iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 1h

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!

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Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 2h

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?”

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Thomas Cullen @thomascullen.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

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....

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Biodiversity Pics @biodiversitypix.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

🐮 American natural history.. Philadelphia, H.C. Carey & I. Lea, 1826-28. [Source]

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Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

It was just so fun to chat with @stevenraymorris.bsky.social about the movie Ice Age! Truly, it holds up

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Steven Ray Morris @stevenraymorris.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

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.

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Z. Jack Tseng @tsengzj.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

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...

ucmp.berkeley.edu

Letter from the Director, May 2012

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Andy Farke @andyfarke.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

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.

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James Lamsdell, PhD @fossildetective.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

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.

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Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

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)

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Steven Ray Morris @stevenraymorris.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

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.

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Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

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.

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Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

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!!

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Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

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!

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Steven Ray Morris @stevenraymorris.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

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!

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Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

in the midst of some CRAZY work stress I am putting together two workshops (one robotics, one polar science), emailing a colleague about some weird algae fossils, and got a cool panel acceptance for LA Comic Con. I refuse to pick a lane! You can't make me, academia!

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Jaime Palter @jaimepalter.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

🌊 I searched the long version of NSF’s letter on “a New Golden Age of Science.“ There is no mention of any of the following words: planet, Earth, ocean, atmosphere, climate, weather, or the stem “geo.”

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Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

since I didn't get to show bluesky this - earlier this year I saw Project Hail Mary (with absolutely NO context or expectations) and a) loved it and b) became consumed by a lust for the fox cardigan. Anyway I crocheted it in less than two months.

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Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

my boss thinks I have a future in admin; meanwhile I'm contemplating pulling my teeth out over making a $100 donation ask rn

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Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

“Go look at something cool.” That’s what I told myself this week, because as it turns out, through the paperwork and burnout, it’s really easy for me to forget I work in a building full of wonders. 🌿 Plio-Pleistocene-aged plant fossil from Riverside County, originally ID’d as algae.

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Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

I have successfully regained control of my bluesky account, hello fellow nerds

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Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

finally got my film scans back from last summer's expedition to Xietl Sit' (Leconte Glacier) in southeast Alaska. still sort of grappling with how much this experience changed my life and figuring out how I can do it all over again! shot on kodak portra 400.

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Natalia (娜塔莉) @wrycritic.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

You know palaeontology online spheres are dominated by men, with a big name being outed as a peado accomplice, the first thing they comment on are "I never agreed with his stance on T.rex" & "I preferred Bakker/Gould anyway" And not "The field is rotten to the core with sex pests and weird men"

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Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 27/12/2025

had a mostly-solo Christmas this year but lunch with friends gave me the excuse to flex the baking muscles and make a cranberry orange tart ✨

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Shaun Aitcheson @shaunaitcheson.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

The Excavation of Hob's Barrow is a whopping 55% off in the Steam Winter Sale! Inspired by movies such as The Wicker Man & the works of M.R. James, with a little pinch of Twin Peaks and Lovecraft - our folk horror adventure is the perfect play for Christmas! store.steampowered.com/app/1182310/...

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Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 14/12/2025

Friends from New England have been texting me pictures of snow and the way I ✨yearn✨ to live in an entirely different region is getting painful I tell you!!!

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Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 14/12/2025

I’m off to #AGU25! It’s my first time attending this conference and I’m so excited to be sharing my work as a @polarsteamteam.bsky.social Fellow! Send me a message if you want to connect during the conference!

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Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

Gonna be real it has been pretty difficult for me to square all of the cool stuff that has come my way through my job w/ the fact that it may never be possible for me to have both this career & other life goals (house, community) at the same time. Doable for others but apparently not for me. 🫠

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Biodiversity Pics @biodiversitypix.bsky.social · 18/11/2025

🦄 Natural history of Victoria. Dec. 6-10 Melbourne, J.Ferres, government printer;1885-90. [Source]

Illustration from the 1885-90 "Natural history of Victoria" showing two detailed seahorses. The larger seahorse has an elongated snout, segmented body, and multiple fin-like appendages with blue markings. The smaller seahorse displays the typical curled tail and segmented ridges. Three inset sketches highlight anatomical details of the snout and appendages. The image is titled "Memoirs of the Museum - Zoology of Victoria (Fishes)" and captures the unique morphology of seahorses with fine lines and muted color tones on a yellowed background.

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Mat Pringle @matpringle.bsky.social · 16/11/2025

J is for M.R James in my #folkhorroralphabet the author and medievalist scholar responsible for ghost stories such as ‘Lost Hearts’, ‘A Warning to the Curious’ and ‘Casting the Runes’ which was adapted for cinema as ‘Night of the Demon’. matpringleillustration.bigcartel.com/product/folk...

An illustrated linocut print and block of studious author M R James working by candlelight while an ominous portent of death* looms over him.

