Cats of Connecticut

Cats of Connecticut

On January 10, Fierce and Fragile: Big Cats in the Art of Robert Dallet will open at the Bruce Museum. This exhibit combines the stunning big cat artwork of Robert Dallet with the science of conserving these majestic beasts. While we don’t have lions or tigers roaming the town of Greenwich, many other felines make Connecticut their home.

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The Mysteries of Mint

The Mysteries of Mint

Among the many seasonal flavors of winter, peppermint is one of my personal favorites. Whether it’s peppermint-flavored coffee, candy canes, or just the peppermint wafers themselves, there’s something for everyone in peppermint this time of year. While chewing on some peppermint candy, you may notice a cold feeling in your mouth. Peppermint doesn’t actually cause the temperature to decrease in your mouth; it feels cold because of a particular quirk of biology. 

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The Ever-Moving North Pole (Why Santa has to Move Every Year)

The Ever-Moving North Pole (Why Santa has to Move Every Year)

Santa Claus famously lives and works at the North Pole, but which North Pole? There are actually two North Poles of the Earth. One is the Geographic North Pole. This pole is aligned (but not exactly) with the rotational axis of the Earth and is the northernmost place on maps. The second North Pole is the Magnetic North Pole, the location that compasses will point to as north. If Santa wanted to keep his home on the Magnetic North Pole he’d have a hard time of it. Magnetic North is always moving.

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How to Prepare a Phareodus

How to Prepare a Phareodus

A 52 million year old fish fossil, a large predatory fish, Phareodus encaustis from the Green River Formation, was excavated in a Wyoming quarry and brought back to the Field Museum for fossil preparation in 2015. This fossil would eventually end up as a centerpiece of the Bruce Museum's Secrets of Fossil Lake exhibition, but first it needed to be prepared!

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