MERGING COLLECTIONS-BASED SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND PUBLIC EDUCATION AT THE CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

Natural history collections may hold the key to answering some of our many pressing scientific questions. The millions of specimens housed in natural history collections provide invaluable insight into the nature and timing of past biological and ecological change, and are often the sole means by which many members of the public are able to connect with and understand their world. Unfortunately, the vast majority of collections data remain virtually hidden from both the research community and general public, diminishing their value to both. The Geology Section at the California Academy of Sciences is working to increase accessibility to our collections data through several collaborative projects funded by the National Science Foundation. These projects seek to digitize and mobilize millions of our specimens while answering questions regarding biotic and abiotic responses to past environmental change, including the evolution of ecological interactions in marine communities during the Mesozoic, faunal responses of Eastern Pacific marine invertebrates during the Cenozoic (EPICC), and microfossil responses to natural and anthropogenic environmental perturbation during the Holocene and Anthropocene. Each of these projects include rich outreach and education components, ranging from hands-on collections and scientific research experience for post-doctoral researchers, graduate and undergraduate students, and more than 30 high school interns, to interactive programming on our museum’s public floor and at community events, to meaningful engagements via social media outlets. Our aim to directly involve the public with our collections initiatives and research endeavours not only upholds the Academy’s mission to explore, explain, and sustain life, but allows us to help increase scientific and environmental literacy, all while imparting the innumerable value of our scientific collections.