Jason

Jason is the Marketing and PR Manager for HMNS and a man of many hats. Over the years, he has been a wedding band saxophonist, a portrait studio photographer, a newspaper journalist, a sixth-grade teacher, a college instructor, a compost salesman, and a rock climbing guide, but his greatest dream is to publish novels. He could pronounce “euoplocephalus” and “rhamphorynchus” before his parents could.

T. rex vs. Prey: Imagining battles between ancient gladiators

When I was super young, say around five or so, I remember playing in the bath tub with my plastic toys. Some were super heroes like He-Man or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, others were monster trucks and die-cast matchbox cars by Mattel, but most were dinosaurs. This might be TMI, this story about the kid […]

Why you should care about endangered species today, tomorrow, and every day

The truth of the matter is that we humans are bound to this Earth. As the dominant species, it is easy for us to allow industry and propaganda to run rampant, annihilating whole populations of the animals with which we share the environment. One shepherd will kill the wolf who threatens his flock, one company will […]

Among fossils: How very old things remind us of our youth

The earth is 4.54 billion years old. That’s a big number to wrap your head around. Spending time among very old things helps, but even then it’s easy to forget that not only the fossils themselves are ancient; so is the rock they came out of, the planet circling a sun that has been around […]

Fear the Snail: Inside the vicious world of the predatory gastropod

So snails suck, right? They’re boring and slow and they don’t do anything cool. Some of them make pretty shells that you find on the beach, but they’re pretty much slimy and gross and basically not interesting at all. Said no one ever. At least not those who understand the world and daily life of […]

Sanxingdui: China’s lost civilization revises history

When you walk through the limited engagement collection of artifacts from China’s Sanxingdui (pronounced “sahn-shing-dwee”), or “three stars mound,” you feel an immediate connection to a looming unknown. Where these artifacts were discovered is clear enough, as is when they were created, but by whom, why and how are questions still puzzling archaeologists. The artifacts, large, […]

HMNS greenhouse teaches how to plant a butterfly oasis in your back yard

They float on the wind, decorate your back yard in the spring and summer, and inspire warm emotions with their delicate wings. They seem carefree, at home in any meadow, but butterflies have more specific needs than we might imagine. As urban sprawl continues to grow, reducing green space and native plant growth, natural butterfly […]

First Light: Gueymard research telescope debut to coincide with Hubble anniversary

April 25 will mark the 25th anniversary of the world-famous Hubble Space Telescope, and the George Observatory will celebrate with a debut of their restored 36-inch Gueymard Research Telescope, the largest specialized Cassegrain telescope open to the public, and the only one that chooses to use an eyepiece. “You can see the images with your own […]