Inspired by UCMP's dedication to science outreach, PhD candidate Sara ElShafie has been exploring new approaches to science communication while conducting her dissertation research in global change biology. Keen to learn how to engage broad audiences through stories, ElShafie started reaching out to filmmakers at Pixar and other studios to learn and adapt cinematic storytelling strategies for science communication. She created a workshop series, "Science Through Story," offering story … [Read more...] about Science through Story, now on YouTube
Researchers from Down Under come to UCMP to study our Australian fossils
Kangaroos … in Berkeley? That’s right, mate. You won’t find them leaping around the campus, though. Because they’re in the Museum of Paleontology’s fossil collections. In the 1950s, then-curator and professor Ruben A. Stirton decided to go to Australia’s Tirari Desert to look for fossil marsupials. He wanted to find evidence to answer the question of the origin and spread of marsupials through space and time. Did they come from Australia, Antarctica, or … [Read more...] about Researchers from Down Under come to UCMP to study our Australian fossils
Solutions to climate change inspire French film
In December 2015 UCMP faculty curator Tony Barnosky and Stanford paleoecologist Liz Hadly attended The United Nations Conference on Climate Change to premiere a movie opening in Paris. The movie, Demain, was inspired by the 21-authored study that produced a 2012 Nature paper on tipping points. The film opens with Tony and Liz summarizing global change issues facing the world today. Tony states, "the movie is all about solutions and is very uplifting." It features solutions being implemented in … [Read more...] about Solutions to climate change inspire French film
Student Spotlight: Joey Pakes 2010 Diving Expedition for Remipedes in the Yucatan
Imagine what it would be like: swimming in the dark, deep underwater, in an enclosed space, “armed” with only a flashlight and a tank of air. For UCMP graduate student Joey Pakes, that is a typical day of research in the subterranean caves in Mexico. Check out her video which describes her 2010 expedition to the Yucatan Peninsula as part of her ongoing investigations into underwater cave systems. Meet some of the people and animals that make her research so … [Read more...] about Student Spotlight: Joey Pakes 2010 Diving Expedition for Remipedes in the Yucatan
Paleo Video: Snail shell mystery
If you study snails, you’ve got to be patient. But two UCMP graduate students, Jann Vendetti and Scott Fay, used time-lapse photography to kick slow snails into high gear. They discovered some surprising behavior in snails living today—and in snails that lived millions of years in the past. The video features snails of two species: Kelletia kelletii, and Busycotypus canaliculatus (also known as Busycon canaliculatum). This group of animals is so numerous and diverse—in lifestyle, natural … [Read more...] about Paleo Video: Snail shell mystery
Paleo Video: A modern day dinosaur extinction
During the Cretaceous, dome-headed pachycephalosaurs roamed through what is now the Hell Creek Formation, covering parts of Montana, Wyoming, and North and South Dakota. But UCMP Curator Mark Goodwin and Museum of the Rockies Curator Jack Horner argue that there were fewer pachycephalosaur species than we thought. Mark and Jack suggest that two species, Dracorex hogwartsia and Stygimoloch spinifer, are actually juveniles and teenagers of the species Pachycephalosaurus wyomingensis. Learn about … [Read more...] about Paleo Video: A modern day dinosaur extinction
Paleo Video: Kaitlin Maguire at the John Day Fossil Beds
Watch this video and join UCMP graduate student Kaitlin Maguire on a field trip to the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument! After visiting the park last spring, Kaitlin decided it's the perfect place to do her dissertation research. "When you do a field project for paleontology, especially if you're looking for fossils, you never know what you're going to find — you never know if there's going to be enough data," says Kaitlin. But paleontologists from the UCMP and elsewhere have been … [Read more...] about Paleo Video: Kaitlin Maguire at the John Day Fossil Beds
Field notes: Collecting stomatopods on the Great Barrier Reef
UCMP graduate student Maya deVries traveled to Australia's Great Barrier Reef this summer, to collect stomatopods for her research. She shares her underwater adventure in this video. [flv:http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/images/video/MayaAustralia.flv 360 264] … [Read more...] about Field notes: Collecting stomatopods on the Great Barrier Reef
Cal Day at the UCMP
The UCMP is open to the public just one day a year — Cal Day. Watch this video to see the UCMP's exhibits from Cal Day 2009. [flv:http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/images/video/CalDay20090828_1.flv 360 264] … [Read more...] about Cal Day at the UCMP