AMNH-IP-Columbia University Collection

  Emus running everywhere! Well, not everywhere, just on the computer. That's because this week we’ve started digitally cataloging the echinoderm fossils in earnest, using a program called Electronic Museum, or EMu for short. The cataloging process ties together all of our previous work up to this point, as we attach our new specimen photographs and type out the information from the old specimen labels. (Not all labels are created equally, as it turns out– I’m looking at you, Corroded Paper-scrap-affixed-to-rock.) The bane of my existence. I dare you to try and decipher it . We got a sneak peek into what the future holds for our echinoderms early this week, when we took a trip to the type specimen room. First, we paid pilgrimage to the dusty hole in the wall where our echinoderms used to stay. Needless to say, they were in deep need of the attention we’ve been giving them.  The old crib. So dusty. In the type room, the situation was much better. A filing cabinet at the front o...

  This week we have continued to rehouse and catalog our specimens, as well as learning how to photograph them. We were taught how to properly light and focus a photo depending on the unique shape of each fossil so we can now begin to photograph the specimens as we catalog. We did two very exciting things on Wednesday, the first being a presentation by Melanie Hopkins entitled, “Introduction to Taxonomy, Nomenclature and Classification as applied to Curation and Digitization of Fossil Invertebrate Collections.” We learned more about type specimens, further explaining our tour of the type room last Friday. We talked extensively about the rules and issues surrounding a specimen being named multiple times, being too hastily named as a different species, or accidentally included in an already existing species. It was overall a very interesting and informative presentation which informed a lot of the labeling issues we have encountered during or last week and a half of rehousing. Melani...

I am Emory, a new intern in Invertebrate Paleontology at AMNH from Park City, Utah. I recently graduated with my bachelors in geology from Colorado College in Colorado Springs. I have always been fascinated by fossils and the processes that lead to their formation.  While our work here at the AMNH is rehousing and recategorizing echinoderm fossils, my favorite fossils are trilobites. I have always wanted to work on fossils in a museum, so this internship is an opportunity I couldn't pass up.  Hi, my name is Mohan Raghunath, and I'm a rising sophomore at Colorado College. I'm super thrilled to be here, and grateful that the Noblett-Witter Family Internship Program made such a cool opportunity possible so early in my collegiate career. I've always loved paleontology (and organizing things), so I can't wait to finally get my hands on some real museum fossils! My name is Lena Jude. I am a student at SUNY Plattsburgh with a major in Geology and minors in Biology and Fren...