iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Steven Ray Morris @stevenraymorris.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

I learned a lot about Ice Age era mammals from paleontologist @brittandbone.bsky.social on our Ice Age episode of See Jurassic Right! All Summer Flicks With Scientists episodes out now wherever you get your podcasts.

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Kiersten Formoso, PhD(epressed) @formorphology.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

And last (for now) but certainly not least, is this great piece on our study from science writer Asher Elbein for the esteemed yellow rectangle, National Geographic. www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...

nationalgeographic.com

This Cretaceous 'Sea Monster' Attacked Prey Faster than Great White Sharks

By analyzing tail length and muscle power, paleontologists have explained the physics behind a mosasaur's deadly ability to lunge toward its prey.

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Çağrı Çevrim @cagricevrim.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Your favorite website for illustrations of almost all organisms is looking for donations to help cover its running costs! Please consider donating to help keep this open-source platform running: www.phylopic.org/images

phylopic.org

All Silhouette Images on PhyloPic

Browse all the free silhouette images in PhyloPic.

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Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

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 · 30/09/2026

But if people don’t have the economic luxury of curiosity, I can’t be surprised when a kid suggests selling our museum’s Mammut pacificus holotype to Mr. Beast (true story!)

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Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

And we see this in the changes to the NSF, how space science is being approached, etc. There’s a lack of inherent curiosity that I think you need to understand the pursuit of science as a good in and of itself.

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Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

But there’s this financial lens that people seem to take to science and museums now - is it financially viable? Will it have a payoff? If that T. rex can net millions of dollars on auction, what’s stopping a university from selling off their collections when they need funds?

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Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Now, I’m not blaming kids for this. There are economic pressures now that probably make them overly aware of money, and hell, it’s hard for me in good conscious to recommend paleo to my students anymore when I myself still struggle financially in this field.

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Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg @brittandbone.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

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

I’ve never met two museums with the exact same funding structure, so it’s really variable! And I’d say basically no museum (by which I mean it holds collections) can truly operate on a shoestring. Even the smallest museum probably clears north of half a mil annually if they have paid staff.

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

I'm so happy that's the case. I'm really hoping it turns out similarly for the Sternberg

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

oh gosh, thinking of you all over there! It's always been on my list to visit - hoping there is some sort of effective hail mary this weekend. It's crushing to see.

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

as a very fresh adjunct professor - yes, agreed!!

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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

You cannot run a museum like a business. Opening a museum is a quick way to lose a lot of money; but it's a great way to invest in scientific research and education in your community. But as long as museums, desperate for money and attendance, keep cosplaying as businesses, we'll lose more of them.

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

There's a tendency now to look at nonprofits, museums, and the like and try to run them like a business, which, spoiler alert, dooms them.

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

So when somewhere like FHSU has a budget shortfall and decides to behead its museum, people are shocked and also very naive about what can be done about it. "We should have a fundraiser! Call a local philanthropist!" Sure, that may buy you six months.

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

My own salary came up at my last doctor's appt, and she expressed extreme shock that I make far less than her receptionist. "I thought you made over six figures, you're a scientist!" Yeah, no, not even close! But there's this pervasive idea that science and museums are these well-funded entities.

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

IMO, there's still a huge disconnect between how the public perceives natural history museums and the prestige surrounding them, and the actual economics of sustaining them.

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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

....oh this is perfect timing, I'm adding this to my class's syllabus

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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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Reposted by Brittney Elizabeth Stoneburg

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

This is a life lesson I’m just starting to learn!!

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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

A friend has said that I went from “one cult to another” when I left evangelicalism and starting working in museums, and y’know I can’t find fault in his argument!!

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

I know part of that is because I’m first-gen w/o the safety net of generational wealth. By all rights I shouldn’t be a scientist rn. It’s just, when everyone tells you how good you are, you think eventually you’ll be good enough to have a career you can make a life out of.

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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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