Erin I. Garcia de Jesus

Erin I. Garcia de Jesus is an intern in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History’s Office of Communications and Public Affairs. Her writing has appeared in Nature, Science, Eos, Mongabay, and more. Erin recently graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz with an MS in science communication. She also holds a BS in microbiology from New Mexico State University and a PhD in microbiology from the University of Washington. When she isn’t writing about science, Erin loves to be outside in the sunshine or reading books.

Stories from this author

Artist and Jeweler Sidney Mobell donated his gold-plated Monopoly set to the National Museum of Natural History in 2002. (Smithsonian Institution)

Check Out the Monopoly Board You Wish You Had as a Kid

The Smithsonian's collection includes a 23-carat, gold-plated Monopoly set.

Collections at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History are filled with all sorts of eerie specimens. (Clockwise from top left: Gilles San Martin via Wikimedia, Smithsonian Institution, NoahElhardt via Wikimedia, Karie Darrow)

Six Bewitching Smithsonian Specimens to Get You Ready for Halloween

Check out some of the spookiest (read: coolest) items in the National Museum of Natural History's collections.

Smithsonian Curator Anna Phillips wants people to be less scared of blood-sucking leeches. Phillips and her colleagues recently discovered a new species of North American medicinal leech living in the eastern U.S. (Anna Phillips, Smithsonian Institution)

This Smithsonian Scientist is on a Mission to Make Leeches Less Scary

Smithsonian Curator Anna Phillips is on a quest to make leeches less repulsive to the public.

Siobhan Starrs joined the “David H. Koch Hall of Fossils – Deep Time” team in 2009. She spent a decade working on the exhibit, which opened on June 8. (Smithsonian Institution)

How Siobhan Starrs’ Harrowing Hike Shaped the New Fossil Hall

Get to know the woman who managed the Fossil Hall renovation.

The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History’s megalodon model is a 52-foot-long female based on a set of teeth discovered in the Bone Valley Formation in Florida. (Smithsonian Institution)

Megalodon May Be Extinct, but There’s a Life-size One at the Smithsonian

A 52-foot, life-size model of a <i>Carcharocles megalodon</i> shark is now on display in the National Museum of Natural History's newly opened dining facilities.

The Smithsonian’s new fossil hall includes myriad stories and details – big and small – about Earth’s 4.6-billion-year history. (Smithsonian Institution)

Five Things You Shouldn’t Miss in the New Fossil Hall

Here's what the experts behind "Deep Time" don't want you to miss.

Miniature dinosaurs are staged in a scene from 150 million years ago while guests peruse another display showing the same species at full-size. (Smithsonian Institution)

The Experts Behind the New Fossil Hall Wrap Their Minds Around ‘Deep Time’

The team behind the Smithsonian's new dinosaur and fossil hall reflect on what "deep time" means to them.