Blue Planet Journey

  It goes without saying that natural history museums are full of experts in their fields, and that one person's area of expertise is another person's area of total ignorance. I pick up my grandson from the Denver Museum of Nature and Science  (DMNS) on a regular basis, and we spend many hours roaming the halls. Over time, I've noticed some errors, inconsistencies, and puzzling displays. I recognize that, unlike something on a screen that can be altered with a few keystrokes, displays are complicated things to change. But, step one has to be noting that they actually should be changed. I'm going to go out on a limb and propose some changes. These suggestions sometimes will be in my area of expertise, and sometimes will not. I'm going to start with one that is absolutely not within my expertise, but caught my attention because of my experience. It starts off with... a plesiosaur skeleton. Signage for this plesiosaur, Thalassomedon haningtoni , discovered in 1939 in ...

  I pick up my grandkid from pre-school camp 2-4 days a week. The camp is at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. After camp, we go for a snack, then roam the exhibits for an hour. It probably goes without saying that I know the exhibits pretty well by now! We've watched every Infinity (IMax) movie! Many exhibits are a kaleidoscope of colors! ↙ Infrared! One of the reasons I wear a hat is that my head (and nose) and fingers are always cold!! There are 9 or so gnomes hidden in the museum, some the "signatures" of diorama painters. Can you find this one? Below is a close-up. Here's another gnome, on the back of a dinosaur! I won't tell where! The dioramas have eye-popping detail. Note the "dust" being raised by these running antelope. The best view of downtown Denver and the Front Range, from the 4th floor of the Museum. There are also lectures available to the public. Some are... a bit technical. Other lectures are designed for a general audience Note...

 I've written previously about puncturevine (aka goathead), Tribulus terrestris . Those "caltrop" shaped seeds are the bane of bare feet, dog paws, and bicycle tires.  Pulling a single puncturevine plant off a sidewalk in Denver. Puncturevine leaves and flowers. The University of California IPM program describes the plant as follows: Mature plant Plants grow prostrate over open ground, but when shaded or competing with other plants they can grow nearly erect. Stems occasionally grow over 3 feet (1 m) long, have many branches, are green to reddish brown, and spread radially from the crown. Stems and leaves are covered with hairs. Leaves are mostly 2/17 to 1/5 of an inch (3–5 cm) long, finely divided into three to seven pairs of leaflets, and opposite to one another along the stem. Flowers Flowering takes place from March through October. Flowers are bright yellow, about 1/5 to 3/5 of an inch (5–15 mm) in diameter, and are produced singly where the stem and leaf stalk ...