A gathering of wonders: behind the scenes at the American Museum of Natural History

Description

Since it was founded in 1869, the American Museum of Natural History has stood as one of the world's greatest repositories of scientific information and investigation. This delightful book takes us behind the exhibits and shows us some of the great researchers and fabulous objects from the Museum's past and present, ranging through every department and focusing on fabulous tales and fascinating objects, both small and large, including: * the famous Oviraptor eggs unearthed in the Gobi desert. * the stunning new Hall of Biodiversity, whose trees hold 411,000 model leaves * the 563-carat Star of India sapphire and the 632-carat Patricia emerald * Katharine Burden's hunt for the Komodo dragon : "Women Huntress Revolts Against Playing Safe—-Kills Huge 'Malay Dragon' " * the epic saga of the huge blue whale model This book offers a backstage tour through the halls and history of the Museum, venturing into ornithology, invertebrates, zoology,...