Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg
@brittandbone.bsky.social
vertebrate paleontologist, bone librarian, polar & space science enthusiast, drone pilot, wayward English major, ice queen and sea cryptid cursed to be trapped in the desert. header art by Corbin Rainbolt.
If university libraries don't need books, why should university museums need displays or specimens?
And we’re surprised when museum admin starts looking at museum collections with dollar signs in their eyes when this is what we permit as a culture
Nanotyrannus Skeleton ‘Jodi’ Is Auctioned for $47.3 Million
The T. Rex cousin is the latest dinosaur fossil to fetch a high price at an auction, this time at Sotheby’s.
nytimes.com
The rib structure of #Ichthyosaurs may have helped them with swimming to greater depths #pixelart #ドット絵 #SciArt #paleoart
There's no good reason for me to get a PhD at this point. In fact there's plenty of good reasons not to (most of them financial!). I teach, I do research, I already do pretty much everything that would motivate someone career-wise to get one. But maaaaaaan I feel like I've hit a knowledge ceiling.
Track Psyche's position in real time as it journeys towards its target, which may be a partial core of a planetesimal, a building block of an early planet. eyes.nasa.gov/apps/solar-s...
What happened to Scientific American? When the Trump administration threatened to end federal subscriptions to scientific journals that expressed political opinions, its corporate owners chose profit over free speech. @woolsox.bsky.social reports:
The Fall of “Scientific American”
When the beloved science publication got too political, its corporate owners stepped in. Now its future is uncertain.
thenation.com
This really does feel like a perfect storm of all of the bad museum trends hitting an institution at once
savetheacademy.bsky.social@savetheacademy.bsky.social · 6d agoThis rather involved article gives us a lot of useful background info prior to next week’s hearing. www.phillymag.com/news/2026/10...
Can I be honest? If I'm looking at a museum's or nonprofit's staff page, and I see their head admin described as a "CEO", I mega full body cringe. It may not seem like there's that much of a difference between Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, but it's a matter of intention!
Consultants will kill the museum field if you let them.
Ben Miller@extinctmonsters.bsky.social · 6d agooh my god
art is for everybody. history is for everybody. science is for everybody. ideas are for everybody. the university is the universitas, the universe of approaches that everybody gets to sample, as a treat, richly, before specialization.
Asheesh Kapur Siddique@asheeshks.org · 6d agoIt’s striking how much of the higher ed organizing on the political Right is focused on the epistemic content of teaching and scholarship - and how there is basically not much of a response to that from either scholarly associations or the political Left.
I picked up Kim Stanley Robinson’s novel Antarctica and got a jump scare reading on the plane ride home from Seattle - did not expect Hemet of all places to get name dropped. (I’m choosing to take this as a sign that as a desert rat from Hemet I too am destined to get sent to Antarctica one day 😂)
I had an incredible time up at @osuceoas.bsky.social for the @polarsteamteam.bsky.social Summit! It was a nourishing meeting of the polar minds, and a chance to share my experience as an Educator Fellow!
I learned a lot about Ice Age era mammals from paleontologist @brittandbone.bsky.social on our Ice Age episode of See Jurassic Right! All Summer Flicks With Scientists episodes out now wherever you get your podcasts.
And last (for now) but certainly not least, is this great piece on our study from science writer Asher Elbein for the esteemed yellow rectangle, National Geographic. www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...
This Cretaceous 'Sea Monster' Attacked Prey Faster than Great White Sharks
By analyzing tail length and muscle power, paleontologists have explained the physics behind a mosasaur's deadly ability to lunge toward its prey.
nationalgeographic.com
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Very excited to head up to @oregonstate.edu tomorrow for the @polarsteamteam.bsky.social Summit! Last year I partnered with @osuceoas.bsky.social's Dr. Jesse Cusack and Vanessa Hawkins to bring their science to life at WSC - and now I want to help other scientists and researchers do the same!
