#wearescience

[paleochick]

Happy #SharkWeek! Yes, we MUST start our week off with Carcharocles (or Otodus depending on taxonomy!?) megalodon! A C. megalodon (Yes, we shorten the name, like T.rex!) tooth is one of the few objects that you can hold in your hand that strikes fear, fascination, & mortality into your very being. See this gorgeous illustration? Louis Agassiz, Swiss-American biologist and geologist is particularly known for his contributions to ichthyological classification, including extinct species. This C. megalodon drawing from his publication, Les Poissons Fossiles (2nd 📷), illustrated by Austrian artist Joseph Dinkel, depicts every line, detail & serration on the shark's tooth. Early scientific illustrations as detailed as these are still extremely important, especially because specimens can become deteriorated or lost over time. If you are interested in this illustration (and MORE) from Les Poissons Fossiles, check out @biodivlibrary. Though C. megalodon is very, VERY extinct (YES, VERY MUCH DEAD!), its legacy lives on through science, illustrations, & our imagination. Megalodon 📷: mine Illustration 📷: mine Megalodon jaw photo: Wikipedia #wearestemsquad #womeninstem #louisagassiz #sciart #megalodon #sharks #drawing #scicomm #wearescience #tooth #fossil #museummonday (at Cleveland Museum of Natural History)

[elizapdushku]

We Are Science by Dot Allison, 2002 #dotallison #wearescience #strungout #musicilove #albumaday #32 #201 https://www.instagram.com/p/B8A3Q-nnKTN/?igshid=txa3iv46hyq4

[calamean]

We are science ? Wonderful record indeed... #dotallison #wearescience #schroderCB #ebony #lyra #vinyladdict #ptpaudio #magicalbliss #thrax #suesskindaudio #lephono #anamightysound

[neverendingaudit]

Be a confident communicator. Talk about the real world, not abstract ideas. Connect with what matters to your audience. Tell a human story. Lead with what you know. Use the most effective visual communication.

[paleochick]

HAPPY #FossilFriday! Look at this GORGEOUS specimen! Allow me to gush. [LONG POST!] Anhanguera santannae (AMNH22555) is one of the BEST preserved pterosaur fossils in the world and we have been lucky enough to have it at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History for the last several months. It is SO rare to get this quality of preservation in the fossil record. Why? Taphonomy: the study of what happens to an organism after death. You have to die in the right time in the right place and then lie undisturbed for millions (MILLIONS!) of years until a bipedal ape finds you, digs you up and tries to makes sense of you. Paleontologists really are superheroes when you think about it. This pterosaur and many other beautifully preserved three-dimensional fossils have been found in carbonate concretions in the Romualdo Member of the Santana Formation (Araripe Basin, northeastern Brazil). Some 25 species of fossil fishes have often been found with stomach contents preserved, helping paleontologists to better study predator–prey relationships. Pterosaurs, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates, crocodylomorphs, plants, and even dinosaurs have been found here. Limestone accretions formed nodules around dead organisms, preserving soft and hard parts of their anatomy. These nodules are then taken to a lab and etched away with acid, revealing beautiful bone inside. The American Museum of Natural History (@amnh) creates traveling exhibitions of incredible quality (we've had several now!) and I can't wait to see what they have in store for the future! 📷 1-4: mine 📷 5: Pinheiro 2017 from https://peerj.com/articles/3285/ #pterosaurs #anhanguera #museum #naturalhistorymuseum #science #cle #fossil #fridayfeeling #notadinosaur #wearestemsquad #wearescience #scicomm #amnh #cleveland

[paleochick]

If you aren't following @paleoparadox yet, TREAT YO SELF. Gabe is an amazing paleontologist & #scicomm superstar! Follow his adventures through his Insta stories NOW. #Repost @paleoparadox • • • • • So here’s the odontocete (toothed whale) skull that I helped to jacket today! . What does it mean to jacket a fossil? Well, we never fully excavate a fossil in the field. Fossils are usually super fragile when we find them. It would be risky to remove all the matrix (rock surrounding the fossil) and transport delicate fossils back to a museum. . So to protect fossils during transport, we leave a good amount of matrix around the fossil. Then we cover the fossil and matrix in a jacket usually made of layers of burlap and plaster. This provides an enclosed shell for greater protection. Once the jacket is hardened, it’s ready for transport back to the lab where it be carefully prepared using precise tools and techniques! . . . #fieldwork #paleontology #fossil #fossilsofinstagram #whales #dolphins #desert #peru #huacachina #thescicommunity #filipinoscientist #outdoorasian #myapalife #museumlife #whenyouworkatamuseum #wearescience

[paleochick]

