Science Division Videos and Podcasts

Have you ever looked at a fossil fragment or a bed of bones encased in rock and thought, “how do paleontologists know what they’re looking at?” It’s all about having the right tools to get the job done. In the Digital Research Lab imaging tools create colorful, movable animations that let researchers look inside chunks of rock or examine minute details, revealing features and finds that could have gone undiscovered. 

December 9, 2022

Did you know that every time you enjoy a meal of chicken, duck, or turkey, you are actually enjoying some delicious dinosaur? But how did this change occur? What clues do scientists look for? Find out on this virtual behind-the-scenes trip with Museum paleontologists and ornithologists as they explore evolution with fossils, natural history collections, and more. 

November 18, 2022

Situated in the Southwest and often overlooked as far as historic cultures go, the Mogollon serve as a historical “weathervane” of sorts for what was hip hundreds of years ago. What can we learn from studying these Native American peoples? And how can we study them in a way that’s responsible and respectful?

September 23, 2022

Humans have taken spiders into space more than once to study the importance of gravity to their web building and prey capture behaviors. Here, Dr. Paula E. Cushing, Senior Curator of Invertebrate Zoology at the Museum, discusses this research and why we need spiders in space.

July 12, 2022

Join Dr. James Hagadorn for a glimpse at our extensive mineral collection and learn about what a seemingly ordinary rock can reveal about the past, present and future of our planet.

May 5, 2022

What’s so amazing about arachnids? Join Dr. Paula Cushing to find out how these eight-legged wonders adapt, behave, and even help humans with this live look at invertebrate biology.

February 24, 2022

Mammals originated at roughly the same time as dinosaurs but are much less well known because most of them were small and, in some cases, very small. Dr. David Krause, a mammalian paleontologist at the DMNS, will examine the range of Mesozoic mammals now known, including recent discoveries . . . . and a few surprises. 

December 15, 2021

Join Dr. Garth Spellman to examine examples of efforts to change English common names to better reflect the diverse scientific or lay communities that study and connect to nature through birds.

October 20, 2021

Have you ever looked at a fossil fragment or a bed of bones encased in rock and thought, “how do paleontologists know what they’re looking at?” Learn about the role of digital research lab technician Lindsay Dougan.

September 27, 2021

Join Dr. James Hagadorn to learn more about the Codell Sandstone.

September 15, 2021

Join Zoology Preparator Andie Carrillo on an exciting behind the scenes tour of the creepy crawlies found inside the DMNS dermestarium.

August 19, 2021

Get to know Dr. Michele Koons, who specializes in Andean, Southwest and public archaeology.

July 30, 2021

Join PhD student Ryan Jones to see how spiders help us understand evolution, maintain ecosystem health, develop novel medicines and create biomimetic materials.

August 12, 2021

The impacts of colonization on Haida tattooing practices and the integration of bracelets.

August 5, 2021

2000 year old shoes: Functional. Fashionable. Fabulous – and we’re experimenting on them! The museum’s Teen Science Anthropology Scholars are spending their summer with millennia-old shoes.

July 15, 2021

Learn about preserving waterlogged conifer cones from the Snowmass site near Aspen, Colorado from Dr. Kathryn Reusch.

July 1, 2021

Join Dr. James Hagadorn to discuss a new type of fossil preservation, discovered right here in Colorado, but that occurs all over the world.

June 3, 2021

How exactly do paleontologists know the age of an individual dinosaur (or any other fossil vertebrate)? Join Dr. Holger Peterman to learn how to be able to quickly tell whether the bones in front of you are from an adult or a juvenile.

May 27, 2021

Join Conservator Megan Salas to take a close look at a few items that are currently in the conservation lab as part of the IMLS grant focused on the Northwest Coast Collection.

May 20, 2021

Listen to Collections Manager Dominique Alhambra discuss documenting, moving and rehousing the 3,200 objects from the African and Central and South American collections into the Avenir Collections Center.

May 13, 2021

Join Dr. Erin Baxter in a view of unpublished 100 year old photographs that tell new stories about 1000 year old Pueblo from New Mexico.

April 29, 2021

From new translations and analysis of coffin construction and wood to radiocarbon dating, learn about the latest science  in Egyptian mummies and coffins from Dr. Michele Koons and Caroline Arbuckle MacLeod, postdoctoral researcher at the University of British Columbia.

April 16, 2021

Curator of Invertebrate Zoology, Dr. Paula Cushing, will explain how new species are named and how species names are chosen.

April 15, 2021

Join chief preparator Natalie Toth and earth sciences preparator Salvador Bastien for a behind-the-scenes look at the tools and techniques used to get a fossil ready for research and exhibition! 

April 8, 2021

Join Dr. John Demboski, curator of mammals, as he talks about the fascinating story of Colorado’s last grizzly bear, killed after attacking a hunting guide in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado in 1979. That grizzly ended up in the museum’s collections and to this day is a source of interest and intrigue.

May 8, 2020

Join Associate Curator of Ornithology, Dr. Garth Spellman, as he discusses avian practical jokes from the relatively mundane (think Dad jokes) to the downright horrible.

April 1, 2021

Earth is the only place in the entire universe with a biosphere that is uniquely suited to keeping us alive. Explore the universe with Dr. KaChun Yu.

March 18, 2021

 Earth Sciences collections managers Kristen MacKenzie and Nicole Neu-Yagle share their inspirations and achievements as women in STEAM.

March 13, 2021

Zoology preparator Andie Carrillo works behind the scenes of the museum, studying animal specimens to learn about their lives and environments from their physical characteristics, and preparing each specimen to be kept in our collection and studied by other researchers for years to come.

February 9, 2021

Join collections manager Dominique Alhambra and curator of archaeology Dr. Michele Koons for a tour in the Anthropology collections. We'll visit objects from regions and cultures around the world.

January 29, 2021

Learn from research manager Tiffany Nuessle why smell is potentially the most underrated sense we have.

January 21, 2021

To better understand the diversity and distribution of shrews in the state, we’ve been using genetics to ID the shrews in our museum collection. Join curator of mammals, Dr. John Demboski, to learn how this has led to some interesting findings.  

December 10, 2020

Join Dr. Tyler Lyson, associate curator of vertebrate paleontology, for a discussion on how the fossil records of plants and animals help to address the tempo and cause(s) of Earth's last mass extinction event.

November 13, 2020

Join Senior Curator of Archaeology Dr. Steve Nash for a brief discussion about the Museum's decade-long and ultimately successful effort to repatriate sacred grave posts the Mijikenda of Kenya.

May 8. 2020

"Attenborough’s Beauty" was on display in the Prehistoric Journey exhibition for decades waiting to be identified. Dr. Frank Krell and Francesco Vitali from the National Museum of Natural History of Luxembourg worked together to identify this new species.

October 20, 2021

In this episode, we talk with Dr. KaChun Yu about his work with the museum’s space science program, about creating visuals for planetariums, and how humans learn outside of a traditional classroom setting.

April, 2021

Join Dr. Tyler Lyson and Dr. Antoine Bercovici to hear about the exciting new discovery in Colorado Springs: Rise of the Mammals.

January 10, 2020

Join Dr. David Krause to learn more about the discovery of a new, bizarre 66-million-old mammal in Madagascar.

April 29, 2020

Dr. Rich Barclay, paleobotanist at the Smithsonian, talks about finding the oldest legume fossil on the planet found at Corral Bluffs. 

January 9, 2020

Meet our Senior Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology, Dr. David Krause, and listen to him talk about the incredible Colorado Springs discovery.

January 10, 2020