Artifacts

Kids & Cryptozoology: Alberta Style

I enjoy leading workshops with children, of course, because future cryptozoologists are out there. Recently, in Alberta, some kids got to attend a “dragons day camp.” While there, I spoke to them about cryptozoology on a Monday. Here I am, looking as if a wood bison is about ready to charge me. What’s so incredible about having so many taxidermy-available wood bison in one place is that the Royal Alberta Museum even has one in their children’s classroom. I was honored to be able to write “Cryptozoology” on the work board, as a wood bison graced the same space. Here’s [...]

Secrets of Room N008

You remember the scene from the end of the first Indiana Jones movie? Recall the endless rows of boxes in storage in that secret warehouse? Of course, the reality is that most large museums around the world actually do have such storage areas. The “outfront” exhibits at most museums are impressive. But, for example, I was reminded quickly in Alberta, once again, that less than 10% of the holdings of a museum are what the public sees. The Columbian mammoth is on exhibit in Alberta with other Pleistocene mammals. When I visited the Royal Alberta Museum, the director of Communications, [...]

New Yeti Hairs and Hillary

The Yeti hair sample shows split ends. The first update to the testing of the Yeti hair sample is in, and the results are “inconclusive,” not too surprisingly. Initial results showed it had human and ape-like characteristics. Ian Redmond, a biologist and expert in ape conservation, said the hairs found in the Indian jungle resembled samples collected by the conqueror of Everest, Sir Edmund Hillary, in the 1950s. “Under the microscope, they look slightly human, slightly like an orang utang and slightly like the hairs brought back by Edmund Hillary,” Redmond told AFP. “These hairs remain an enigma. They could [...]