Field Museum

Of the 13 known-to-science specimens of the world’s first bird, the Chicago Archaeopteryx will be the first to tell us this incredible animal’s full story. 🦖 🦅 While our visitors are getting their last looks at our newest rock star before it (temporarily) flies back behind the scenes on August 1, we’re remembering our fossil prep and research team’s first glances at X-rays of Archaeopteryx: the moment they understood it was the most complete specimen ever discovered. 🤩 Watch now via WTTW/Chicago PBS. ➡️ https://lnkd.in/dSUCYJPZ

Tag yourself 🫠 Quetzalcoatlus is here to remind you that even 18-ft-tall flying reptiles sometimes need a disconnect and take a breather. 🫶 This image is from our pterosaur model’s move to our Searle Lounge in April. After some R&R and help from mammalian friends in exhibitions, its big beak is back in place. 👏

Meet our 2024 Summer Interns! 👋 Every year, we offer hundreds of hands-on internships to students interested in exploring careers in science, nonprofit management, and beyond. 🔍 We can’t wait to share some of the projects they’re working on — stay tuned! 👀 Learn more about internships at the Field. ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gAwjQuH4 

It Came From the Swamp! 😱 40 million years before the first dinosaurs evolved, a ferocious predator lurked in swampy waters. Meet Gaiasia jennyae, the swamp creature with wide, interlocking jaws and a toilet seat-shaped head! Learn more about what this fossil teaches postdoctoral researcher Jason Pardo about tetrapod evolution via The New York Times. ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gBm7N6Zu 🎨: Gabriel Lio

📣 Chicago Public Schools Teachers: Join us for a 2-day, interdisciplinary professional learning experience! We’re here to help you meet the new requirements of the TEAACH Act through a science and social-emotional focus with connections to Hawaiian ways of teaching and learning. Register now. ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eQHaQNjn 

Our FINEST vintage: a 60-million-year-old variety from present-day Colombia ✨🍷 Assistant curator of paleobotany Fabiany Herrera and his fellow researchers have discovered 9 new species of fossil grapes from Colombia, Panama, and Peru. One of these specimens is 60 million years old: the oldest-known grape in the Western hemisphere. 🤩 It’s not a coincidence that grapes first appeared in the fossil record 66 million years ago—around the same time a huge asteroid hit Earth and caused a mass extinction. ☄️ The dinos’ disappearance was one of the BIGGEST changes brought on by the impact, but these large animals' absence impacted smaller living things. 🦋 Without dinos dominating forests and pruning back plants, grapes had the space they needed to thrive. 🍇 Cheers to these rock-solid raisins, and everything they teach us about patterns surrounding biodiversity crises. 👏 Learn more via CNN. ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eDsSwpYn 📸 : Fabiany Herrera 🎨: Pollyanna Von Knorring

Tough on the outside, a complex genomic story on the inside. 💙 🧬 Thanks to a detailed DNA study that included museum collections, Field scientist Anderson Feijó and his fellow researchers have discovered that the nine-banded armadillo ranging from northern Argentina to southern Illinois is actually 4 separate species! 😮 While these hard-shelled mammals are tough to tell apart based on appearance, their genetic differences may mean they have varying food and habitat needs: important information for scientists working to preserve healthy populations for these animals in different areas. 👏 Learn more via Newsweek. ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gXcnWv8c 📸 : Quentin Martinez

Meet a member of the Field's Chicago Archaeopteryx prep team: Akiko Shinya! 👏 Akiko is the Field’s Chief Fossil Preparator and prep team member for our newest paleo specimen: the Chicago Archaeopteryx. 🦖 🦅 She prepares vertebrate fossils using mechanical, manual, and chemical methods and manages three of the museum’s vertebrate fossil preparation labs. 🦴 ✨ Alongside many curators, associated researchers, and students, she and her team prepare a variety of specimens including dinosaurs, fish, birds, amphibians, mammals, synapsids, and marine reptiles. 🤩

🚨🎟 FREE ADMISSION opportunity for our special exhibition Bloodsuckers: #LegendsToLeeches! Participate in a blood drive at the Field on June 25, and you’ll receive basic admission and access to Bloodsuckers for yourself and 3 guests! Register now. ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gBnrCpzQ 👏 Special thanks to Bloodsuckers sponsor Abbott and their partner Versiti Blood Center of Illinois for organizing the blood drive. 

Congratulations to Urban Rivers: we're honoring this Chicago-based organization with our 2024 Parker/Gentry Award! 👏 Urban Rivers began revitalizing urban waterways, particularly the Chicago River, in 2014. The thriving ecosystems this small team has created via floating gardens and accessible parks benefit both people and wildlife. 🦦 The environmental conservation efforts and social innovation of this small, dedicated team of professionals and a wide community of volunteers and partners have had an enormous impact. 🌊 Today, Urban Rivers is a leader of and model for ecological restoration, scientific research, education, and community engagement, and serves as an inspiration for urban rivers worldwide. 🌎 💙 📸: Sage Rossman, Urban Rivers