Note: Some of the photos included in this post show specimen preparation and might be graphic to some readers. What is a specimen? The term ‘specimen’ refers to any object (animal, plant, or non-living) that is preserved for scientific use. Specimens can include skeletons, skins, flowers, minerals, etc and can be whole or incomplete. Most […]
Natural history museum collections preserve a record of life on earth. Well-documented biological specimens are prepared according to strict standards and studied by scientists from around the world. Each of these specimens contains unique scientific information, and research collections are therefore the most highly valued and carefully conserved materials in natural history museums. Scientists may […]
Originally published in Points West, Summer 1999 Charles R. Preston, PhD Willis McDonald IV Senior Curator of the Draper Natural History Museum Ed. note: This article is from a series describing the role of natural history museums and plans for the Center’s own natural history museum leading up to its opening in 2002. In May […]
Treasures from Our West American swallow-tailed kite The American swallow-tailed kite is a bird of prey related to other kites, eagles, hawks, and falcons. Prior to 1900, the swallow-tailed kite bred in the United States from the Gulf Coast north through most of Minnesota and west into the Great Plains of the American West. The […]
“Natural history museums have never been more relevant or important than they are today, as our nation suffers from nature-deficit disorder,” says Dr. Charles R. Preston. As Founding Curator of the Draper Museum of Natural History and a Senior Curator of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, which includes the Draper, Preston is in a position […]