Lecture – Jack the Ripper: Patterns and Confusion by D. Kim Rossmo Jack the Ripper of Victorian London, perhaps the most infamous serial killers in history, has fascinated experts and amateurs for 130 years. His identity, however, remains a mystery. Expert in Criminology and pioneer of cutting-edge geographic profiling techniques, Dr. Kim Rossmo will use […]
Recently I did a Facebook Live (which you can see here) about whether it’s possible to extract dino DNA from a mosquito and use it to clone dinosaurs like they did in Jurassic Park. During the discussion (the short answer is no, by the way) I touched on another possible way to create dinosaurs that […]
Behind The Scenes Tour of Our Cockrell Butterfly Center Plus Greenhouses Go behind the scenes with Museum entomologists and horticulturists who care for the plants and animals in the three-story rainforest terrarium. The tour includes areas not open to the public–the greenhouses on the 7th floor of the parking garage and containment room. Tuesday, July […]
Brontosaurus doesn’t exist. At least for now it doesn’t exist. It once did, and it it might again soon, but not right now. I know this sounds confusing, so let me give you a little back story. Brontosaurus has to be the second most famous dinosaur on earth, right behind T. rex. Everyone knows […]
The 90’s were the decade of dinosaurs. Sure, the prehistoric creatures had already been capturing the imagination of the public for more than a century by that point, but in the 90’s a combination of scientific breakthroughs in the field paleontology and special effects innovations in the film industry completely changed the way we see […]
In the modern age of planes, trains and automobiles the world can seem like it’s getting smaller every minute. But what I think is actually happening is that this new world of travel options simply causes us to overlook the quirky little corners of our own cities and states and as a result we […]
A few weeks ago I was shadowing David Temple, our Associate Curator of Paleontology, as he and a specialist from the Medical Center examined the levels of radiation given off by vintage luminescent watch dials in preparation for our new special exhibit Death by Natural Causes. After the examination was over, David decided we […]
Imagine a primeval world, a swamp, but not like any swamp you see today. A canopy of fern-like leaves towers fifty to a hundred feet above you, blotting out the sun like a blackish-green, moth eaten blanket. Remarkably thin, spindly trunks support the structure precariously. These trunks have a scaley texture, like the skin […]
Every aspect of our world is ultimately controlled by geologic forces far beneath our feet. Under the influence of mantle convection, mountain ranges rise, great rifts open in the earth, oceans form and then disappear. This is no exaggeration. We all learned about plate tectonics in high school; how the crust of the earth […]
This sand from Flagler Beach, Florida, contains both mineral grains and shells. The mineral grains are clear quartz, and the brown, tan, and orange grains are shells that give the beach an orange hue. Blocks of coquina (roughly 130,000 -100,000 years old and known as the Anastasia Formation) are found offshore much of eastern Florida […]
