The Eastern Branch is planning several behind-the-scenes tours of gardens and museums located in the Branch over the next several months. The tours are opportunities for Eastern Branch members to connect informally and gain exclusive access to these locations.
Entomology at the American Museum of Natural History
Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023
Time: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM (Eastern Time)
Location: 200 Central Park West, New York, NY, 10024
REGISTER
Additional Information: This tour is limited to Eastern Branch members only. The space is limited to 25 people. Each registrant is allowed to bring one guest.
Tour Description: The Invertebrate Zoology collection at the AMNH houses over 23 million specimens, the majority of which are insects. This tour will take folks behind the scenes to view the dry and wet collections housed at the AMNH. Tour participants will learn about the history of our collection, about the mysteries held in the 23+ buildings that comprise the AMNH campus, and visit the new Susan and Peter J. Solomon Gilder Center which will house the Insectarium and Vivarium (opening February 17, 2023). Learn more about entomology at the American Museum of Natural History.
Facilitator: Jessica Ware is an Associate Curator in the Division of Invertebrate Zoology at the American Museum of Natural History. Dr. Ware’s research focuses on the evolution of behavioral and physiological adaptations in insects, with an emphasis on how these occur in Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) and Dictyoptera (termites, cockroaches and mantises). Her research group focuses on phylogenetics/phylogenomics and uses these tools to inform their work on reproductive, social and flight behaviors in insects. Jessica holds a BSc from the University of British Columbia in Canada, and a PhD from Rutgers, New Brunswick. She was an NSF postdoctoral fellow at the AMNH 2008-2010, before being hired at Rutgers Newark where she was an associate professor of evolutionary biology. She is the current president of the Worldwide Dragonfly Association, and serves as an elected board member on the executive committee of the Entomological Society of America Governing Board. She was recently awarded a PECASE medal from the US government for her work on insect evolution.