A Coffee and Cookies with the Curators Chat is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 23 at 9 a.m. in conjunction with the exhibit "The Messy History of Scientific Observation." Join curators in Special Collections for an up-close look at the exhibit and an opportunity to ask questions about the exhibit and the process of curating an exhibit.

Science materials from University Libraries' Special Collections are the focus of the exhibition “The Messy History of Scientific Observation,” now open on the second floor of the McCain Archives and Library. The exhibition tracks science’s non-linear progression from ancient medicinal use of plants, the Age of Discovery, and the work of the Naturalists, through the development of modern marine science and space exploration. Technological advancements as catalysts for greater understanding and revised - or even reversed – scientific beliefs, as well as the ethical concerns in light of evolving perspectives, are examined in the exhibition.

Exhibition highlights include specimens from the museum at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory (GCRL) and from the Herbarium at Lake Thoreau. As the Medicine Wheel Garden celebrates its 20th anniversary, photography documenting its creation is on display. Among the rare books of the Naturalists is a double elephant folio copy of John James Audubon’s The Birds of America. Volume 3 (1851). The exhibition draws upon a wide variety of materials from Special Collections, including archival material from physicist, Richard Herzog; drawings from ichthyologist and GCRL museum founder, Charles Eric Dawson; logs from ichthyologist, A.G. Fish; and Stennis photography gifted by Bettie Cox.

The exhibition is free and open to the public from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday to Friday, through Friday, Oct. 17. To schedule a class visit, please contact Lorraine.Stuart@usm.edu.