The Joe Webb Peoples Fossil Collection
At Wesleyan University
Our Deinotherium giganteum (Kaup, 1829) specimen (one of our collection of Ward’s Casts, like Shelley the Glyptodon) is under restoration after its long disappearance into storage, starting at the closing of the Wesleyan Natural History museum in Orange Judd Hall of Natural Sciences in 1957. The original from which our cast was made was found in the ‘Deinotherium … Read more
We recently discovered a fascinating framed mount of specimens showing the life cycle of the Ailanthus Silk Moth. As far as we know, it was purchased from a natural history supplies company in New York in the early 20th century. The Ailanthus Silkmoth (Samia cynthia Drury) is an introduced species in North America. It was … Read more
Fossilisation is nature’s way of preserving traces of once living organisms, humans too have devised ways to intervene with decomposition and to preserve life in a more predictable and accessible manner. We are a species of control freaks. The business of science in the 1800s was to collect and classify all known life on the … Read more
The Joe Webb Peoples Museum of Natural History is thrilled to welcome the seminar presenter for the Summer Research in the Sciences programme at Wesleyan – Dr. Warren D. Allmon. Aligning with our current mission of resurrecting Wesleyan’s natural history collections, Dr. Allmon was instrumental in the rejuvenation of the Paleontological Research Institution’s (PRI) internationally-known … Read more
As the Spring comes to an end, we celebrate the fruitful school year that has passed by, once again a little too swiftly. For us at the Joe Webb Peoples museum, nothing is more suitable for this time than to showcase the spectacular specimens that we have been restoring, as well as the exhibits … Read more
The results of our ‘name Glyptodon‘ contest are in, and she will be called: ‘Shelley the Glyptodon‘. Here we want to share the many creative and inventive suggestions made, and thank you all for participating, by suggesting names or voting for your favorite, as well as for showing your appreciation for our own Wesleyan Shelley the … Read more
We are excited to welcome Melanie McCalmont to Wesleyan. Melanie McCalmont is a geographer and data scientist. She has a Master’s degree in Geography, and a Master’s degree in Life Science Communication, both from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Melanie is the national expert on historic 3-dimensional relief models. She has been a relief model consultant to … Read more
The labyrinth of tunnels beneath the carefully manicured landscape of Wesleyan has inspired the imagination and indulgence of many generations of students. There is always something about the Forbidden that beckons. Yet there is one secret that our campus holds to which many may not be privy to. Above Level 6 of Exley Science Centre … Read more
Waking from a 60 year-old torpor, our Glyptodon no longer remembers her name. Nevertheless, she would love to hear you call her each time you walk by, so do come up with an exciting name that she will love! The contestant who nominated the chosen name will win a genuine fossil from Wesleyan’s 190 year-old natural history … Read more
We are very excited to announce a visit to Wesleyan by Dr. Kirk Johnson, Sant Director, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. Dr Johnson will give a public lecture: Natural History in the Age of Humans. The lecture is scheduled for 1 March 2018, 7:30 pm, in room Shanklin 107, and will be followed by … Read more