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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 24, 2004
Contact
Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Kerry Barringer, 718-623-7218
Brooklyn Botanic Garden Participates in the Natural Science Collections Alliance's, "Dinosaurs to DNA" Day, August 24th
Over 70 museums, universities, and research agencies unite to explain their importance to answering many of today’s societal questions. On August 24th, these institutions are simultaneously opening the doors to their research collections which collectively comprise over 200 million objects. This program, called Dinosaurs to DNA, is spearheaded by the Natural Science Collections Alliance, the umbrella organization located in Washington D.C. representing institutions housing research collections.
These collections:
- Reveal a five billion year history of changes in the Earth’s geology, climate, and life forms.
- Help us to map the locations and health of the planet’s biodiversity and natural resources.
- Possess key information that we use to protect our natural resources.
- Provide materials for new drug therapies and insight into diseases.
- Inspire people of all ages and interests, through museum exhibitions, natural history guides, and educational programs.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden features specimens from the Mulford Expedition to Bolivia (1928) that showcase the Garden's fieldwork stories, the Astor Expedition to the Galapagos (1930), Grays Graminae and Cyperaceae from NY and NJ (1834), and John Torrey's collections from Hoboken, NJ (1827), that are the oldest collections in the Garden's Herbarium.
BBG will also showcase a mix of old and recent collections from the metropolitan area to show the changes that have taken place in the local flora. Here visitors will see that Brooklyn had orchid bogs at New Lots, Aqueduct, and Kennedy Airport 100 years ago; magnolia swamps along the coast; and oak woodlands. In addition, visitors learn how non-native species are replacing native species in our area.
A future goal of the NSCA is to electronically network collections, thereby providing scientists and society instant access to one of the best resources for understanding our ever-changing world.
According to John Heyning, President of the Natural Science Collections Alliance, "These collections are the best tangible evidence for understanding the past and present and allow society to make informed decisions on the stewardship of our future."
Natural Science Collection Alliance
National Museum of Natural History
Smithsonian Institution
10th Street & Constitution Avenue NW
Washington, DC
admin@nscalliance.org
P.O. Box 44095
Washington, DC 20026-4095
202.835.9050