T41 Museums at the Forefront of the History and Philosophy of Geology II

Sunday, 25 September 2016
1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Room 303

A COMMUNITY OF SCHOLARS: PIONEERS OF SCIENCE AT YALE WHO MADE A MUSEUM

Paper number: T41-5
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 2:20 PM – 2:35 PM

Authors

Abstract

The year 2016 marks the 150th anniversary of the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History. The Peabody is an institution steeped in history and tied closely to the origins of geological discovery and research in North America. Benjamin Silliman, James Dwight Dana and Othniel C. Marsh all played critical roles in the establishment of the Peabody but they also played critical roles in the evolution of the sciences at Yale. The established of the Peabody predates the science departments at Yale and paved the way for the expansion of the biological and geological sciences at Yale.

Collections stewardship and dissemination of knowledge became the cornerstone of the Peabody’s practices in the beginning and continue for the past 150 years. As the Yale departments and faculty became established, the Museum’s role as a repository for scientific collections, teaching and graduate education emerged. Public education and outreach to the local schools and public rapidly became part of the core mission of the Peabody and can be captured by distinct events in the history of the museum that reflect the happenings in America.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 48, No. 7

doi: 10.1130/abs/2016AM-282988

© Copyright 2016 The Geological Society of America (GSA), all rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to the author(s) of this abstract to reproduce and distribute it freely, for noncommercial purposes. Permission is hereby granted to any individual scientist to download a single copy of this electronic file and reproduce up to 20 paper copies for noncommercial purposes advancing science and education, including classroom use, providing all reproductions include the complete content shown here, including the author information. All other forms of reproduction and/or transmittal are prohibited without written permission from GSA Copyright Permissions.