Field Museum

The Field Museum is home to millions of specimens from all over the world collected over the past hundred years and stored on-site in state of the art facilities.

Scientists use these Field Museum and other Natural History museum collections in many ways to document and study evolution and global biodiversity levels. In this kit, middle and high school students can look at methods and strategies scientists use, including: 

By the end of this lesson, students should be able to articulate some of the lines of evidence used to support the theory of evolution, and have a greater understanding the massive role museum's critical collections play in advancing biological research and conservation efforts.

Introduction to the Resource Kit

In this activity and the next one, you will label similarities and differences you see in these two lichen specimens using only your eyes. 

Why Genomic Analysis? Part 1

There are hundreds of thousands of bird specimens in Field Museum's collections. Take a look at some of the ways these specimens are prepared and stored so that scientists and researchers can access and study them! 

Museum Specimens - Birds

Scientists use many pieces of evidence to determine evolutionary relatedness between species. One of these is using species’ genomes to examine similarity and differences in the genetic code. 

Genomic Analysis

Specimen Preparation - Clearing and Staining

This artist's rendering depicts a creature that lived as early as 400 million years ago, the Trilobite. 

Prehistoric Specimens 

Community Science and Biodiversity

In this activity and the previous one, you will label similarities and differences you see in these two lichen specimens using only your eyes. 

Why Genomic Analysis? Part 2

In the last two activities, you attempted to identify differences in two lichen specimens using only your eyes. Was that an easy tasks? Based on your experience, hypothesize why it might be useful to utilize genomics when studying evolution. 

Using Genomic Data 

As you explore the modules in this kit, keep this graphic organizer open in a separate window. You can use the zoom, move, text or draw tools to take notes on what you learn about how museum collections can be and are used to study evolution and biodiversity!

Note Catcher

Herbarium sheets are a critical preservation tool that allowing scientists and plant-lovers to keep plant specimens from the field intact and ready to study for long periods of time. Learn more about what makes up an herbarium sheet looks like by exploring this image!

Specimen Preparation - Herbarium Sheets

Discover how researchers use Field Museum's millions of specimen to document and study evolution and the world's biodiversity.

Resource Kits

Object Library

Museums

Museum Collections and Research

Introduction to the Resource Kit