Experimental Musings

As our population grows, we will need more and more places for us humans to do our human things. This means, as we grow, we tend to convert natural spaces into developed areas. An urban environment is quite different from a natural landscape and thus has its own variables and concerns.

Humans have transplanted crops all over the globe and have ushered in the era of modern agriculture, but what happens when the environment for specific crops changes?

What insect is about as old as the dinosaurs, lives on every non-frozen continent, and might be able to tell us about how species could adapt to our planet’s changing climate? Let’s talk about those little social creatures: ants.

Last summer, the Museum received a grant to work on a unique project to measure the city’s temperature in various places all at once during a heat wave. Our goal was to identify the strength of Richmond’s “urban heat island effect.”

Many Virginians enjoy the outdoors by breathing in mountain air, hiking our many trails, or hanging out near a favorite water spot. It’s great for our bodies, and it’s even good for our mental health.