Week Eight: Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

Possibly a stromatolite or stromatolite-like
formation; note the layers and crystallization.

Thanks, Juliet, for that aptly-put line.  As we started work this week, the energy in the room was tangible; the bittersweet knowledge that this was our last week weighed on our shoulders.  Overall, we’ve had a great time working here, with only a few hiccups along the way, usually in the form of a specimen out of place or some missing information.  We’ve had the chance that only 12 other interns will have: working to preserve the specimens and their information in the Royal Mapes Collection for generations to follow while going on tours of other departments to see how they function and to gain a better understanding of the inner workings of collections management.  We will never forget this experience and all that came with it.

On a happier note, we toured with Dr. Christine Johnson, the Curatorial Associate for Invertebrate Zoology.  We learned that the entire department has about 26 million specimens with a full team to take care of them.  We started with the entomology section, comprising of almost 65% of the whole collection, and worked our way back to the marine critters.  It was kind of surprising to learn that only 1.5% of the collection was digitized.  I guess because it’s so vast and there’s so much information, it would easily take decades to make a sizable dent. 

"We are recorders and reporters of facts--not the judges of the behaviors we describe" ~ Alfred Kinsey

Chester admiring some colorful weevils.

It was common knowledge for a long time that the oldest specimens in the collection were from the mid-1800s, but by chance, Christine found a cricket from one of the mummies on exhibit that dated back to 2010 BC!  We talked about the technique used for preparing the insects as well.  They are pinned on the right side of their midline; the thinking for this was that since things are symmetrical, there would still be one unmarred side to study.  The specimen’s information is pinned underneath it, as seen below, and then sometimes, there is a barcode or QR code tag pinned beneath that, as with the next photo.  The barcode serves as an easier way to keep track of specimens and their information, since when a code is scanned or searched, the appropriate info pops up.

Next we went on to see the Alfred Kinsey’s collection of gall wasps, of which there are over seven million with extensive notes on everything to boot.  His nest collection is the largest in the world, which is quite a feat!  Some of his collection is still packed away in the original boxes, complete with organized chaos, while larger specimens are a sight to behold for their natural beauty and architectural prowess.  Some nests even had countershading, a camouflage technique that makes things harder to see: darker shading on the top and lighter on the bottom so the specimen can better blend in with the ground and sky respectively.  This technique has also been seen in some dinosaurs.

Left: Kinsey's collection in its original box
Center: Wasp nest made of wood pulp; note the intricate patterns
Right: Wasp nest made of mud and wood pulp; note that this
and the previous one are built around one, small branch

Next up was the fluid section, where another section of the department was housed, which included everything from soft-bodied arthropods to Chester’s cousin.  Christine said that this section came about between 1999 and 2000; before this, all of the specimens were housed in everyone’s offices, but having over 50 gallons of ethanol next to vital technology wasn’t the best idea.

Chester has a family reunion; her cousin is clearly the life of the party.

The ideal for maintaining the collection, since ethanol evaporates so quickly, is to have multiple vials, filled and plugged with cotton, turned upside down in a larger airtight container to prevent the levels from lowering.  Unfortunately, there are some specimens that need a new living situation.  Here, the ethanol and the rubber from the stoppers react and create oils that accelerate the degradation of the specimens.

Our last stop was in this behemoth:

Minda used for scale.

I would like to introduce you to the Architeuthis kirkii, better known as the giant squid!

This mature male came from New Zealand in 1997 at a whopping 25.25 feet long without tentacles (that’s just over five of me!) and 485 pounds (over four times my own weight!).  Christine let us touch a tentacle and we quickly found out why we wouldn’t want the kraken or its cousins to get us…

Each suction cup is lined with a row of fine, razor-sharp “teeth” made of keratin that won’t let go of prey.

"Celebrate what you've accomplished, but raise the bar a little higher each time you succeed" ~ Mia Hamm

In other news, we completed 28 cabinets (out of the allotted 30), 275 drawers, 6,395 lots (groups of specimens), and about 59,211 individual specimens.  This last figure is a rough estimate since some lots had to be estimated for their count, as in the case of boxes with hundreds and possibly thousands of fragments.

Some of the last discoveries included stromatolites and a large Oreodon (Merycoidodon) tooth, and some sponge thin sections, while our crowning achievement was creating life-sized stick figures from recycling the gel capsules that we replaced when rehousing:

Darker portions are the sponge material, while the grey is calcite mineral replacement.  The calcite here is actually one crystal, as evidenced by the cleavage planes running all through it (straight, diagonal lines); perfect 60/120 degree cleavage shown in the middle of the image. 

Ooid (left) captured in sponge structure.

Layers of the sponge are seen here, how the creature creates layers and layers of structure and protection.

From left: Sarah, Keara, Minda, Alex, Ernesto, Ryan

And, as always, here is a life-sized (though they can grow to be much bigger!) origami Hercules beetle to go with this week’s theme:

We’ve seen a lot during our time here, like “cefalopod” and “kilokmeter” and we must always pray to “St. Naut.” that information is actually present, but the most important thing we have learned is, “When in doubt, just ask yourself: What would Bushra do?”  Thank you for joining us on this journey!  We’ve certainly had a ball and we hope you did too!  Maybe you accidentally learned something along the way with our adventures in collection management, or along one of our tours!

Sarah and the Interns

Chester wanted to say goodbye too, so here she is!

Our own Bat-Naut: Chester with an Aturia bat-helmet.

Afterward:

What is your biggest takeaway from this internship/What do you know now that you didn’t before?

"Making field collections, the interpretation of data and notes from the field to the lab" ~ Ernesto

"Knowing my strengths and my georeferencing capabilities" ~ Alex

"The processes behind collection management and the random facts I learned along the way" ~ Keara

"I'm taking some of the databasing info and processes back home to maybe implement into the museums I work at" ~ Sarah

"I learned that I'm capable of sifting through large amounts of specimens and data in a sitting" ~ Minda

What was your best memory from this experience?

"Everything!" ~ Sarah

"Wandering the museum while it's still closed" ~ Minda

"Eating outside and bonding with nature" ~ Keara

"Finding a trilobite anywhere" ~ Ernesto

"Being humbled by this experience and how it brings so many people together, but scanning in and saying that I get the chance to work here is great too" ~ Alex

What's the next step for you after this?

"Finish undergrad, maybe grad school, see where life takes me" ~ Keara, Sarah, Minda

"Grad school and more trilobites!" ~ Ernesto

"It's up to fate, so maybe grad school, maybe a national park job, maybe a job in California" ~ Alex

"You have brains in your head.  You have feet in your shoes.  You can steer yourself any direction you choose" ~ Dr. Seuss

Would you do this again?

"Aaaaaaaabsolutely!" ~ Ernesto

"Yes, but I want other experiences too" ~ Sarah and Minda

"Definitely!" ~ Keara

Do you have any suggestions for the next--and last--group of interns?

"Communication is key!  Talking to everyone before the internship even starts helps to build a great dynamic" ~ Everyone, seriously

"Find the little random things to enjoy" ~ Minda

What is the coolest thing you've done here in New York?

"I got to cross Central Park twice a day for 40 days" ~ Ernesto

"I've ridden every subway line that the city has to offer" ~ Alex

"I saw the ballet and contra danced in the Pride march" ~ Minda

"I went to my first concert and was on GMA, went to a movie premiere and met Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olson, and added to my library card collection" ~ Sarah

What is the best food you've had while here?

"Fried plantains, mofongo, and walnut chocolate chip cookies from Levain's" ~ Ryan

"Anything from V-Spot on Park Slope" ~ Alex

"Everything!  It was the highlight" ~ Minda

If Shakespeare started this post, then Dr. Seuss will end it and sum up this great experience: "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened," and we are indeed smiling.