February: International Day of Women and Girls in Science

mpm community of curiosity supported by kohls cares

February 11 is International Day of Women and Girls in Science!

Join us as we highlight some of the amazing women in science right here at MPM. It is our hope that you will feel inspired to participate in science through many of the provided activities. We can’t wait to see what you come up with!


Family Resources
Early Learners

Parents and teachers, visit our Early Learning resource page for fun information and activities developed for our youngest explorers!

Learn More


TRIVIA NIGHT

Bring bar trivia home to you! Get some friends together (remotely) and use MPM’s trivia to combine the unique experience of a visit to the Museum with the fun of trivia night at the bar.

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Collections & Research Connections
MPM Untold: Women of MPM

Almost all of MPM’s scientists are women, and their work and creative inquiry has grown MPM into an award-winning institution doing vital, original research. Watch these videos to learn more about their work, then dive deeper with some activities.

patti burkePatty
MPM Curator of Geology Collections and Senior Collection Manager Patricia Coorough Burke shares her research about the upper Midwest during the Silurian Period, the richness and diversity of life during this time, and how MPM’s fossil collections help researchers analyze how life has changed over time. 

Discover

After watching this episode of MPM Untold, keep learning with the Virtual Silurian Reef, a joint project between the Milwaukee Public Museum and the Chicago Field Museum.

Did you know that Milwaukee used to be underwater? It’s true! It also used to be on the equator. During the Silurian Period of the Earth’s history about 425 million years ago, much of North America was covered by a shallow, tropical sea. Reefs flourished with corals, crinoids, brachiopods, and many other plant and animal species. Here’s the best part: You can still see the Silurian Reef today, and it’s a lot closer than you might realize. Print out our Silurian Reef fossil identification guide and Silurian Reef locations, and head outdoors to explore the Silurian Reef in southeastern Wisconsin.

Guide
Map

julia colbyJulia
Zoology Collections Manager Julia Colby provides information about a bird we’ve probably all seen and heard: the red-winged blackbird. Watch the video to learn more not only about this familiar piece of our local web of life, but how scientists use MPM’s Zoology collections and data to learn about animals like the blackbird.

Discover

Working at a museum or studying museum collections aren’t the only ways to be a scientist! Use this handy guide to find lots of different ways you and your family can get involved in scientifically studying - and protecting - the natural world. 

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sara podejkoSara
Registrar and Head of Photography Archives Sara Podejko gives a behind-the-scenes look at how museums like MPM support scientific research and learning around the world through the careful work of lending MPM artifacts and specimens to other museums.  

Discover

Registrars often perform conservation activities on museum collections, highly scientific work that analyzes an object’s physical properties to figure out the best way to keep it safe long-term. Try your hand at some conservation work by making a plant press to preserve plant specimens. 

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Diorama challenge
browniesWhat is a Scientist?

What do you picture when you think of a scientist? This month, we invite you to share your ideas with us in this new diorama challenge! Create your version of what you picture when you think of a scientist. It could be a diorama you create or a picture you take. Please share with us through our social media channels or email us at communications@mpm.edu.

When I think of scientists, I like to think of a baker, who has tested out multiple recipes to come up with one that is delicious every time it is replicated, like these brownies. - MPM Educator Jennifer

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Adult Event
Braiding Sweetgrass book coverScience on Tap

Join us for an evening with Robin Wall-Kimmerer as she discusses her book, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teaching of Plants. Drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist and woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings―asters and goldenrod, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass―offer us gifts and lessons, even if we've forgotten how to hear their voices. In reflections that range from the creation of Turtle Island to the forces that threaten its flourishing today, she circles toward a central argument: that the awakening of ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. 

Date and Time
Thursday, February 18, 2021
7 p.m. virtual Zoom lecture

Cost and Tickets
Members can access this lecture for FREE; non-member price is $5 per household.

Details