VALLEY OF THE MASTODONS: CASE STUDY OF AN INTEGRATIVE APPROACH TO RESEARCH COLLABORATION, OUTREACH, AND EXHIBITS

Public outreach has become an important component of research. Yet in spite of public interest in science there is often a substantial gap between the process of science and what actually reaches the public. Through the Valley of the Mastodons project, we are exploring ways in which the process of paleontological research can be incorporated directly and rapidly into exhibits and outreach programs. This project is centered on the large and understudied collection of Late Pleistocene mastodon (Mammut americanum) remains recovered during the construction of Diamond Valley Lake reservoir in Riverside County, California and housed at the Western Science Center (WSC). There are several parallel components of the project: 1) a 3-day invitational symposium at WSC involving several researchers, students, and science writers, to include presentations, discussions, and examination of previously unstudied specimens and new data; 2) public access during much of the symposium proceedings, including presentations and some data collection; 3) ongoing media contact during the symposium, as well as continuous use of social media to describe workshop activities; and 4) opening an exhibit on the last day of the symposium displaying the examined specimens, with much of the exhibit information based on observations made during the symposium. Because the symposium is an integral part of the exhibit content, marketing, and outreach, it is being funded as an exhibit expense. This funding approach emphasizes the fact that research is a fundamental part of the museum's public identity, rather than a "behind-the-scenes" activity that has only an indirect relationship to the museum's other operations.