‘Snarge,’ Seashells and Much More This April at the National Museum of Natural History

This spring, the museum is hosting events exploring everything from how our ancestors wielded wooden tools to the work of forensic ornithologists

This April, the National Museum of Natural History is celebrating spring in the Capital with a deep-dive on forensic ornithology, a playful take on shell collecting and an opportunity to mount your own botanical specimens.

Hear how forensic ornithologists at the museum use feathers to keep planes safe 
April 14, 6:30 to 8:15 P.M. ET

Each day, the museum’s Division of Birds receives envelopes packed with ‘snarge,’ the unfortunate aftermath of what happens when a bird meets an airplane. The Feather Identification Lab then gets to work. Using microscopes and reference specimens in the collection, the team identifies the incoming bird remains, which provides crucial clues for avoiding airstrikes between birds and planes in the future.

To learn more about this vital research happening behind the scenes at the museum, guests have an opportunity to attend a moderated discussion between forensic ornithologist Carla Dove, the program manager of the Feather Identification Lab, and Chris Sweeney, the author of the new book The Feather Detective: Mystery, Mayhem, and the Magnificent Life of Roxie Laybourne. The book chronicles the life of Roxie Laybourne, the lab’s founder and a pioneer in the field of forensic ornithology. The conversation, which will be moderated by the museum’s associate director for science Rebecca Johnson, will explore Laybourne’s legacy and how museum scientists identify birds based on small traces.

This event is part of the museum’s new “Behind the Science” series, a monthly after-hours program where NMNH researchers share insights into their latest discoveries and explore the fascinating questions driving their work. “Behind the Science” offers museum guests an inside look at the science taking place in the world’s largest natural history collection. Registration is free and highly encouraged.

Learn how ancient humans used wood to craft the earliest hunting tools
April 16, 11:30 A.M. to 12:30 P.M. ET

Researchers have long-scrutinized hardy stone tools which can preserve signs of wear for thousands, or even millions, of years, for insights into the lives of ancient humans.

But prehistoric people crafted tools from a variety of materials, including wood. To learn how early humans wielded wooden weapons like spears and throwing sticks, Annemieke Milks, an archaeologist at the University of Reading, utilizes cutting-edge technology like 3D microscopy and micro-CT scans to study some of the world’s oldest wooden artifacts.

Tune in to learn more about Milks’s work and how new analyses of old discoveries are fueling a reimagining of how our ancient relatives cooperated. This presentation is part of the ongoing Human Origins Today (HOT) Topic series and will be moderated by museum paleoanthropologist and educator, Briana Pobiner. Registration is free and a link to the webinar will be sent to all registrants.

Mount your own botanical specimens with museum experts
April 24, 5:00 to 7:00 P.M. ET

Each month, “Q?rius,” the Coralyn W. Whitney Science Education Center, stays open late to allow guests to get hands-on experiences with specimens from the museum’s Education and Outreach collection, which includes everything from taxidermied animals to fossils and minerals.

This month, attendees will have an opportunity to learn how to mount plant specimens onto paper from experts in the museum’s Department of Botany. The museum’s world-class herbarium is home to millions of botanical specimens pressed onto similar sheets of paper. Registration is free and encouraged. Space is filled on a first come first served basis.

Play a new board game inspired by shell collecting on the beach
April 30, 6:30 to 9:30 P.M. ET

We all know people sell seashells by the seashore, but the real fun is collecting these remarkable specimens on the beach. The act of searching for seashells, which many marine mollusks use to protect their soft bodies, inspired the latest creation of renowned board game designer Elizabeth Hargrave, whose latest Sanibel, emulates  combing a shelly beach.

Hargrave, the creator of the popular bird-themed board game Wingspan, will visit the museum for this after hours event to discuss her new game and the seashells that inspired it with museum scientists Stewart Edie, the curator of fossil mollusks, and Chris Meyer, the chair of invertebrate zoology and the curator of living mollusks. The conversation will also explore several themes of the museum’s upcoming exhibition “From These Lands,” opening in June, including a place-based affinity for nature, the art and science of collecting and the biodiversity of marine ecosystems along America’s coastlines.

After the discussion, attendees will have an opportunity to play the new game and explore the museum’s “Sant Ocean Hall” after hours. Registration is free and highly encouraged.

Jack Tamisiea | | Read More

Jack Tamisiea is a Science Communications Specialist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. In addition to covering all things natural history for the museum's blog, Smithsonian Voices, he tracks media coverage and coordinates filming activities for the museum's Office of Communications and Public Affairs. Jack recently completed his masters in science writing at Johns Hopkins University and his writing has appeared in the New York Times, Scientific American, National Geographic and other science-focused publications. In his free time, he loves exploring the outdoors with a sketchbook and camera. You can read more of Jack's work at https://jacktamisiea.com.