WHOA THIS IS SO COOL

the differences between crocodiles and alligators in case u were not aware

An excellent way to help others and progress research at the same time!

Want to contribute to citizen science projects?

Yeah? Then have I got a list for you!

Places to find citizen science projects:

NASA’s Citizen Science section – NASA maintains a page here with links to all their citizen science projects and initiatives—and they have a LOT. All projects are helpfully color-coded by category/domain.

Zooniverse – Very good website, LOTS of projects. “The world’s largest and most popular platform for people-powered research”.

SciStarter – Another good hub for finding projects. SO, SO many projects available!

A list of citizen science projects that have you playing games

Wikipedia

National Geographic – Nat Geo always maintains a list here of a lot of good ones.

This list on Gizmodo that I LOVE, 10/10

Society for Science – Not only do they have a lot of great citizen science projects linked, they also have sections to help you start your own citizen science projects too.

Smithsonian Institution – Come on, who DOESN’T want to help out the SMITHSONIAN?

Citizen science projects with iPhone apps:

iNaturalist – Take pictures of plants, fungi, animals, insects, etc. around you and contribute to scientific data repositories for researchers!

budburst – Help scientists find and monitor plants in your area and improve their research on plant conservation!

eBird – If you love birding or just want to contribute to research on bird populations and migrations, this is the project for you!

Spotteron – There are a LOT of apps for a variety of ongoing projects here, both at global and regional levels.

Globe Observer – Help NASA by providing data from down here on Earth!

Insight – Give scientists data they can use to help understand and save pollinators by snapping pics and tracking ones near you in observations!

River Survey/Ocean Survey apps – The Ocean Cleanup has put out two different apps for helping track the pollution in our water! River Survey asks citizens to help by going to a nearby river and starting to count the plastic they see. Ocean Survey asks anyone who goes out on the ocean to record any plastic debris they spot floating on the ocean.

Have fun, be safe, and happy researching!

Before the bottom of chapter 3 page 34 reveals that he saw Isaac use his weather powers, you can see him go from his earlier position staring at nothing in particular to focusing on Isaac! Zack's little details are such a nice touch.

Reminder: He was not unconscious. He was just laying there silently.

What a wonderful Johnny! All the little touches on him are so magnificent!

Older Johnny

yoooo this is rad!

Pennsylvania Archaeology and You

The Pennsylvania Archaeological Council (PAC) is an organization of professional archaeologists from all over the State dedicated to education, consultation, ethics, and advocation of Pennsylvania archaeology. The PAC works to advise policy and legislative interests in the commonwealth as well as provide consultation with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Anyone with a graduate degree in anthropology, archaeology, or a similar subject is encouraged to apply. Recently this membership has been expanded to include those with extensive experience and PAC has taken an interest in student membership. Check out this website for more information.

For anyone interested in local archaeology, the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology (SPA) exists alongside PAC. Anyone is welcome to join this special interest group that is made up of regional chapters. Established in 1929, the goals of SPA include; promoting the study of archaeological resources in PA, discouraging irresponsible exploration, connecting avocational and professionals, and promoting the conservation of sites, artifacts, and information. To disseminate information, the SPA facilitates one of the oldest State Archaeology Journals, Pennsylvania Archaeologist. 83 years of the publication are available for purchase on the website.

The Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology, Inc., the parent archaeological society, meets annually at announced places. Membership in the SPA is highly recommended. Dues are $30 per year for individuals. Membership entitles one to receive The Pennsylvania Archaeologist twice a year. For those interested in taking an active role, the SPA is made up of many individuals from regional chapters. I’ve decided to highlight two of those chapters in this blog. To find your regional chapter visit pennsylvaniaarchaeology.com/Chapters.htm

If you live in Pittsburgh, our local chapter is called Allegheny Chapter #1. We meet the first Tuesday of every month at 7:30 p.m. Due to the pandemic, this is currently done virtually. For membership information contact Amanda Valko at amanda@quemahoning.com The chapters take an active approach by conducting investigations of sites in their region. The Allegheny Chapter started working on a local site called the Hatfield site back in July of 2007. The first thing we did was set up a grid and took some geomorphology samples under the direction of Brian Fritz.

