What’s New at JSNM

This summer, the Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum is undertaking a project to get certified as an arboretum, the second one in Lisle, IL, The Arboretum Village.  We will be working with summer research students, staff, and volunteers to meet the Arbnet Certification Program Level I requirements.  These specify that we have a written plan, establish a governing body, have a minimum of 25 labeled tree and woody plant species, support our activities with staff or volunteers, and allow public access including at least one public or educational event each year.

While the campus is open to the public, once the accreditation is finalized, tree walks led by student or volunteer guides will be offered.  Guides will be able to identify the various species and provide some fun facts about each of the more than 60 species on campus.

A new herbarium display, located in the back of the museum, will bolster these efforts and illustrate plant biology.  An herbarium holds a collection of dried plant specimens that are catalogued for easy access.  The display highlights some of the several thousand specimens in the museum’s plant collection, including a few of the more unique specimens.  Herbaria collections methods are shown including some of our historic plant presses.  The display includes slides of plant parts including many large-format slides containing paper-thin transects, or slices, of tree limbs.  Transects allow the viewer to perceive structure, color, and variations of wood and bark.

Another new display shows the microscopes that have been used in Benedictine research programs during the late 1800s to the late 1900s.  A couple of slide formats are presented including the popular 1″ x 3″ glass slides containing small biological specimens and large-format slides containing slices of plants that are thin enough to allow light through to highlight cell structures.

Early microscopes were “simple,” containing one piece of convex glass that provided 200-300 times magnification.  Compound microscopes are the current standard, using two pieces of glass that provide 1000 times magnification.  Confocal microscopes use laser light to scan dyed images, and scanning electron microscopes use specialized detectors to form an image from reflected electrons.  Some scopes are back-lit, shining light through a mount to the viewer, while others may be front-lit to view 3-D surfaces in greater detail.

Another new display shows animal skulls and bones and highlights how we learn about their form and function.  Many species have all the same types of bones arranged in different combinations.  From these structures, we can learn which directions an animal is able to see, how the body moves, what types of food are consumed, and how a species defends itself.

The summer period is only eight weeks long, but we have nature wellness walks scheduled for the second and fourth Wednesday mornings at 9:00am in June and July. Consider joining us to take a guided walk around Lake St. Benedict. Obtain information and sign up by clicking on the following picture:

The museum is open for everyone, by appointment, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 10:00am to 2:00pm.  If you or your group would like to visit, please sign up on our reservation system by clicking on the following picture: