researchers as well as the needs of visiting scholars , government agencies , schools , and conservation organizations alike .
Natural history collections are an especially useful tool because each specimen is real , tangible evidence of the time and The older the collection , the more it can tell us about change over time . place it came from - unlike a written note or photograph . A single specimen contains far more than a single data point , so researchers can return to each one , year after year , with new questions and new techniques - and still find new answers .
The Nat ’ s collection of more than eight million specimens , spans 1.9 billion years and represents hundreds of thousands of species from around the world . Its strength , however , lies in its emphasis on our local region . As the oldest natural history collection in the Southwest , it is an invaluable and irreplaceable resource for understanding the past , present , and future of the Californias .
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Every specimen tells a story about the time and place in which it lived .
Nat ’ s collection is housed behind the scenes , but thousands of their specimens are on display too . Their exhibition Unshelved : Cool Stuff from Storage lets the beauty of nature speak for itself with specimens of all shapes , sizes , textures and colors . Extraordinary Ideas from Ordinary People : A History of Citizen Science features rare books and artifacts from their Research Library . A fan favorite , Fossil Mysteries , consists almost entirely of fossils found in southern California , while Expedition Baja highlights specimens from the Baja Peninsula . Finally , the Nat ’ s Nature to You Loan Library
Museums store specimens from the past and present to answer the questions of the future . features retired specimens
and taxidermy displays available for members of the public to rent .
They say that a picture tells a thousand words . The Nat ’ s collections prove that specimens tell thousands more , and inspire countless questions along the way .
www . sdnat . org / science / collections
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