Description

This module uses digitized bird specimen (data and metadata) to walk students through two major biodiversity databases with digitized, online collections available for research, teaching, and outreach. The pre-module / first set of materials introduces students to the origins of modern natural history collections, including collections that came from participation in the enslavement of Africans and how early US collections included nonwhite people forcibly taken from their homes. This module benefits from a heads up to students about the heavy, sensitive nature of the content.   

The option pre-lessons include links to captioned videos from The Field Museum's Brain Scoop channel. 

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand the value of museum specimens for biodiversity research and knowledge
2. Understand the colonial origins of some natural history collections and ongoing ethical questions 
3. Analyze digitized museum specimens to answer a provided question
4. Apply the understanding to create a new question that could be answered using museum specimens

Notes

Cite this work