Long ago, in a galaxy that is actually the one we’re in now, the ancient Egyptians had a myth about a time when beer saved the world. In honor of National Beer Day, I thought I’d share this interesting historical tidbit with you on today’s edition of Beyond Bones The story begins with the sun […]
By Jeff Cummins, Butterfly Rearing Coordinator at HMNS It’s the beginning of April, spring is in full swing, and I’ve seen the first of the migrant monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) females searching my garden for milkweed on which to lay their eggs. I know these are migrants, meaning they are the same individuals that spent […]
April is the last month to see the full set of brilliant winter stars which now fill the western evening sky. Dazzling Orion is in the southwest at dusk. His three-starred belt is halfway between reddish Betelgeuse and bluish Rigel. Orion’s belt points rightward to Aldebaran in Taurus the Bull. To Orion’s upper left are […]
Sweet Serendipity Brings One of the World’s Top Sapphires to HMNS Hailing from an island of gemstones, the Siren of Serendip is one of the world’s largest blue sapphires. Considered one of the top five sapphires in the world, the Siren of Serendip weighs a phenomenal 422.66 carats and was discovered almost a century ago […]
Worldwide shortages of helium are sparking heavy concerns that the noble gas may soon be too scarce to fill our balloons or even provide it’s vital cooling properties to the MRI’s that so many health providers depend on to save lives. In today’s edition of Beyond Bones we’re going to discuss how we got ourselves […]
By Jayme Schlimper, Overnight Program Manager and Curator of Education Collections Hello! I’m back, back again! On today’s exciting adventure, we’re going to take a dive into one of our under-appreciated, under-hyped programs; Late Nights! Everyone is always talking about overnights here at the museum, and for good reason! This spring alone we have school […]
It’s around 1 PM on March 19th, 2019 at the time of this writing, and from the museum district we can all see a billowing cloud rising from the east. As we all know, this is due to the chemical plant fire that occurred last Sunday in Deer Park. Some of you may have questions […]
There is a new addition to the Cockrell Butterfly Center Insect Zoo, a colony of leaf-cutter ants housed in a brand new exhibit! This leaf-cutter ant (Atta cephalotes) colony was acquired by the Cockrell Butterfly Center about 2.5 years ago from Guatemala. It began as a small, “softball-sized” colony that now has grown many times […]
Did you know that your favorite museum is making your new favorite podcast? Welcome to the Beyond Bones Podcast, a science podcast that’s all about looking beyond the bones and beyond the artifacts to explore the personal stories that inspire our collections. We’re back with Season 2, and it’s going to have more episodes and more […]
As this year’s Spring Break Celebrations reach their peak, many college kids are probably partaking in what they believe are the most epic vacations ever. However, history begs to differ, and I’ll explain why in today’s edition of Beyond Bones. Everybody needs a vacation every once in a while. The drive to get away from […]
