This came up about a week ago, in the midst of all the Darwin Day goodness, on Carl Zimmer’s The Loom. He and photographer Justine Cooper each got to take a tour of the hidden parts of the American Museum of Natural History. Long’s photograph’s can only be described as hauntingly beautiful, and I’m terribly jealous of Zimmer’s experience!
I have visited the wonderful AMNH several times since my first year of high school, and even applied for their astrophysics research program in college. (Sadly, I was turned down.) I love the Rose Center for Earth and Space, especially giving my own “tour” of it to friends and family, and dinosaurs are COOL, but in general I just love being exposed to the best science with the most interesting displays in fields with which I am not familar. Although biology didn’t interest me nearly as much as physics and astronomy for a career choice, I am endlessly fascinated by the complexity and interconnectedness of life on this planet. For the same reason, I’ve added all of Planet Earth to my Netflix list!
I would love to see the “other museum” one day. It is wonderful to know that right in the heart of New York City, scientists are working away to study and preserve the wonders of our planet and our universe, all while working for an institution that can effectively communicate these wonders to the public.
I’m a brand new post-doc in astronomy working as part of the 
1 response so far ↓
intrinsicallyknotted // February 18, 2009 at 01:55 |
Since I came to upstate New York for college, I’ve had the opportunity to visit NYC several times, and I’ve made sure to go to the AMNH as often as possible. I could spend a day there easily, and still come back the next time and find something new.
And Planet Earth is awesome!