[Pollinator] Museum Collections

[Peter Bernhardt]

The following Op-ed piece in The New York Times may be of interest ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/27/opinion/libraries-of-life.html?_r=0

Perhaps NAPPC should consider public statements and/or more website space
about how and why we support museum collections of specimens?  Perhaps we
could show more examples of how specimen collections educate us all and
contribute to basic research?  Is anyone familiar with a Professor Ben
Minteer who continues to claim that collecting specimens contributes to the
extinction of species (see link)?

Based on our experiences, Most of the people who visited our "Pollination
Shack" at the Missouri Botanical Gardens' Orchid Show were interested and
enjoyed comparing the pinned specimens to the USDA, much enlarged photos of
pinned specimens of the same species (some were Droege photos).  The
Missouri Botanical Garden insists they receive between 30,000 -40,000
visitors to the show every year.  Not everyone entered the educational
shacks within the show room but even 1000 visitors to our display seem
significant.

With encouragement, Retha might be willing to tell the story of one young,
drama queen who visited the shack and became upset at the sight of the
pinned bees.  Some of you may already have similar stories.

Peter
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