AMNH-IP-Columbia University Collection

 Lena here. We said goodbye to Emory and Mohan after that last post, but since I stayed for a couple more weeks, we figured we should do a final post. I've been finishing up the labeling and final touches in our cabinets and cleaning as many new drawers as I can before I leave. Here is a before and after of one of those drawers: Cabinet 1292 Drawer 8 Before Cabinet 1292 Drawer 8 After As we come to a close, it is satisfying to be able to see all our hard work completed, with clean, organized and cataloged cabinets. One of our finished cabinets, complete with specimen labels, drawer labels, and a full list off all families and genus' in the cabinet (attached to the door) On Mohan and Emory's last day, Bushra and Hilary threw a little going away party. It was very nice to be able to hang with some of the wonderful people we've met while being here. We also received some great gifts from Hilary. We each received a AMNH bag as well as a sticker and pin. Honestly, I was alre

The final week is here, and it’s x-rays galore! But before that, the end of last week was also big. That’s because the amazing Christine Siddoway was in town and stopped by to visit. I (Mohan) and Emory both have her to thank that we are here at all– she’s the one who put this amazing opportunity out on the Colorado College campus. We celebrated her visit with a New York classic: Pizza! (Chicago style.) We also took a quick walk into Central Park to admire the view. No, not the city skyline– the rocks! We found a metamorphic outcrop by a pond with awesome foliations from when it cooled long ago deep within the earth, and pronounced striations raked over it by glaciers in the last glacial maximum thousands of years ago. The fossils we’re preparing may come from all over the world, but our walk in Central Park reminded us that there’s amazing natural history right here in Manhattan as well! It's a rock! (courtesy Christine Siddoway) This week we finished up the cleaning, photographi