Words cannot describe the fever pitch of excitement barely contained within the walls of our Museum the past several months as we led up to opening our latest home-grown exhibition, Coast to Cactus in Southern California. If the walls could move, they would definitely have been pulsing with the high energy imbued in this new show. Read more.
Ancient Egyptians were connected with nature in many ways. In the physical sense, the lush Nile Valley between two hostile deserts and the rhythm of the Nile with its annual flood contributed greatly to the fertility of the land. Metaphorically speaking, countless murals in royal palaces and tombs depicted landscapes, gardens, and an array of animals and plants, indicating the natural world was revered by ancient Egyptians. Read more.
In 1908, the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at Berkeley mounted an expedition to the San Jacinto Mountain region, pioneering the exploration of southern California’s biology. On the 100th Anniversary of this expedition, from 2008 to 2010, the San Diego Natural History Museum retraced its path to see how the area’s wildlife has changed over the last century. This blog details one of the key findings of the San Jacinto centennial resurvey, the Gray Vireo. Read more.
As any local can attest, fires are a part of life here in San Diego. This year, the wildfires came four months earlier than usual and scorched more than 27,000 acres of land. Learn more about the life cycle of the chaparral, a ubiquitous California plant community that covers much of San Diego’s hillsides, and how it’s affected by wildfire. Read more.
In this blog, Erica Kelly, exhibition developer at the San Diego Natural History Museum, shares how she made her debut into the museum field and what her typical workday looks like. She also highlights her favorite aspects of being a key player of the Coast to Cactus in Southern California team. The exhibition is scheduled to open to the public on January 17, 2015. Read more.
We asked our staff to compile a list of book recommendations for you this summer… and here they are! From biogeography and evolution to hungry little caterpillars, explore some of the most beloved nature-based books from our research and education departments. Read more.
The pages of history of this Museum are full of colorful characters, and none more so than Charles R. Orcutt, the quintessential citizen scientist, collector, and entrepreneur. Discover more about Orcutt’s adventures, collections, and his participation in founding the San Diego Society of Natural History, the parent organization of our Museum. Read more.
Jim Melli has been an exhibition designer at the San Diego Natural History Museum on and off since the 1970s. Learn more about his experience in the field and the contributions he is currently making to our upcoming core exhibition, Coast to Cactus in Southern California, opening January 17, 2015. Read more.
Many do not realize that there was a direct correlation between pirates and natural history during the 17th and 18th centuries and beyond. In many respects, pirates were considered among the world’s first citizen scientists. Learn more about how pirates were some of the first to document the flora, fauna, and peoples around the globe. Read more.
Meet one of the key members of the San Diego Natural History Museum’s exhibits team that is developing our upcoming core exhibition Coast to Cactus in Southern California, set to open in January 2015. Learn more about his contributions to the meticulous undertaking that is building an exhibition. Read more.