Warhol's Dogs and Cats Series

Through June 30, 2012
Entrance Gallery

Carnegie Museum of Natural History, in collaboration with The Andy Warhol Museum, presents an exhibition of paintings of dogs and cats by famed pop artist and Pittsburgh native Andy Warhol (1928–1987). Natural History director Sam Taylor and Warhol director Eric Shiner organized the exhibition.

Image: Andy Warhol (American, 1928-1987), Cat, 1976, acrylic and silkscreen ink on linen, 26 x 32 in. (66 x 81.3 cm.), The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc., 1998.1.197, © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.

M is for Museum

Through August 30, 2012
R.P. Simmons Family Gallery

Kids and grown-ups, guided by the ABCs, discover the wonders of one of America’s best natural history museums!

Designed for kids 5 to 13 years old—but enjoyable for visitors of all ages—M is for Museum features multimedia and hands-on activities that help curious young audiences discover how museums protect, explore, and explain the cultures of the world and nature in all its wonder.

Click here to download a complete list of the museum alphabet and the hands-on activities that go with each letter! Here is a sampling of the fun you can expect:

A is for Artifact
Artifacts are objects made by humans. Carnegie Museum of Natural History collects, cares for, and preserves artifacts as a way of understanding human history and culture. Using your detective skills and a few clues, play a seek-and-find game using photographs of artifacts. Determine what makes an artifact different from a fossil.

C is for Collect
Collections are the backbone of Carnegie Museum of Natural History. The museum has 22 million specimens in its collection. Meet the staff members who organize and care for the thousands of birds, millions of bugs, and storerooms full of other specimens. Gather specimens and create a collection of your own for display in M is for Museum.

I is for Identify
All objects have characteristics—the details that our researchers look for when identifying a specimen. Test your skills by identifying animal skulls and stone points based on characteristics important to scientists.
 

P is for Powdermill Nature Reserve
At Powdermill, the environmental research center of Carnegie Museum of Natural History, migratory birds are weighed, measured, and banded. Banding is a process in which a small ring-like band with identification numbers is placed on the ankle of each bird. Collect data by banding, weighing, measuring, and examining a replica bird.

R is for Read
Reading is an important part of every person’s life. Stories of nature and science inspired many of the museum’s staff to work at a museum. Take time to read a story or two recommended by staff members as favorites from their childhood.

Z is for The Zone
The Zone is a kids’ exploration area. Hang out in a bean bag chair, pick up a book, do a puzzle, or just check out the cool mammal skeletons. Enjoy!

Sponsorship for M is for Museum is provided by:

Lord of the Crane Flies

Ongoing
Third Floor Rear

This exhibition focuses on Invertebrate Zoologist Chen Young's nearly 30 years of work on crane flies. Explore photographs, illustrations, specimens, and video all about crane flies—what they are, where they live, how they are collected and studied, and why they are an important part of the planet we share. Photo: Pedicia albivitta by Donna Race

Population Impact

Ongoing
3rd Floor Alcove

How are the world’s nearly seven billion humans affecting ecosystems? And what effects do changing ecosystems have on humans? These questions and many others are explored through graphics, specimens, satellite images, and more in Population Impact. Compelling case studies and examples from western Pennsylvania and around the world underscore the idea that unchecked population growth in any species has lasting consequences on natural systems. Humans have become the dominant species in nearly every ecosystem on Earth. Choices we make affect the world in which we live in a very real way.