#emily graslie

“I’m an internet wizard… Derp, derp, derp.” - Emily Graslie

The Brain Scoop: 60 Second Specimens 
A Beetle’s Beloved Beer Bottle

guess you could say his ex was literal garbage 

The Brain Scoop: 60 Second Specimens
Science by Day | Spy by Night

These reptiles were donated to the Field Museum by Edward Harrison Taylor, a scientist studying reptiles and amphibians at the University of Kansas – who was also moonlighting as a spy for the United States Government. :o 

If you like these short/sweet videos– we posted on about a Birder-Turned-Murderer yesterday, and stay tuned in the coming weeks for more! Check out the Playlist here: 60 Second Specimens. 

The Brain Scoop: 60 Second Specimens
Murder by Birder

Every specimen has a story: this one was donated to the Field Museum by a murderer.

Before he was charged and convicted with the murder of 14-year-old Bobby Franks, Nathan Leopold was an active birder in the Chicago community. After his conviction and sentencing he donated his collection of birds and published checklists to the Field Museum, where they remain today.

Kirtland’s Warblers (Setophaga kirtlandii) are relatively rare birds, and back in the 1920’s little was known about their migration behavior or life histories. This specimen remains important today – not just for its historical significance in connection with a convicted murderer – but for the scientific value it provides as a voucher specimen for research. 

 Spring Migration Notes… by a Murderer – blog post on Fieldmuseum.org
Leopold and Loeb’s Criminal Minds – Smithsonian Magazine
Spring Migration Notes of the Chicago Area, including a written letter from Leopold to the Field inquiring about one of his specimens – Biodiversity Heritage Library

Meteorite or MeteorWRONG?! 

THIS VIDEO IS SO FUN – we teach you the differences between meteorites, and deceptive meteorite wannabes – and then at the end we have a quiz and you can test your knowledge! yay interactive videos! 

The Brain Scoop:
Skunk Dissection

It’s smelly and it’s stinky
It’s goofy and it’s freaky
It’s all together geeky
A Brain Scoop Dissection! 

*snap snap*
Neat.

thebrainscoop:

annekubis:

Just had to share a design I recently finished up! I’ve actually had this design on the backburner for years, but got the drive to come back to finally finish it.  

It’s referencing the amazing youtube channel The Brain Scoop and a discussion on conservation efforts being spent towards marketable animals like pandas vs more environmentally necessary animals like unionid bivalves.

——-

Please don’t remove the caption or the watermark.
Please don’t repost without permission. Thank you!

WAIT

HOLD ON

I NEED THIS. I’M GOING TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN WE ARE GOING TO HAVE THIS SHIRT THANK YOU @annekubis

We made it happen!

Freshwater bivalves are the largest group of threatened/endangered species on the planet. To help raise awareness for these under-appreciated filter-feeders, we have a limited number of shirts and decals – just in time for Endangered Species Day (tomorrow!)

Get yours HERE from DFTBA! 

Painting the Caracal 
The Brain Scoop

I’ve been doing the art thing for much longer than I’ve been working in the natural sciences– so it was only time before we got the Field Museum’s only Artist-In-Residence, Peggy Macnamara, to join us for a day of painting in the Brain Scoop studio. 

I love this video and Peggy has so many great insights; this quote at the end is my favorite:

I think there’s much more talent out there than ever gets awakened. I think they get discouraged because they see end product. […] but somehow, this, they think they’ve got to come readymade with an idea and ability. It’s just, if it works as a meditation for you, you’re supposed to be doing it, I think. […] And who says nowadays, what’s good and what’s not? Make a thing. 

All paintings © Peggy Macnamara.

The Brain Scoop:
Paleoart: Painting the land before time

Maybe you’ve heard of the famous paleoartist Charles R. Knight– but what about John Conrad Hansen, or Maidi Wiebe? The latter two created numerous works of art for scientific publications, exhibits and children’s books for the Field Museum in the early- mid 1900′s. 

I spent the last eight months digging up any information about them I could find for this video. I hope you enjoy!

Maidi Wiebe, painting the Destruction of Swamps. © The Field Museum, GEO81269. 

The Brain Scoop:
The Story of the Museum für Naturkunde 

It’s here! Our first video in collaboration with the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin, Germany. 7 months ago this partnership was a glimmer of an idea that we were able to make a reality.

It’s nearly impossible to try and summarize more than 200 years of an institution’s history in less than 10 minutes, but we did it anyway. The truth is, any moment of time here could be magnified and examined for its nuance an detail; what stuck with me throughout this process was the idea that political decisions, whether local or global, ultimately shape our priorities for studying the world around us. And that despite those limitations, scientists and naturalists continue their pursuits within the confines of such restrictions.

What you get with this video is a neatly wrapped story – but what you don’t see are the hours I spent researching how scientists in East Berlin dealt with censorship and police spies, or the way Jewish scientists were treated during WW2, or how the country tried to recover from economic hardship after the first World War. I wish we had three more hours to dig into all of that, unfortunately we don’t– but, regardless, I’m proud of this video and for what it represents: we have hope for our future. 

The Brain Scoop:
Conserving Akeley’s Elephants

It’s been about 3.5 years (!) since we’ve talked about Carl Akeley’s fighting African elephants (throw back to that first video here– I was such a baby science communicator!!!). These elephants represent some of the best taxidermy ever created, but after being on display for the last century they’re beginning to show their age. 

So, the Field hired a team of conservators to assess the specimens, with the hope of repairing damage sometime this year, so they can continue to inspire and educate our visitors for another 100 years.