Derek E.G. Briggs

Director,
Peabody Museum
of Natural History

Frederick William Beinecke Professor of Geology and Geophysics

Curator of Invertebrate Paleontology

One of the most fundamental challenges of the 21st Century is the documentation and conservation of the world's cultural and biological diversity. As part of a University with a strong commitment to environmental research, the Yale Peabody Museum, with its world-class collections (numbering over 12 million specimens and growing), is able to bring tremendous resources to bear in addressing this challenge. Our mission, to advance knowledge and a broad understanding of Earth's history, life and cultures has never been more important. Every year, our Curators and staff conduct field research on every continent while advanced technologies help us draw fresh information from specimens, some of which have been in the collections for decades. Our educational activities inspire people, especially children, with a love for the natural and cultural world and an appreciation of its importance to human health and wellbeing.

Global change brings new urgency to questions the Museum has asked throughout its distinguished history - what species exist on Earth, where they live, and how they have changed over time. It also means that increasing public understanding and engagement with these issues is of vital importance. Whether you visit us in person or online, whether you come to learn about our collections or simply have fun, I hope you will be excited to join us in this mission.

From the Director: Winter 2010

We know that many people are fascinated about what goes on 'behind the scenes' at the Museum so I'm delighted to say that we are putting one of our staff on exhibit! Michael Anderson is our talented exhibit preparator who, as many of you know, was the sculptor of our magnificent Torosaurus statue. He is going to demonstrate the art of the museum diorama by building a foreground for a James Perry Wilson painting in the temporary exhibition gallery. This superb painting was recently donated to the Museum by the Canadian Museum of Nature and I would like to thank their director Joanne Dicosimo for a wonderful new acquisition to our collections. During the exhibit Michael will create the foreground with the same painstaking techniques that were used for our other dioramas.

There are so many activities happening at the Museum that I can't report on all of them! Needless to say the Museum's celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday will take place as well as the postponed Night at the Peabody in March. And I encourage you to come and see our newly cleaned Age of Reptiles mural in the Great Hall, which looks spectacular. With so much going on I hope that you will not only visit once but many times over the next few months.

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Accredited Member,
American Association of Museums

Associate Member,
Association of Science-Technology Centers, Inc.



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