museum on the chopping block

[Gordon C. Snelling]

This was originally sent to me due to my entomological interests but it totally is something that will potentially effect us and we should be aware of it. I know there is some trepidation about signing these online petitions and I have my own as well but I think this is a serious enough issue that it is worth the risk and time. Wasn't sure where else to put it, if not appropriate here please feel free to move it.

Hello fellow ant scientists,

I am not sure if you have all heard, but we are in the process of severe financial and administrative restructuring which will likely negatively impact our scientific collections and research at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, USA.

I am reaching out to all of you to please consider signing the following petition and "liking" any of the comments you agree with that have been posted by others including Edward O. Wilson and many, many more. In fact we have almost 10,000 signatures already, but we are hoping to get this number up before we present the petition to our new President and members of our Board of Trustees very soon.

https://www.change.org/petitions/protect-research-at-field-museum-of-natural-history-chicago

Please send this petition around to as many other scientists and museum supporters you know. We really need all of your help.

For more information on this restructuring process and the potential implications to science at the Field Museum, please see the following articles (this may even include relaxing tenure to be able to fire tenured cutators):

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-field-museum-to-cut-staff-overhaul-operations-and-limit-research-scope-20121218,0,6939773.story

http://www.nature.com/news/chicago-s-field-museum-cuts-back-on-science-1.12105

Thank you very much in advance for your support!
Corrie Moreau

[MGKelly]

I visited the field museum in the middle of October to see the man eating lions of Tsavo.
It is a great museum and had many other attractions really i enjoyed.

J

[brewmaster15]

Hi Gordon,
Thanks for posting this! I did not know this was going on!! That Museum is on my list of places to visit as Natural History Studies are one of my Hobbies. It would be a shame if a resource like this museum were lost or had its functioning limited. Museums such as this one are critical to our understanding of the world around us, and to the the scientific community at large as a source of reference material and type specimens.

If anyone here has any interest in the world around and the organisms that live here, please help protect resources like this one... by doing so you will also be helping future generations .

I signed and will pass it on to others.

Thanks again Gordon,
Al

[BobDaniel]

I have signed the petition and shared it with several friends on FB. I also Tweeted it. My daughter visited the museam several years ago and enjoyed the visit. I hope we can save it.