Virginia Museum Of Natural History Foundation

DIGITIZATION TCN: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: FOSSIL INSECT COLLABORATIVE: A DEEP-TIME APPROACH TO STUDYING DIVERSIFICATION AND RESPONSE TO ENVIRONMENTAL

THE VIRGINIA MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY WILL IMPROVE THE CARE AND ACCESSIBILITY OF ITS TRIASSIC AND PALEOZOIC GEOLOGIC ROCK CORE FROM THE VIRGINIA PIEDMONT BY MOVING IT TO A NEW STORAGE FACILITY. THE 75,000 LINEAR FEET OF 2-INCH ROCK CORE IS CURRENTLY STORED IN WAX-IMPREGNATED CORE BOXES AND HOUSED IN A PRIVATELY OWNED, OFF-SITE FACILITY WITH LIMITED ACCESS. PRIOR TO THE MOVE, THE MUSEUM WILL CONTRACT WITH A RADIATION SAFETY FIRM TO SURVEY AND EXAMINE THE CORE AND RECOMMEND SAFETY MEASURES FOR MOVING, HANDLING, AND STORING IT. THE PROJECT TEAM WILL PREPARE THE NEW STORAGE SPACE, MOVE THE COLLECTION, CLEAN BOX INTERIORS, MATCH LABEL DATA TO THE MUSEUM'S CATALOG RECORDS, AND UPDATE STORAGE LOCATIONS IN THE CATALOG WITH ROOM AND SHELF NUMBERS. UPON COMPLETION OF THIS WORK, THE MUSEUM WILL UPLOAD THE UPDATED CATALOG RECORDS TO ITS COLLECTIONS MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE, AND THE DATA WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ON ITS WEBSITE.

SEEKING EVIDENCE FOR REACTIVE ASSIMILATION IN A HYBRID PLUTON

VIRGINIA MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY FOUNDATION

THE VIRGINIA MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY WILL ENHANCE ITS SCIENCE EDUCATION PROGRAMS AND OUTREACH ACTIVITIES BY TRANSFORMING AN EXISTING UNDERUTILIZED LABORATORY INTO A NEW EXPLORATION LAB. THE LAB WILL INCLUDE NEW MICROSCOPY TOOLS THAT WILL AID MUSEUM EDUCATORS AND CURATORS IN PROGRAMMING FOR SCHOOL GROUPS AND HOMESCHOOL FAMILIES. MUSEUM CURATORS ALSO WILL USE THE LAB TO TEACH HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE STUDENTS AS WELL AS CITIZEN SCIENTISTS IN THE VIRGINIA MASTER NATURALISTS PROGRAM. THIS SPACE ALSO WILL SERVE AS A FACILITY FOR VISITING SCIENTISTS AND HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE INTERNS CONDUCTING SPECIMEN-BASED RESEARCH WITH MUSEUM CURATORS. MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WILL BE ABLE TO OBSERVE ONGOING LAB ACTIVITIES AND ATTEND RELATED MUSEUM PROGRAMMING FOR INTERGENERATIONAL EXPLORATION AND HANDS-ON LEARNING.