*SURE, A SKELETON. 💀

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Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 16/11/2025

me: there's no way reverse seasonal affective disorder is a real thing also me as soon as it rains or get gloomy: life is beautiful and worth living, how could I ever have been sad

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Michael Tripoli @triloboii.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

A pair of American Mastodon chow down on a (slightly fantastical) pumpkin patch 🍂✨️ #sciart #paleoart

Digital painting of two fuzzy, dark brown American Mastodon eating pumpkins in a small pumpkin patch. The style emulated watercolor and pencil paintings. In the foreground the larger mastodon is leaning over to crush a very large orange pumkin with its weight, while the mastodon behind it snacks on pumpkin chunks. The forest around them is mixed with tall conifers and deciduous trees in various shades of fall reds, oranges and yellows

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Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

man I really love being a paleontologist who studies mammals instead of dinosaurs I can tell you that

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Biodiversity Pics @biodiversitypix.bsky.social · 25/10/2025

🦘 The Naturalists Companion containing drawings with suitable descriptions of a vast variety of Quadrupeds, Birds, Fishes, Serpent and Insects; & accurately copied either from Living Animals or from the stuffed Specimens in the Museums of the College and Du 1810-1817. [Source]

Watercolor illustration from 1810-1817 depicting three natural history subjects: the skull of a babirusa with large, curved tusks prominently shown; a detailed spread of antlers attached to a skull base; the broad, flat skull of a sea lion viewed from above; and a dark-colored lizard with a spiny back and open mouth. Each subject is labeled in elegant cursive handwriting. The composition is scientific and focused on anatomical details. There is no kangaroo depicted in this image despite the keyword mentioned.

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Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

I am surrounded by snails. Everything is snails. I know no other reality than one infested by Gastropoda. (exhibit installation continues to go well)

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Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

Currently in the midst of inventorying hundreds of snail shells for an upcoming exhibit - 300 down, ???? to go! 🐚

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Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 27/09/2025

I’m at the Sun City Library Local Author’s Fair with WSC peddling my book! 🐴

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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 12/09/2025

It lives!!! 🦣🦣🦣🧪 Repeated climate-driven dispersal and speciation in peripheral populations of Pleistocene mastodons | Science Advances www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

science.org

Repeated climate-driven dispersal and speciation in peripheral populations of Pleistocene mastodons

Coastal mastodon mitochondrial genomes contextualize species distributions and dispersal patterns near southern glacial limits.

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Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 05/09/2025

I haven't posted since I got back from my research cruise but uhhhh how does one combine a career in natural history museums/paleo with a career in polar ship-based field work because I unfortunately fell in love, whoops

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Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 13/07/2025

Hello from the ice! For the first time my email away message says “out at sea” - I’ve been aboard the RV Steadfast as a Polar STEAM Educator Fellow! ⛴️ I’m with a team of researchers studying Leconte Glacier in southeast Alaska, and I’ll be bringing back what I learn to WSC. ❄️

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Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 29/06/2025

So much gear and this isn’t even all of it! Getting ready to go to sea for the first time as a @polarsteamteam.bsky.social Fellow.

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Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 27/06/2025

the world is falling apart and all I want is to finally live in a place I love and where I feel even somewhat at peace, and I have no idea if I can do that while also maintaining the career I’ve put so much sweat blood and tears into, and no one told me midcareer would be this hard

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Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 27/06/2025

I’ve been practicing my film photography again in anticipation of my Alaska trip. 35mm, Canon AE-1. 1. Santa Barbara 2. San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers 3. Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology 4. Santa Barbara Botanic Garden

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💀🐺🌱ArtofMaquenda🍄🩸 @artofmaquenda.bsky.social · 14/06/2025

Their crowns may gleam, but they are dust, Built on tales and borrowed trust.

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Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

whoops my decision to pursue a wildly niche career is warring with my desire to live in a very specific location again (my summer SAD is starting to hit and I’m in my Yearning for Coastal New England hours again)

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Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

been thinking big, longterm career thoughts and I am usually pretty proud of being a generalist but man can it sometimes make me feel ✨unfocused✨ professionally

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Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

Popping back on here to share - I made a game! Sort of! I wanted to reteach myself Javascript so I made a small choose-your-own-adventure story where you play a baby mastodon lost in the forest. Thank you to Phillip Krzeminski for providing the art! Play here: b-e-stoneburg.itch.io/in-the-compa...

b-e-stoneburg.itch.io

in the company of giants by b. e. stoneburg

Play in your browser

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Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

Popping back on Bluesky to say that am so excited to announce that I am a 2025 Polar STEAM Educator Fellow! I'll be deployed to Alaska to work on a glacier - I can't wait work w/ Jesse & Vanessa from OSU this summer & bring back everything I'll learn about glacial melt and climate change back to WSC

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Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 24/01/2025

Yesterday I had a new research paper came out, I ran a field trip bc some of our educators were out, and then I was the manager on duty when a fire broke out across the street from the museum (it's all good now). get you a museum professional who can do it all TGIF man

media.tenor.com

a r2d2 robot is standing in the sand near a rock

ALT: a r2d2 robot is standing in the sand near a rock

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Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

New paper out today! Super proud to be included on this one. Do you want to learn about Pacific mastodon genetics and morphology? Of course you do! (I made a silly little meme to summarize the paper, please enjoy). peerj.com/articles/188...

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