Hi everyone and to new followers! Like my #scicomm? Instagram's algorithm is changing. Turn on notifications to never miss a post. Who am I? I’m Ashley Hall: Adult Programs Coordinator at the ‪Cleveland Museum of Natural History‬. I create fun and educational programs for adults at the museum, but also in conjunction with other local institutions like libraries, movie theatres, hiking stores, and more. Like a gem, my job is multi-faceted. Besides planning and conducting adult programs, I also teach classes for grades K-12 at the Museum in the galleries in the mornings, video conferencing classes with schools in different states (and countries!), and I also take our programs on the road (Science-to-Go!). I am a paleontologist and informal educator by training. I hold a B.A in Anthropology and Animal Behavior from Indiana University Bloomington. I studied animal bones at archaeological sites in Kansas and Wyoming to determine diet in Protohistoric plains hunter-gatherer groups. After college, I decided to pursue my lifelong dream of working in a ‪natural history museum‬. I spent 7 years working in the Education Division at the ‪Natural History Museum of Los Angeles‬ (@NHMLA) and the world famous La Brea Tar Pits where I was able to design research-based programming (public tours, school programs) to a wide variety of audiences. During this time, I worked for 5 years as Assistant Curator at the Raymond M. Alf Museum (@alfmuseum) of Paleontology under ceratopsian expert Dr. Andrew A. Farke where I excavated, catalogued, identified, and curated fossils from Bureau of Land Management Land from the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. While I don't have a PhD or Masters, I’ve published research on Pleistocene birds from the La Brea Tar Pits with Don Prothero and sauropod dinosaurs with my husband, Lee Hall (@paleeoguy). I love sharing my passion of natural history through social media, so feel free to follow my adventures on Instagram and Twitter! #museumed #ohiomuseums #naturalhistory #cleveland #cmnh #cle #wearestemsquad #wearescience #womeninstem #stem #science #jurassicpark #scied #scicomm #ohio #educator #paleontology #dinosaurs (at Cleveland Museum of Natural History)

[paleochick]

A one-billion year old egg?! This unusual egg was made from a polished piece of fossilized bacterial mat called a stromatalite over 1 billion years old! This fossil contains some of the first organisms on the planet: cyanobacteria and green algae. Cyanobacteria are thought to be largely responsible for increasing the amount of oxygen in earth's early atmosphere through their photosynthesis. We wouldn't be here without them. My favorite part about working in a museum is being around these fascinating objects that tell such hugely important stories of how life originated and evolved on this planet, and that is a beautiful, wonderful thing. Support YOUR local museum! #happyeaster #easter #easteregg #fossil #egg #coloredeggs #wearescience #cle #scicomm #wearestemsquad #museumed #museumcollections #stem #womeninstem #cleveland #thisiscle #sunday #paleontology #stromatolite #cyanobacteria #algae #fossils (at Cleveland Museum of Natural History)

[paleochick]

Why do I #scicomm? . Not because I'm a narcissist. Not just because I'm a woman. Because sharing science on social media is POWERFUL. . Yesterday, @science.sam, a fellow #scicomm'er was unfairly called out in @sciencemagazine by a fellow scientist because of her appearance and for taking "time away from research" because of Instagram. . This was an unnecessary attack on Sam. . The Instagram #scicomm community, composed of people from ALL genders, works HARD everyday to make everyone feel like they're joining scientists in their labs, classrooms, and in remote places "in the field". Science communicators take time during our day to communicate our science. Not for ourselves, but for those who are curious. For those who want to learn. All of this regardless of appearance. . Women in Science used to be INVISIBLE, but now WE ARE BEING SEEN. . I wear makeup. This is what I choose to look like everyday, regardless of if I'm taking selfies or not. . I don't #scicomm because I think I'm cute, I #scicomm to show people WHY museums are THE BEST places in the world. . I want to inspire you. . I want you to know why museums are important. . I want you to see 360 million year old fossils. . If a young girl is inspired by my posts because I look "girly", so be it! I grew up idolizing Jack Horner: a white male paleontologist. It would have been wonderful to have had a woman paleontologist to look up to, but I didn't know any different. . The Instagram @thescicommunity is STRONG. . We are here. . We want to share science with you using the best ways that we know how. . We will keep sharing our passions everyday because the world is a beautiful, wonderful place. . We take time from our day (a lot of time DURING research!) because we just HAVE to show you what FASCINATING thing we just saw before our own eyes. I grab my phone everytime I learn something in order to snap a photo because I want you to be fascinated, too. . Follow @scicommunity. Be inspired. . #scientistswhoselfie #selfie #scicommunity #wearescience #strongertogether #womeninscience #stem #womeninstem #science #wearestemsquad #palaeontology #womeninpaleontology (at Cleveland Museum of Natural History)

[paleochick]

Help us in our #scicomm efforts! #Repost @paleoparadox • • • • • Hello my fellow SVP SciCommers and educators! At this year’s SVP in New Mexico, Sara ElShafie, Ashley Hall (@lady_naturalist ), and myself will be organizing a fun workshop about telling science stories through multimedia! . We want to keep the registration for this workshop as low as possible, so we’ve started a small GoFundMe to help cover the costs of the workshop. Please help us out if you can! Check out the link in my profile! . More on the workshop: Storytelling is the most universal form of communication. In the digital age, storytelling through film and social media is crucial for reaching broad audiences. But these skills are typically overlooked or not sufficiently developed in science communication workshops. We have therefore put together an intensive workshop that will give participants fundamental skills for developing engaging science stories, and for sharing those stories on social media using DIY videography. . The morning session will offer an overview of story development, including visual storytelling. Participants will work in small groups throughout the morning to brainstorm and outline a story about a particular topic in paleontology. In the afternoon session, participants will learn essentials of videography, and work with their groups to produce short videos about the science stories they developed that morning. We will also discuss effective use of different social media platforms for science outreach. At the end of the workshop, we will publish the participants’ short videos online through the SVP Education & Outreach Facebook group. . . . #scicomm #science #paleontology #education #SvP2018 #2018svp #thescicommunity #wearescience

