By Ana Martinez-Ortiz
Chicago Field Museum
This Saturday, September 23, 2017, the Chicago Field Museum is hosting its fourth annual ID Day. Both members and nonmembers alike are encouraged to bring their questions, their objects and of course their curiosity.
For years, the Field Museum has received calls asking for help in identifying various objects be it an animal, an insect, a rock or even a fossil. And while the scientists at the museum are more than happy to help, to combat the onslaught of calls they created ID Day.
Kate Golembiewski, a PR rep for the museum recalls receiving a call from a woman in Martha’s Vineyard about a moth she had captured. The woman believed she had found a black gypsy moth and wanted the museum to confirm its identification. Although she was sure, the woman offered to mail in the moth, an offer which Golembiewsk politely refused.
The incident wasn’t the first nor the last Golembiewski has seen. She believes that the museum’s reputation within Chicago and the science community lends itself to being one of the better well-known places to come to when people are in search of identifying their discoveries.
The museum chose to initiate ID Day to reach out to other explorers and collectors who have questions concerning their findings.
For example, last year, a man brought in a quartz crystal his dog dug up in their backyard, and a couple from Michigan brought their collection of Chicago Field Museum stones. A geologist helped the man identify the type of quartz and looked at the couple’s rock collection, according to Golembiewski.
ID Day starts at 10 am till 2 pm, and will be held in the main hall where Sue the infamous tyrannosaurs rex stands. Tables featuring various topics, including birds, seashells, gems and invertebrates to name a few, will be displayed throughout the hall with objects from the museum’s collection. Additionally, scientists who study zoology, paleontology, geology, and more, will be available to answer questions.
“[Visitors can] go up to a table that interests you and talk to a scientist,” Golembiewski said.
Although admission is only free for Illinois residents, everyone is encouraged to attend.
The Field Museum’s next exhibit, Ancient Mediterranean Cultures in Contact, will open in October.