DocentDoings

Columbus Zoo Swim Lessons video (click on black screen arrows several times to start buffering and begin video):

Before you read the comment below from Ralph in response to the article below by Heather on "Conversation with a religious woman," I would like to point out that I had some concerns in publishing Heather's post. I say this because when I first suggested the idea of having a blog for and by the docents (without making references to the museum), there was concern expressed that the blog could become a "forum" for negative thoughts or criticism at worst, or, at best, pose copyright issues with articles taken from the LA Times newspaper. But Ralph raises some good points even though he would have preferred the article not be posted because it expresses the views of one docent (and others) on a potentially controversial issue. So although I think I may have brought some controversy to the blog by publishing Heather's article (since I am the blog master), I hope it might be made useful by opening the issue of "evolution," which made be a "tab

Conversation with a Religious Woman During my twenty years as a docent, I have often wondered why parochial schools bring their classes to the museum and then refute evolution, telling their students that it’s no more believable than creationism. I conclude that it’s due to generations of family and church brain washing. Now that I’m 70 and have reached the threshold of old age I’ve become much less tolerant of religiosity. When pressed I say what I think. Such was the case one Friday morning while I was stationed in the North American mammal hall. On this day there were too many kids to schedule high light tours. I called attention to my cart top display with the grizzly bear skull whose size inspires curious children to touch and ask questions. I brought out the deer skull and the wolf skull for comparison to show off the teeth and eye socket location of omnivores, herbivores and carnivores. For good measure I added the skins of the raccoon and the coyote. Fur or

Article from April 5, 2010 Chronicle of the University of Southern California entitled " A Mistake of Massive Proportions: a 17th-century map depicts California as an island." by Dan Knapp, danielk@usc.edu

Hi Chuck, Sorry I'm late with these photos. Just not enough time to get everything done here. Vivianne was so busy that she didn't take a whole lot of pictures, but here are a few decent ones. Take your pick. Helena Happy Staff: Bug pinning: Bug lunch break: Fin Whale hall:

From the left- Susan, Chuck, Barbara, Peter, Connie, Shirley, Ralph and Stephen: And this shot a little later- Sharron and Mary:

Onamia, Charlie and Don, May 19. 2010:

Supernova is rich in calcium Scientists say it may explain why there's so much of it in the universe, and in us. Related More Space News

This story was sent to you by: Chuck -------------------- Ancient mass extinction of fish may have paved way for modern species -------------------- A report looks at a 360-million-year-old gap in the fossil record and finds that marine vertebrates were recovering from an extinction event on par with the one that killed the dinosaurs. What happened is unclear. By Amina Khan, Los Angeles Times May 17 2010, 5:56 PM PDT Modern-day lizards, snakes, frogs and mammals — including us — may owe their existence to a mass extinction of ancient fish 360 million years ago that left the oceans relatively barren, providing room for marginal species that were our ancestors to thrive and diversify, paleontologists said Monday. The complete article can be viewed at: http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-fish-20100518,0,203315.story Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com

This column was sent to you by: Chuck -------------------- What price hope? -------------------- Homeboy Industries is hurting; it's time for L.A., rich and poor, to step up and help. Tim Rutten May 15 2010 Does Los Angeles have a conscience? The complete article can be viewed at: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-0515-rutten-20100515,0,3126157.column Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com This second story was sent to you by: Chuck -------------------- L.A.'s Homeboy Industries lays off most employees -------------------- The institution dedicated to helping gang members quit lives of crime has been unable to raise the $5 million it needs. A quarter of the staff will remain. By Hector Becerra, Los Angeles Times May 14 2010 Homeboy Industries, the Los Angeles institution whose mission for more than 20 years has been to turn jobs into a recipe for saving the lives of gang members, laid off most of its employees Thursday because of crushing financial probl

This story was sent to you by: Chuck -------------------- Six islands, 1,300 lizards and the evolutionary biologists -------------------- Two articles below. Click on links to www.latimes (in purple or blue) to view articles. Survival of the fittest is put to the test in the Bahamas: Are the reptiles affected more by competition for resources or by predators? By Amina Khan, Los Angeles Times May 14 2010, 3:22 PM PDT By covering large swaths of land with netting, making lizards jog on treadmills and turning six Caribbean islands into Darwinian laboratories, evolutionary biologists have made important discoveries about what drives the evolution of island lizards. The complete article can be viewed at: http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-lizard-20100510,0,4019427.story Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com This story was sent to you by: Chuck -------------------- Lizards face extinction because of global warming, study finds -------------------- Scientists express alarm at t

Mammal Hall Basics Training that took place on May 6, 2010 (click on black screen arrows to start the videos and, most likely, you will have to turn up your speaker volume) : More on Mammals: Unique Adaptations for Stellar Sea Lion (North American Mammals -1):

A toggle story, common in science reporting, is one that contradicts a previous story and is likely to be contradicted by a future story. So if you're discomfited by a story headlined "Universe older than previously thought, scientists say," just follow the advice in the joke about what to do if you don't like the weather in England: Just wait. Sooner or later you'll be reading "Universe younger than previously thought, scientists say." My favorite toggle story has toggled again. It involves the question of whether modern humans and Neanderthals did it -- interbreed, that is. Friday's Los Angeles Times reports that an examination of DNA has shown that the two species did indeed get it on 80,000 years ago, leaving a small residue of Neanderthal genes in modern people. We'll see if the story toggles back to the view that nothing happened between the two breeds. Meanwhile, it's understandable that people would cringe at the thou

Tiny meteorites in Antarctica show evidence they did not come from the far reaches of space, researchers find. By Amina Khan, Los Angeles Times May 6 2010, 4:04 PM PDT Tiny meteorites found in ultra-pure Antarctic snow may provide scientists with evidence that the building blocks of life may have come from within our own solar system, rather than from the far reaches of space, researchers reported in a paper published online Thursday in the journal Science. The complete article can be viewed at: http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-meteorite-20100507,0,2928428.story Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com This story was sent to you by: Chuck -------------------- Building blocks of life are found on asteroid -------------------- Scientists discover evidence of water ice and organic compounds, findings that support a theory for the origins of life on Earth. Amina Khan, Los Angeles Times April 29 2010, 12:54 PM PDT For the first time, scientists have discovered evidence of water

Jane Pisano: The natural -------------------- The president and director of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County talks about its mission, its goals, and her favorite stuff. Patt Morrison May 1 2010 I wish I could play with that cartoonish phrase and say, "Jane Pisano slept with the fishes," but "slept with" here means "camped out under" and "fishes" is really a whale: the great Humboldt fin whale that hangs in the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. It was under that skeleton that she and some donors unfurled their sleeping bags not long ago. The complete article can be viewed at: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-morrison-20100501-33,0,5689015.column Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com