[paleochick]

Happy #PterosaurPtuesday! My homeschool class researched pterosaurs in @AMNH's Pterosaurs exhibition & then expressed what they researched in several creative ways! Check out this group's paper #Tupandactylus model! #museumed #wearescience #scicomm #pterosaur #stem #learn #themoreyouknow #notadinosaur #homeschooling #museumsmatter (at Cleveland Museum of Natural History)

[paleochick]

MUSEUM LIFE! Our work lives as of lately have been INSANELY BUSY. My friend Beth captured this photo as she walked by my office the other night. That said, I wish you the most relaxing of weekends. I will be enjoying mine! . . #museumed #naturalhistory #museum #naturalhistorymuseum #work #scicomm #worklifebalance #cle #cleveland #lovemyjob #wearescience #paleontology #friday (at Cleveland Museum of Natural History)

[paleochick]

I had THE BEST time today showing a bunch of 5th graders how AWESOME nature is and documenting it as part of the City Nature Challenge bioblitz---a worldwide competition to see who can document the most nature in one weekend! This citizen science initiative was started by former co-worker Lila Higgins @colilaoptera and @calacademy. Today we went to Mentor Marsh, one of the museum's many preserves, and saw a Virginia rail (a LIFER for me!), Dekay's snake which is the size of a large earthworm (TEENY), wildflowers (Spring beauty pictured), painted turtles, frogs, toads, birds, fungi, and MORE! Tomorrow my co-worker and I are leading another bioblitz around the University Circle area. It's only supposed to be 40 degrees Fahrenheit and cloudy, so we'll see how we do! No matter what, it's all about sharing your passion for nature with everyone and showing people that nature is all around, no matter where you are! #citynaturechallenge #natureinthecity #naturalareas #biology #bioblitz #snake #dekayssnake #virginiarail #mentor #mentormarsh #cle #citizenscience #cleveland #ohio #cmnh #ilovemuseums #naturalhistory #scicomm #stem #citsci #wearescience #wearestemsquad (at Cleveland, Ohio)

[paleochick]

On our beach cleanup at #LakeErie in Collinwood we picked up: ▫️ @Starbucks cups ▫️ @LAYS bags ▫️ @Wendys trash ▫️ @SNICKERS ▫️ @SwisherSweets tips ▫️ @pepsi caps ▫️ @tacobell sauce packets ▫️ @McDonalds straws ▫️ @playtex_sport Cut out single use #plastics! How is all of this getting in the lake? Boats? Sewer overflow? Carelessness? Whatever it is, this is how plastic gets to the GIANT ocean garbage patches which are growing everyday. The good news? You can help reduce your plastic waste. There's no reason for us to be using something once and throwing it out. ▫️Bring reusable bags to the store. ▫️Say no to straws at restaurants. ▫️Use towels instead of paper towels. ▫️Think about packaging before purchasing. Let me know if you need help and I'm happy to give advice! We can all help prevent this level of pollution where families play, wildlife feeds, and we, too, get our fish and resources. #cleveland #collinwood #happyeaster #sustainablecleveland #cle #thisiscle #lakeerie #plasticpollution #plastic #straws #strawssuck #singleuseplastics #5gyres #wearescience (at Collinwood, Ohio)

[paleochick]

While cleaning up plastics on the beach today, I found a beach #chupacabra! A rare find indeed! . In all reality, it's a decomposing #raccoon. People find half decomposed animals on beaches and claim that they're something strange or unusual. We aren't used to seeing animals in various stages of decomposition, so our brain jumps to strange conclusions like, "IT'S A #DINOSAUR!" This is why critical thinking is so important. We need to use our brains when making observations. . Also, smoking kills! . See that lighter on top of it? Here's a good lesson in #taphonomy (the study of decomposition and deposition after death) that correlation IS NOT causation. Just because two things are deposited together, doesn't mean they're necessarily related in any way! Action from erosion, especially near water, can move unrelated objects together. . #sciencesunday #wearescience

[paleochick]

Happy #FossilFriday! . There's only one place in the ENTIRE world where Dunkleosteus terrelli, a 360 million year old arthrodire fish swims next to the holotype (first one of its kind described!) of 150 million year old sauropod Haplocanthosaurus delfsi, and that's @gocmnh! . . #ilovemuseums #wearescience #cle #cleveland #stem #Dunkleosteus #museumsmatter #Haplocanthosaurus #museum #thisisCLE #fossil #sauropod #WomenInSTEM #museumed #science (at Cleveland Museum of Natural History)