Brian Fritz and Nina Larsen examining a soil core sample at the Hatfield Site. (Photo Credit: Amanda Valko)

Setting up the grid for soil sampling. Chapter members front to back: Brian Fritz, Peggy Sinclair, Ken Fischer. Chapter members under the shade shelter: Don McGuirk, Nina Larsen. (Photo Credit: Amanda Valko)

The Allegheny Chapter is hoping to produce a report of these excavations soon. Hopefully we can get the Chapter together over the summer to work with the artifacts and start the whole report preparation process.

Southeast of Allegheny County, the Westmoreland Archaeological Society Chapter #23 used to meet on Wednesdays, but due to the pandemic are following an erratic schedule. For membership information contact Jim Barno at bar3686@calu.edu (Jim Barno is a dedicated volunteer in the section of Anthropology at CMNH.)

Chapter #23 was actively engaged in 16 years of excavation at the Console Site, which was an important Monongahela Site. They reach out to the students and faculty at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania encouraging them to become involved with the Westmoreland Archaeological Society by participating in various public events such as artifact displays and colloquiums held at the IUP campus, Fort Necessity National Battlefield, Green County Historical Society as well as local community events such the Derry Agricultural Fair.

IUP students are actively involved in continuing excavations at the Bergstrom Hollow Rock Shelter Site (weather permitting). The chapter also publishes a monthly newsletter called The Trowel that has interesting archaeological subject material as well as listings of local archaeological events and now Zoom links for folks interested in these types of activities.

From the left are the following people Stephanie Zellers, Rachael Smith, Bob Oshnock, and Dr. Chadwick at the Bergstrom rock Shelter. (Photo Credit: Jim Barno)

Earth Day Event at St. Vincent College. Bob Oshnock and Dr. Lara Homsey-Messer (IUP) doing flotation. (Photo Credit: Jim Barno)

Remember to always report archaeological finds to the State Historic Preservation Office! Follow the guidelines specified in the links below.

PA SHPO/State Museum of PA: Instructions for Recording Archaeological Sites in Pennsylvania

PA State Historic Preservation Office (PA SHPO): Guidelines for Archaeological Investigations in Pennsylvania

Amy L. Covell-Murthy is Archaeology Collection Manager at Carnegie Museum of Natural History as well as a member of the SPA Allegheny Chapter 1, and a recently elected executive board member of the PAC. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Reblog if you write fanfic and would be totally down with your followers coming into you askbox and talking to you about your fic

''Useless'' Writing Reminders

Save your documents. Strive to be safe, not sorry.

Back-up your documents. Strive to be safe, not sorry.

Placeholder names can quickly turn into forever names. Picking name(s) on a whim can lead to great things, or it can become your worst nightmare (😁).

Your writing has value. Yes, even the most inadequate of writing. You don't have to boast or even like everything you've ever written, but even the most questionable of writing will have contributed to your growth as a storyteller. Cherish it for what it is.

You can take a break. It is absolutely okay.

First drafts are scary. But you know what's more scary? Not having a draft at all.

Using clichés or ''overdone'' tropes will not kill your story. Firstly, tropes are building blocks. Secondly, humans actively search to consume stories revolving around these tropes.

Write your heart out. Boast about your writing. Boast about your friends' and fellow writers' writing. Everyone deserves recognition, even you, from within your own heart. (Sorry. That's really cheesy. But it's true).

happy vlaentine :)

Dragons and unicorns have such variety in designs!

“Dragon” is such a vague category of creature with such a ridiculous diversity of bauplans. It doesn’t matter how big it is or how many legs it has or whether it has wings or not: you can call it a dragon if it is kind of snakey, and/or breathes fire (virtually anything that can breathe fire has the potential to qualify as a dragon).

Case in point, look at all these different things that are dragons: