Check your pockets carefully—it’s possible that nearly half of our moon rocks are missing. According to Joe Gutheinz Jr., as quoted by the Las Vegas Sun, over 100 out of 270 fragments have gone missing. A retired dentist in Morgantown, West Virginia, has learned that his late brother’s effects include a moon rock. The Sun […]
About: Sally Shelton
Posts by Sally Shelton:
Why I do not work in art museums (a continuing series)
Science museum people can often only look on in bewilderment at the problems that uniquely plague art museums, including ethical, moral and legal conundrums without parallel. Recently, the Postmasters Gallery in Chelsea, NYC, gave Washington Post writer Blake Gopnik a preview of an extraordinary installation that seeks to blur the line, for once not between […]
What’snot: A quick paleontology exam
The good news is that the Waco Mammoth Site in Texas has received National Monument status. The bad news is that the monument may be opening too late for paleontology education in those parts. Check the picture illustrating the article above. Then check its caption: “Not a Mammoth: Mastodon in Red River Museum. TE Photo.” […]
The many talents of paleontologists
The following casting call for a prequel to The Thing was recently posted by Dan Chure to the VRTPALEO list as an example of the unsung, multivariate talents of paleontologists. [KATE LLOYD] In her late 20s to early 30s, pretty, bright-eyed, intelligent, she’s a graduate of Columbia and a Ph.D. candidate in paleontology (the study of prehistoric life). […]
Word of the day: Thanatourism
There appears to be a strong new trend in cultural tourism called grief tourism or (my new favorite word) thanatourism. The Grief Tourism blog lists categories of thanatourism in which one can specialize, including battlefield, cemetery, ghost, Holocaust and prison specializations, as well as sites of murders, natural disasters and terrorism. A recent history museum […]
Museums, paranormality and the (un)real world
Museums often have difficulty defining their roles and niches in the 21st century. Apparently one problem raising its head lately is the issue of dealing with swarms of paranormal investigators interested in tracking departed spirits in historic properties, all under the rubric of what is oddly called reality TV. It’s apparently a real-life problem for […]