Museums play a crucial role in fostering the childhood curiosity that creates future scientists. At the American Museum of Natural History, children and adults alike can explore diverse exhibits spanning anthropology, paleontology, biology, Earth and space science, and more.
LabXchange is excited to welcome the American Museum of Natural History to our platform and include their excellent learning resources in our library. Below, hear from Karen Taber, Director of Educational Media at the American Museum of Natural History, to learn more about the Museum's work.
The American Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum in New York City and one of the world’s preeminent scientific and cultural institutions. It was founded in 1869 with the mission to discover, interpret, and disseminate information about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe, through a wide-ranging program of scientific research, education, and exhibition.
The Museum has a graduate school called the Richard Gilder Graduate School (RGGS). We were the first American museum authorized to award its own Ph.D. degree, offering graduate degrees in comparative biology and teacher education.
I was drawn to the museum world because museums are continuously creating new content, which means I’m always learning, and about so many different topics! For example, I’ll spend six months learning all about T. rex, and then six months learning all about meteorites. And I love that my focus is on creating accessible and engaging learning experiences.
It’s hard to pick a favorite but I’m really quite proud of the content related to climate change. We have a large interactive Climate Wall in the Hall of Planet Earth with up-to-date stories and data about how the climate is changing, and what people can do about it. Most people care deeply about climate change but some have a hard time engaging with content about it because it’s scary. But when they learn about what they can do to help mitigate the effects of climate change, they naturally want to get involved and learn more.
Our resources are designed to support self-directed learning. We provide multiple ways to explore natural science content—videos, articles, games—all based on real museum collections and research. These resources also expose learners to careers in science, from paleontology to astronomy to marine biology and others.
Follow your natural curiosity, whether it’s animals, astronomy, human biology, or Earth science. And there are tons of ways to get involved such as finding a local environmental organization, summer research program, university lab, or citizen science project.
If you have other interests in addition to science, don’t feel like you have to choose one or the other. Science can involve so many other disciplines, such as math, media literacy, public policy, even art. I never thought I would have a career in science—I was an English major in college, worked in media production for a long time and then went to graduate school for educational technology. Who would have thought that working in a science museum would be the perfect way to marry my diverse interests!
We’re a huge institution with new exhibitions, public programs, and educational initiatives all the time. That said, we have narrowed our focus to a few strategic goals over the next several years: to unlock the scientific knowledge within our collections to share its benefits more broadly and open doors to new discoveries; reimagine and implement an inclusive approach to cultural storytelling and stewardship of our cultural collections; address the local and global impact of climate change and biodiversity loss through collaboration across science, education, exhibitions, and external partners; and engage communities that are underrepresented at the Museum to bring the joy of scientific discovery and understanding to all New Yorkers.
Explore more of the American Museum of Natural History's learning resources on LabXchange!
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