groups, emphasising scientific concepts rather than presenting endless facts. It is grounded in the common language of modern evolutionary biology - phylogenetic systematics - so that students examine dinosaurs as professional paleontologists do. The key emerging theme of feathered dinosaurs, and the many implications of feathers, have been integrated throughout the book, highlighted by the inclusion of stunning new photographs in this beautifully illustrated text, now in full colour throughout.

Download or read book The Museums Journal written by and published by . This book was released on 1917 with total page 520 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Indexes to papers read before the Museums Association, 1890-1909. Comp. by Charles Madeley": v. 9, p. 427-452.

Download or read book Teaming with Life written by and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 8 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Natural History Dioramas written by Sue Dale Tunnicliffe and published by Springer. This book was released on 2014-12-05 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book brings together in a unique perspective aspects of natural history dioramas, their history, construction and rationale, interpretation and educational importance, from a number of different countries, from the west coast of the USA, across Europe to China. It describes the journey of dioramas from their inception through development to visions of their future. A complementary journey is that of visitors and their individual sense making and construction of their understanding from their own starting points, often interacting with others (e.g. teachers, peers, parents) as well as media (e.g. labels). Dioramas have been, hitherto, a rather neglected area of museum exhibits but a renaissance is beginning for them and their educational importance in contributing to people’s understanding of the natural world. This volume showcases how dioramas can reach a wide audience and increase access to biological knowledge.

Download or read book The Extended Specimen written by Michael S. Webster and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2017-07-25 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- Contributors -- Preface -- Chapter 1: The Extended Specimen -- Extending the Traditional Specimen -- Extending the Specimen Concept -- Conclusion: Just What Is the "Extended Specimen?"--Acknowledgments -- Literature Cited -- Chapter 2: Getting under the Skin -- Avian Anatomical and Skeletal Collections -- Comparative Anatomy -- Systematics of Extant Species -- Morphology and Behavior -- Paleontology -- Morphometrics -- Physiology and Functional Anatomy -- Evolution and Development -- Conclusions and Future Directions -- Acknowledgments -- Literature Cited -- Chapter 3: Advanced Methods for Studying Pigments and Coloration Using Avian Specimens -- Spectrophotometry -- Limitations and Considerations for Using Specimens -- Analytical Approaches -- Applications to Ecology and Evolution -- Future Directions -- Digital Photography and Hyperspectral Imaging -- Chromatographic Analyses of Bird Pigments -- Analytical Approaches -- Benefits and Challenges of Using Specimens -- Future Directions -- Nondestructive Analysis with Raman Spectroscopy -- What Is Raman Spectroscopy? -- Comparing Raman Spectroscopy and Spectrophotometry -- An Overview of Raman Spectroscopy and Plumage Pigments -- Applications of Raman Spectroscopy in Museum Collections -- Advances in Studying Structural Coloration -- Mechanisms of Structural Coloration -- Techniques to Describe Structural Coloration -- Applications to Ecology and Evolutionary Biology -- Structural Coloration in Fossil Feathers -- Future Directions -- Advanced Methods for Studying Avian Egg Color -- Egg Coloration: An Overview -- Chemical Analysis -- Structural Analysis -- Spectrophotometry -- Digital Photography -- Case Study -- Future Directions -- Conclusions -- Literature Cited

Download or read book True Bugs of the World Hemiptera Heteroptera written by Randall T. Schuh and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 1995 with total page 362 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This monumental reference work treats an entire worldwide order of insects. It summarizes, from both a biological and sytematic perspective, current knowledge on the Heteroptera, or true bugs, a group containing approximately 35,000 species, many of which are important to agriculture and public health. To introduce the reader to this group, Randall T. Schuh and James A. Slater offer chapters on the history of the study of the Heteroptera, research techniques, and sources of specimens. They also cover attributes of general biological interest, including habitats, habits, mimicry, and wing polymorphism; selected taxa of economic importance; and basic morphology.Presenting a current classification of the Heteroptera, the authors synthesize to the subfamily and sometimes tribal level the enormous, scattered literature, including diagnoses, keys, general natural history, a summary of distributions, and a listing of important faunistic works. In addition to a wealth of detailed illustrations, they provide a glossary to help the reader deal with the confusing terminology that has evolved over the years, as well as an extensive bibliography of more than 1350 entries.Meticulously prepared by two of the world's leading specialists, this major work will be the standard reference on the Heteroptera for many years to come.

Download or read book Identification of Pathological Conditions in Human Skeletal Remains written by Donald J. Ortner and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2003-01-10 with total page 663 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Identification of Pathological Conditions in Human Skeletal Remains provides an integrated and comprehensive treatment of pathological conditions that affect the human skeleton. There is much that ancient skeletal remains can reveal to the modern orthopaedist, pathologist, forensic anthropologist, and radiologist about the skeletal manifestations of diseases that are rarely encountered in modern medical practice. Beautifully illustrated with over 1,100 photographs and drawings, this book provides essential text and materials on bone pathology, which will improve the diagnostic ability of those interested in human dry bone pathology. It also provides time depth to our understanding of the effect of disease on past human populations. - Comprehensive review of skeletal diseases encountered in archeological human remains - More than 1100 photographs and line drawings illustrating skeletal disease including both microscopic and gross features - Based on extensive research on skeletal paleopathology in many countries for over 35 years - Review of important theoretical issues in interpreting evidence of skeletal disease in archeological human populations

Download or read book Natural Histories written by American Museum of Natural History and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Highlights 40 masterworks of illustrated scientific art from the Rare Book Collection of the American Museum of Natural History.