Something anecdotal that makes me think the recent museum closures we’re seeing is a symptom of a wider cultural attitude towards science: Two of the most frequent questions I now get from kids on field trips are “what’s that fossil worth”/“do you make a lot of money?”
With all the news of museums being closed and/or defunded, I feel the message of our paper on the importance of natural history research (and the collections housing those specimens) is just as relevant (or more) today as it was when it was published. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
It was just so fun to chat with @stevenraymorris.bsky.social about the movie Ice Age! Truly, it holds up
Steven Ray Morris@stevenraymorris.bsky.social · last mo.Move over dinosaurs, we’re covering 2002’s ICE AGE, with paleontologist/science educator, @brittandbone.bsky.social! Get the who’s who on Pleistocene megafauna, if Sabertooth Squirrels (Scrat) were real, and so much more. It’s the Summer Flicks With Scientists finale on See Jurassic Right.
The university-based UCMP got a nearly 30% budget cut ~15 years ago. Restructuring and reductions changed how the museum functioned, but its mission remained. The road to recovery is long and we still have no fossil preparator, but it is possible to slowly rebuild. ucmp.berkeley.edu/about/ucmpne...
Letter from the Director, May 2012
ucmp.berkeley.edu
Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg@brittandbone.bsky.social · last mo.I've worked for a natural history museum for 11 years at this point (man, yikes) and while it is sad, it isn't surprising to see two major institutions facing closure this year.
Yep. This always comes from the very best of places, but is never a long-term solution. It's rarely even a short-term solution, even in the optimal situation.
Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg@brittandbone.bsky.social · last mo.So when somewhere like FHSU has a budget shortfall and decides to behead its museum, people are shocked and also very naive about what can be done about it. "We should have a fundraiser! Call a local philanthropist!" Sure, that may buy you six months.
Great thread discussing museum funding from the inside. The reason some universities are trying to divest from their museums is because they are beginning to treat each unit as an independent revenue generating entity. Museums cost money and therefore they WANT to cut them.
Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg@brittandbone.bsky.social · last mo.I've worked for a natural history museum for 11 years at this point (man, yikes) and while it is sad, it isn't surprising to see two major institutions facing closure this year.
One thing - this isn't to blame museums. As a museum staff member, I can tell you: we are, as a group, extremely passionate & resourceful. But the unis, gov, etc that oversee museum admin just see a budget line item bleeding money, & not the actual purpose of that line item (education, research)
Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg@brittandbone.bsky.social · last mo.You cannot run a museum like a business. Opening a museum is a quick way to lose a lot of money; but it's a great way to invest in scientific research and education in your community. But as long as museums, desperate for money and attendance, keep cosplaying as businesses, we'll lose more of them.
Tomorrow, we get chill with 2002’s ICE AGE and learn everything you wanted to know about Pleistocene megafauna with paleontologist/science educator, @brittandbone.bsky.social! It’s Summer Flicks With Scientists on See Jurassic Right.
I've worked for a natural history museum for 11 years at this point (man, yikes) and while it is sad, it isn't surprising to see two major institutions facing closure this year.
TOMORROW! ❄️ This was so, so fun. It's been ages since I hopped on a podcast and getting to talk Ice Age with @stevenraymorris.bsky.social was a joy!!
Steven Ray Morris@stevenraymorris.bsky.social · last mo.Tomorrow, we get chill with 2002’s ICE AGE and learn everything you wanted to know about Pleistocene megafauna with paleontologist/science educator, @brittandbone.bsky.social! It’s Summer Flicks With Scientists on See Jurassic Right.
You know what's super fun? Getting to discuss the science of the animated classic Ice Age with @stevenraymorris.bsky.social. So I did that. Tune in this Friday!
Steven Ray Morris@stevenraymorris.bsky.social · last mo.While the La Brea Tar Pits are currently closed for refurbishments, get your Paleozoic fix with this Friday’s ICE AGE episode with paleontologist/environmental scientist, @brittandbone.bsky.social! It’s the Summer Flicks With Scientists finale on See Jurassic Right!