Content area
Full text
About the Authors:
Anna E. Hiller
* E-mail: [email protected] (AEH); [email protected] (CC)
Current address: LSU Museum of Natural Science, Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States of America
Affiliation: Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, California, United States of America
ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4735-487X
Carla Cicero
* E-mail: [email protected] (AEH); [email protected] (CC)
Affiliation: Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, California, United States of America
Monica J. Albe
Affiliation: Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, California, United States of America
Theresa L. W. Barclay
Affiliation: Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, California, United States of America
Carol L. Spencer
Affiliation: Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, California, United States of America
Michelle S. Koo
Affiliation: Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, California, United States of America
Rauri C. K. Bowie
Affiliations Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, California, United States of America, Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California, United States of America
Eileen A. Lacey
Affiliations Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, California, United States of America, Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California, United States of AmericaAbstract
Museums have an untapped potential to engage students in hands-on learning. Here, we describe the development of a tiered museum-based program at the University of California, Berkeley as a model for engaging undergraduates in biodiversity science. This decade-long effort to increase student participation in collections demonstrates the mutual benefits of undergraduate involvement. Museums benefit from critical help in collections care and an increased intellectual vitality, while students simultaneously gain essential research skills and an unparalleled exposure to biodiversity. Five first steps to creating a program are: dedicate a coordinator, offer credit, diversify participation, create a tiered structure, and build community.
Citation: Hiller AE, Cicero C, Albe MJ, Barclay TLW, Spencer CL, Koo MS, et al. (2017) Mutualism in museums: A model for engaging undergraduates in biodiversity science. PLoS Biol 15(11): e2003318. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.2003318
Published: November 21, 2017
Copyright: © 2017 Hiller et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source...