Academy Research and the Use of Natural History Collections

Natural history collections, behind the scenes in museums, document the history and scope of life on Earth through time and space.  Their study is multinational and multigenerational: anyone with curiosity may make an enduring discovery.  At scales of resolution ranging from molecular to global, collections provide hard data to model the past, present and future of life.  Collections also present objects and patterns of sublime beauty to please and inspire.  Since the Gold Rush, the California Academy of Sciences has been at the forefront of efforts to build and use collections to explore, explain and sustain life on our planet.  Charles Griswold, the Academy's expert on spiders, will lead a virtual tour of the how, what, where and why scientists collect and what it reveals to us about life on Earth of the past, present and future.

Charles Griswold, Cal Academy