Invertebrate Insights

Invertebrate Insights is a series of projects and events centered around the development of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside Natural History Collection and designed to engage community members in science. The collection is comprised primarily of local Wisconsin taxa, with an emphasis on insects (including aquatics) and spiders with smaller numbers of several other non-insect invertebrate groups. All events and resources are open to the campus community and the public.

Join us for Science Night March 19th at 6:30pm in Greenquist 103.

Come and learn about community based science projects from Milwaukee Public Museum graduate student researcher Kathryn Sullivan in her talk From Field to Pin: Wisconsin Statewide Community Science Project.

Through this talk, scientists and the public can learn about local biodiversity by gathering data from the field and accessing a record of the past through natural history collections. Community involvement is especially crucial as biodiversity loss may be occurring at an incalculable rate with current monitoring. The Milwaukee Public Museum Wisconsin Statewide Community Science Project connects people across Wisconsin in learning together through participation in biodiversity research. Come learn about the work done by community members across the state in characterizing the important diversity in our home.

Annotation/Identification day was a full day event where invertebrate experts, taxonomists, students, and community members from UW campuses across the state of Wisconsin came together to identify and document as many specimens in the UW Parkside Natural History Collection as they could in a single day. Though the event only lasted only a day, the project is ongoing as the collection continues to grow. To find out more or get involved, contact Jessica Orlofske at orlofske@uwp.edu.