Named Archaeopteryx, meaning “ancient wing," the scientific name of this prehistoric bird is Archaeopteryx lithographica. This fossil was the first dinosaurs discovered that had feathers! Origin of Location The species lived during the Late Jurassic period about 150 million years ago (For more info. on the Jurassic period click this LINK). The first specimen was discovered in 1861, just 2 years after Charles Darwin published his work on The Origin of Species. It lived in what is now southern Germany and Portugal during a time where an archipelago of tropical islands existed near the equator ..read more

If you haven't heard yet, Tiktaalik is considered the "missing link" that was possibly the first of the vertebrates (animals with backbones) to go from water to land. Tiktaalik or, Tiktaalik roseae is an extinct sarcopterygian genus, or lobe-finned fish, from the late Devonian period existing about 375 million years ago. It was discovered in 2004 by paleontologist Edward B. Daeshler when he saw that the skull was sticking out of a cliffside on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. What was the fossil Edward discovered? What were the features that gave us the poster boy that we ..read more

MO Problems Knowing the warning signs of climate change is critical to finding the next course of action. As my home state, Missouri is full of surprising turns in the weather and locals often note the extreme changes throughout the day. In the fall's morning you may start off with a jacket and pants and as the day goes on you'll find yourself in a shirt and shorts. MO Heat Missouri heat indexes have been indicating an increase in temperature averages annually. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) predicts that "by the end of the century, temperatures in Missouri could be a lot like they ..read more

Located in Des Moines, the SCIENCE CENTER OF IOWA (SCI) was a big facility with several themed areas. For information on my other science travels, click HERE. The gallery below was photographed by Laurie Luckritz (2019) What On Earth? The best exhibit by far was the wildlife area. This section alone made the trip worth it for me as there were live animals native to Iowa and several unique aspects including a weather forecast station and a live giant snapping turtle tank along with several snakes. The taxidermy in the exhibit was well placed and the whole area was set up as if you were in the ..read more

About The SCIENCE MUSEUM OF OKLAHOMA (SMO) was an amazing experience and perfect for families and friends! With a whole new way of examining science, the level of interaction I experienced at the SMO was unmatched thus far. For comparison, check out my visit at the DENVER MUSEUM OF NATURE & SCIENCE, and the MISSOURI INSTITUTE OF NATURAL SCIENCE. Every exhibit had a child friendly interaction that's fun for all ages where you learned about science by doing. I went with my "OK" friends, one of which (Leah) has autism and talks about her experiences through her personal BLOG! You can borrow w ..read more

In my previous blog, I discussed TAXONOMY, an organizational method to sort things. Phylogeny is different from taxonomy in that it categorizes how closely related different species are to each other by using the taxonomic method. Think of the phylogenetic tree as an actual tree. You have the roots which are the furthest back in time and you have the branches which are more recent. The "root" of the tree represents the ancestral lineage, and the tips of the branches represent the descendants of that ancestor. As you move from the root to the tips, you are moving forward in time. When a linea ..read more

You may be familiar with a hypothesis being an "educated guess" or a law meaning that something's a "fact." Sometimes we're taught that a theory is sandwiched between a hypothesis and a law in some sort of fact scale. Unfortunately, it's not a scale of truth and theories don't work like that either. Different fields of science define these three terms differently. Methods of testing depends on your field. An ecologist isn't going to do an experiment the same way a physicist will. So these terms are just the beginning of the in-depth world of science. Hypothesis A hypothesis is a research que ..read more

Humans experience about 10 new mutations every time a cell divides. What are mutations and are they dangerous? No need to panic because your body replicates constantly to repair and create new cells or even replace dead ones! Mutations Mutations can be positive (good), negative (bad), or neutral (has no effect). Most mutations are completely neutral, having no impact on your body or your children. Negative mutations can develop into genetic disorders or cancer while positive mutations give you a higher chance of survival and "reproductive success" meaning that you'll be more likely to have ki ..read more

We like to think humans are special because of our differences from other species, but what does it mean to be human? A big brain? Dolphins have big brains too! Hairless? So are naked mole rats! Humans aren't the only organism that's bipedal either, so how did we develop that and what makes it "unique"? Origins of Bipedalism Let's start with the basics. What could have caused bipedalism to happen over time or in other words, how was the trait selected for? For information about the processes of evolution, please click this LINK. There's a lot of different ideas, but one that's quick to rule o ..read more

What's the difference between metamorphosis and evolution? Well, let's break it down! We already know that EVOLUTION is about how a species changes over time. With the proper context, evolution occurs in the alleles (DNA segments) and causes advantageous, neutral or negative effects on an individual depending on the genes they get or inherit from their parents. Differences Metamorphosis is a bit different in comparison. For starters, it operates on the individual. An insect, frog or crustacean (lobsters, crabs etc.) transform through the process of metamorphosis because of the evolution that ..read more