Defining the "Edges" of Life On Earth

Chicago Ideas Week (CIW) is an innovative gathering of ideas and presentations to innovate and fuel new ways to look at the world. Past speakers include David Axelrod, Hillary Clinton, Naomi Judd, George Lucas and Reverend Al Sharpton. Invited to the 2014 CIW Edison Talks, Bill Stanley, Director of the Collections Center at the Field, used specimens to explain how study of the diverse and unique library of material housed at the Museum constantly re-defines our understanding of earth.  Of all the specimens and artifacts within the Field Museum, less than one percent are on display and available for public viewing. The vast majority of the collections housed at the Field are the subject of scientific inquiry and study by scientists from all over the world. Because of this, these collections define the “edges” of life on earth, past and present, and are used to predict the future of the cultural and biological diversity of this planet of ours.  These “edges” constantly change, as new collections-based research build upon, re-evaluate or even refute older studies.