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  • Putting Mushrooms on the Map

    Published06/29/2020 , By Eve Daniels

    After a few minutes chatting with Peter Kennedy, fungi collection curator at the Bell Museum, it’s easy to picture him starring in a survival show called “The Mushroom Hunter.” Given his in-depth expertise about fungi, he’s someone you would like to have along if you’re lost in the forest, trying…

  • Lichen Minded

    Published06/09/2020 , By Eve Daniels

    Next time you’re out in nature, take a moment to look for the lichens. You’ll see their unique colors and patterns on the rocks, trees, and stone structures everywhere from Northern Minnesota to the world’s deserts, tropics, and tundras. A symbiotic organism that’s part fungi, part algae or cyanobacteria, lichens…

  • Adventures in Plant Evolution

    Published05/13/2020 , By Eve Daniels

    Ya Yang hiked to a glacier in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Lightning cracked in the distance. Yang and her collaborators found the plant they were looking for, pulled it from the icy water, roots and all.

  • Reeling in the Centuries

    Published05/11/2020 , By Eve Daniels

    There are around 1.4 million licensed anglers in Minnesota, and they are surrounded by some 4,500 good fishing lakes. Whether you’re one of those 1.4 million, or you simply have a fascination with fishes, you can take some local pride in the fishes collection at the Bell Museum.

  • Reading the Signs from Salamanders

    Published04/30/2020 , By Eve Daniels

    While the “Salamander Capital of the World” isn’t a top roadside attraction, it does tell us a lot more about the past and future of our species than dinosaur sculptures ever will (no offense to Dinny the Dino). Located in the southern Appalachian mountains, this region is a rainbow of…

  • Predicting the Future With Plants

    Published01/22/2020 , By Eve Daniels

    What do a rare coconut from the Seychelles and a 100-year-old wildflower from Minnesota have in common? This might sound like the setup to a bad botany joke, but there’s a serious connection between them. Found on only two islands in the world, the endangered double coconut is currently threatened…

  • Like a Duck to Water

    Published12/17/2019 , By Eve Daniels

    Sushma Reddy’s earliest, most vivid memory with birds wasn’t in a tropical rainforest or a remote mountain range. It was in New York City. As she was finishing her undergraduate studies in environmental science at Barnard College, Reddy landed an internship at the American Museum of Natural History, which is…

  • Going to Bat for Biodiversity

    Published10/31/2019 , By Eve Daniels

    Curator Sharon Jansa sees the mammals collection as a window into understanding past biodiversity & how we can shape and approach the future.