Museum Review

The Conner Museum, housed in Ableson Hall (named for Philip Hauge Ableson, Washington State University alum who worked on the Manhattan Project and who, along with colleague Edwin M. McMillan, co-discovered the element Neptunium) is Washington State University’s museum of natural history. Housing a substantial vertebrate collection, the Conner Museum seems to place a special emphasis on their bird and mammal collections. Scattered among the sizable collection of stuffed animals are displays highlighting specific ideas significant to the contemporary understanding of the study of natural history. These exhibit displays range in subject matter from “Darwin’s Voyage of Discovery,” to “Coastal Sightings” of birds in the Pacific Northwest, to the somewhat mysteriously named “How Species Form.” For the purposes of this review, I will be examining a single display exhibit in the Conner Museum’s East Gallery, entitled “The New Science of Ancient DNA.”

In terms of content, “The New Science of Ancient DNA” can be divided into three main sub-topics: an explanatory section discussing just what exactly ancient DNA is, a section of “HITS and MISSES,” and a section exploring the genetic relationship between elephants and mammoths. The exhibit seems to make the assumption that the viewer understands what DNA is (that is not an unreasonable assumption to make, in my opinion) and instead jumps straight into explaining the details of the process of ancient DNA extraction, and the ways in which that data can then be applied. In what I see as being the “first” section (because it is the most fundamental in understanding the other two), there are two bulleted sub-sections entitled “Ancient DNA: What is it?” and “Examples of Ancient DNA Research.” These two sections do a reasonably good job of breaking down a complex scientific process into one that anyone with only a modicum of prior knowledge can understand. This section is also aided by the integration of graphics: “the only known photograph of a living quagga” which is significant for being the first ancient creature from which DNA was extracted, and a chart of select extinct animals from which DNA has been extracted, by date. These graphics are useful in increasing understanding as well as establishing increased visual interest.

The “next” section discusses the difficulties that can arise in attempting to extract DNA from an ancient source due to DNA degradation and the high risk of contamination. The “HITS” are, of course, ancient sources from which DNA has been successfully extracted, while the “MISSES have been unsuccessful. In addition to listing the hits and misses in blocks of text, this section also provides artifacts as a tangible visual aid of what kinds of things DNA can and cannot be extracted from. The hits include human saliva from yucca quids and turkey DNA from fossilized dung, while the misses include fossilized plants and insects trapped in amber.

The third sub-topic discussed in this display is how DNA analysis can help scientists to determine just how closely related modern pachyderms are to ancient mammoths. This is supported by a graphic of the family tree of “elephant-like species” as well as a map showing where viable mastodon DNA has been found. The actual objects that are included in this section include a fossilized mammoth femur and tooth, as well as a modern elephant tooth for comparison. This helps the viewer see a tangible, three-dimensional comparison of one of the attributes common to these two creatures. I do believe, however, that these objects would have benefitted from a text box explaining the similarities and differences between these teeth in both form and function, because I am sure that the subject must have more nuance than the layperson is going to be able to grasp without an explanation. This section also includes a fun antique illustration of a woolly mammoth from the American Museum of Natural History.

“The New Science of Ancient DNA” is a significant exhibit not because of any information it may convey directly about natural history or the environmental sciences. Instead, it focuses on illuminating one of the many technologically advanced processes by which that data can be collected. I personally believe that understanding the process of how things come to be known, or their epistemology, is incredibly important, which is part of what drew me to this display. I am also fascinated by the ways in which different, seemingly discreet areas of learning can combine can combine (e.g. genetics and anthropology) to help us learn more about the world. One other thing that caught my attention about this display is the small block of text explaining how WSU scholar “Dr. Brian Kemp and his colleagues are extracting DNA” to learn more about human migration and turkey domestication. Since the Conner Museum is a part of a major scientific research institution, it is nice to see the work of academics in the wider institution (even the Department of Anthropology) being acknowledged. Though it may benefit from explaining certain things more thoroughly, overall “The New Science of Ancient DNA” is an engaging and successful display for a small natural history museum on a budget.