The building that houses The Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, Illinois opened in 1921 and has 1.2 million square feet of floor space. The museum’s size equals roughly to 21 football fields—an appropriate comparison when considering the Chicago Bears play across the street. .
.Much of the actual square footage is dedicated to storage and preservation.
Research in the Pritzker Laboratory is dedicated to using state-of-the art molecular techniques, supercomputers, and cryogenic storage of samples to analyze, explain and preserve the Earth's genetic biodiversity. Field Museum scientists are drawing all the branches in the Tree of Life.
Zoological research at The Field Museum is organized around six collections: Amphibians and Reptiles, Birds, Fishes, Insects (with arachnids and myriapods), Invertebrates, and Mammals.
the lions of Tsavo.
Mostly known and recognized for the 1997 movie “The Ghost and the Darkness”, these two lions are legendary. and their story begins in 1898, when the British started building a bridge across the Tsavo River, in Kenya. Colonel Patterson was who led the project: after nine months from the start of construction, the attacks started. Men were killed, and the killers were two maneless lions. The victims, in those months, amounted to more than a hundred. Colonel Bruce Patterson succeeded in killing the lions himself, in December 1898.
Currently on permanent display at the Field Museum, the lions are source and motif of scrupulous research. conducting various projects on site, in Kenya. There have been multiple studies on the Tsavo area where the lions roam, as well as their own den. Researchers are conducting genetic and ecological studies in order to better understand the circumstances and behavior of these lions.
There are ongoing studies on why these particular lions were brought to eat men. As it is known, lions are not commonly man/eaters; one of the possible reasons lies in the fact that, that specific year, and epidemic decimated the habitual preys of these hunters. Therefore, it is possible that they turned to man as a source of nourishment.
The Tsavo Lions’ skulls and skins were bought by the Field Museum in 1924 from Patterson, and it was the taxidermist Julius Friesser who succeeded in reconstructing the lions, as can be seen today.
The Javan leopard (Panthera pardus melas) is a leopard subspecies found only on the Indonesian island of Java. It is critically endangered, with a declining population estimated to be between 188 and 571 mature individuals. Habitat loss, prey base depletion, and human-wildlife conflict are major threats to its survival.
A diorama of an American Tapir in a southwestern Brazil marshland setting. This diorama, created by taxidermist Julius Friesser and background artist Charles A. Corwin, is a popular exhibit showcasing the animal's natural habitat.
Insects
The Ancient Egypt display offers clues to ancient Egyptians’ lives on Earth
Studying mummies has taught researchers a lot about ancient Egyptians, including what they ate and what they did in their daily lives. Museum exhibits can help bring that history to life for visitors.
The burial chamber, which dates to 2400 BC, houses one of the largest collections of mummies in the United States:.
Gems and Minerals
There are so many more exhibits to explore.
All images are mine. Text is from the Field Museum exhibits and website
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