@brittandbone.bsky.social
vertebrate paleontologist, bone librarian, polar & space science enthusiast, drone pilot, wayward English major, ice queen and sea cryptid cursed to be trapped in the desert. header art by Corbin Rainbolt.
@brittandbone.bsky.socialOoooh I’d be interested in more details Andy!
@stevenraymorris.bsky.socialReposted by @brittandbone.bsky.socialI learned a lot about Ice Age era mammals from paleontologist @brittandbone.bsky.social on our Ice Age episode of See Jurassic Right! All Summer Flicks With Scientists episodes out now wherever you get your podcasts.
@formorphology.bsky.socialReposted by @brittandbone.bsky.socialAnd last (for now) but certainly not least, is this great piece on our study from science writer Asher Elbein for the esteemed yellow rectangle, National Geographic.
@cagricevrim.bsky.socialReposted by @brittandbone.bsky.socialYour favorite website for illustrations of almost all organisms is looking for donations to help cover its running costs!
Please consider donating to help keep this open-source platform running:
@brittandbone.bsky.socialVery excited to head up to @oregonstate.edu tomorrow for the @polarsteamteam.bsky.social Summit!
Last year I partnered with @osuceoas.bsky.social's Dr. Jesse Cusack and Vanessa Hawkins to bring their science to life at WSC - and now I want to help other scientists and researchers do the same!
@brittandbone.bsky.socialI’m so excited!
@brittandbone.bsky.socialBut if people don’t have the economic luxury of curiosity, I can’t be surprised when a kid suggests selling our museum’s Mammut pacificus holotype to Mr. Beast (true story!)
@brittandbone.bsky.socialAnd we see this in the changes to the NSF, how space science is being approached, etc. There’s a lack of inherent curiosity that I think you need to understand the pursuit of science as a good in and of itself.
@brittandbone.bsky.socialBut there’s this financial lens that people seem to take to science and museums now - is it financially viable? Will it have a payoff? If that T. rex can net millions of dollars on auction, what’s stopping a university from selling off their collections when they need funds?
@brittandbone.bsky.socialNow, I’m not blaming kids for this. There are economic pressures now that probably make them overly aware of money, and hell, it’s hard for me in good conscious to recommend paleo to my students anymore when I myself still struggle financially in this field.
@brittandbone.bsky.socialSomething anecdotal that makes me think the recent museum closures we’re seeing is a symptom of a wider cultural attitude towards science: Two of the most frequent questions I now get from kids on field trips are “what’s that fossil worth”/“do you make a lot of money?”
@thomascullen.bsky.socialReposted by @brittandbone.bsky.socialWith all the news of museums being closed and/or defunded, I feel the message of our paper on the importance of natural history research (and the collections housing those specimens) is just as relevant (or more) today as it was when it was published.
@biodiversitypix.bsky.socialReposted by @brittandbone.bsky.social🐮 American natural history..
Philadelphia, H.C. Carey & I. Lea, 1826-28.
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@brittandbone.bsky.socialIt was just so fun to chat with @stevenraymorris.bsky.social about the movie Ice Age! Truly, it holds up
@stevenraymorris.bsky.socialReposted by @brittandbone.bsky.socialMove over dinosaurs, we’re covering 2002’s ICE AGE, with paleontologist/science educator, @brittandbone.bsky.social! Get the who’s who on Pleistocene megafauna, if Sabertooth Squirrels (Scrat) were real, and so much more. It’s the Summer Flicks With Scientists finale on See Jurassic Right.
@brittandbone.bsky.socialI’ve never met two museums with the exact same funding structure, so it’s really variable! And I’d say basically no museum (by which I mean it holds collections) can truly operate on a shoestring. Even the smallest museum probably clears north of half a mil annually if they have paid staff.
@tsengzj.bsky.socialReposted by @brittandbone.bsky.socialThe university-based UCMP got a nearly 30% budget cut ~15 years ago. Restructuring and reductions changed how the museum functioned, but its mission remained. The road to recovery is long and we still have no fossil preparator, but it is possible to slowly rebuild.
@brittandbone.bsky.socialI'm so happy that's the case. I'm really hoping it turns out similarly for the Sternberg
@brittandbone.bsky.socialoh gosh, thinking of you all over there! It's always been on my list to visit - hoping there is some sort of effective hail mary this weekend. It's crushing to see.
@brittandbone.bsky.socialas a very fresh adjunct professor - yes, agreed!!
