COLLECTIONS IN THE CLASSROOM: PROMOTING THE WIDER USE OF PALEONTOLOGICAL COLLECTIONS DATA

The potential for using digitized natural history collections in analyzing biodiversity through time—particularly as it relates to climate change—is widely recognized, but the use of collections data in an educational setting has been less well explored. Scientists and museum professionals in the PaleoNICHES PEN and Fossil Insect Collaborative (FIC) TCN are collaborating with the Yale Peabody Museum’s (YPM) EVOLUTIONS Afterschool Program (EVO) for high school students to develop resources that apply web-based tools to the challenge of interacting remotely with museum collections.

After an extended internship working on all aspects of the specimen digitization process and exploring research on paleontological collections, PaleoNICHES EVO students are creating an interactive kiosk for YPM public areas featuring behind-the-scenes tours of collections, highlighting the difference between them and exhibits, and demonstrating the broader scientific context of collections. This initiative moves beyond traditional object-based learning to collections-based, data-driven reasoning.

iDigPaleo, in development by the FIC, draws on the aggregated dataset on fossil insects generated by the project participants. Working with the prototype version, EVO students will obtain an in-depth understanding of museum science, gain first-hand experience working with natural history collections, problem-solve and develop critical thinking skills, and be mentored by YPM scientists. The tools developed will promote a better understanding of the volume and the scientific utility of collections by allowing students to interact with specimen data in the classroom, using collections data to underpin their scientific investigations as a professional scientist would.