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Content
THE EVOLUTION OF NATURITY.ORG
by
Cristy Michelle Lytal
A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF ARTS
(SPECIALIZED JOURNALISM)
December 2013
Copyright 2013 Cristy Michelle Lytal
ii
Acknowledgments
Thank you to Luis Chiappe for opening the doors of the Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County and for teaching me to appreciate the diversity of life in deep
time. Thank you to Robert Hernandez for granting me the awesome and intoxicating
power of building Websites. And thank you to Michael Parks for being curious about
absolutely everything.
I’d also like to acknowledge the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County,
the American Museum of Natural History, the Field Museum, the Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History, Futurity.org editor Jenny Leonard, at least three
cohorts of USC master of specialized journalism students, two patient bosses, Sasha
Anawalt, Gabe Kahn, KC Cole, Dan Heller, my family and friends, and my cat Houdini.
You rock like geology, I dig you like the dinosaurs, and I’ve evolved so much
because of you.
iii
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements ii.
List of Figures iv.
Abstract v.
Chapter One: Beyond Dioramas, or Why We Need Naturity.org 1
Chapter Two: The Proposal for Naturity.org 4
Chapter Three: The Beta Version of Naturity.org 5
Figure 1: Screenshot of the Homepage 5
Figure 2: Screenshot of the About Naturity Page 7
Figure 3: Screenshot of an Article Post (“Insect traces on
fossils offer insights into Ice Age”) 8
Figure 4: Screenshot of a Video Post (“Video: Turtle shells appeared
40 million years earlier than previously believed”) 9
Figure 5: Screenshot of an Archive by
Category Page (Zoology & Botany) 10
Figure 6: Screenshot of an Archive by
Date Page (September 23, 2013) 11
Figure 7: Screenshot of an Archive by Tag Page (Birds) 12
Chapter Four: The Business Model for Naturity.org 13
Bibliography 19
Appendix: Potential Naturity.org Member Museums, Alphabetized by State 21
iv
List of Figures
Figure 1: Screenshot of the Homepage 5
Figure 2: Screenshot of the About Naturity Page 7
Figure 3: Screenshot of an Article Post (“Insect traces on fossils
offer insights into Ice Age”) 8
Figure 4: Screenshot of a Video Post (“Video: Turtle shells
appeared 40 million years earlier than previously believed”) 9
Figure 5: Screenshot of an Archive by Category Page (Zoology & Botany) 10
Figure 6: Screenshot of an Archive by Date Page (September 23, 2013) 11
Figure 7: Screenshot of an Archive by Tag Page (Birds) 12
v
Abstract
Naturity.org features the latest discoveries by scientists at top natural history
museums and related institutions. The nonprofit Website is supported solely by its
member museums in an effort to share research news directly with the public.
Membership is open to leading natural history museums, science centers,
aquariums, zoos, arboretums, botanic gardens, and planetariums accredited by
the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) or the Association of Zoos and
Aquariums (AZA).
Naturity benefits its member museums by aggregating a truly national audience of
readers and media consumers, and it serves and informs this audience by providing a
convenient one-stop shop for natural history news.
1
Chapter One: Beyond Dioramas, or Why We Need Naturity.org
For the average visitor, there are strange and amazing things to see at the Natural
History Museum of Los Angeles County. There are the preserved remains of a
coelacanth, a member of a group of giant endangered fish thought to have gone extinct in
the Late Cretaceous — until one was rediscovered in 1938 off the coast of South Africa
(Lavett Smith et al. 1975). There’s an itty-bitty dinosaur bone preserved in opal. And at a
certain time of the year, there are live, pale green Luna Moths with half-foot wingspans.
There are many other things that the average visitor will never get a chance to see.
Much of the work of natural history museums goes on behind the scenes, where the
general public doesn’t have access. Beyond the exhibition halls, there are rooms and off-
site warehouses containing everything from local insects to blue whale skulls, from
stuffed hummingbirds to jars of bats.
As a student and staff member at the University of Southern California, I work
and study across the street from this astonishing repository of the history of life, and I try
to make the most of our convenient co-location. Even so, the amount of time I spend at
this museum in one year doesn’t approach the amount of time I spend on my computer in
one week.
I’m hardly alone in this.
Adults are exposed to televisions, computers, tablets, smartphones, and other
screens for 8.5 hours a day, according to a 2009 study by the Council for Research
Excellence, a think tank created and funded by the Nielsen Company. The $3.5 million
2
study, conducted by researchers at Ball State University’s Center for Media Design,
recorded the behavior of 350 subjects for 952 days (Stelter 2009).
Museums know this, and they’ve put a dazzling array of press releases, blog
posts, videos, podcasts, photos, and more online. Their Websites offer everything from
digitized collections for researchers to interactive learning tools for children. This online
information provides a contemporary complement to the traditional hands-on exhibits
that are the hallmark of the natural history museum experience.
Unfortunately, this high-quality online content often languishes on individual
museum Websites due to their localized readerships. Research news of national
significance gets buried among announcements of local or internal relevance — exhibit
openings, fundraisers, promotions, new hires.
Making matters worse, media outlets from CNN to the Los Angeles Times have
laid off their science reporters and have stopped adequately covering this beat (Brainard
2008, Lucibella 2009).
So there’s currently no effective distribution method to deliver this valuable
museum content directly to an aggregated national audience of interested readers and
media consumers.
This limits museums’ ability to share information and research news with the
public, as well as the public’s ability to become informed. In a democracy where 46
percent of citizens don’t believe in evolution (Newport 2012) and 30 percent discount a
human hand in climate change (Leiserowitz et al. 2012), science illiteracy harms our
society and imperils our future.
3
What’s more: the public wants to be informed, and the interested audience is
already out there. During recent interviews conducted at the Natural History Museum of
Los Angeles County, about a dozen visitors — including teachers, parents, and students
ranging from elementary school to college — expressed a strong demand for natural
history news (Balekian 2013, Briggs 2013, Castillo 2013, Lawrence 2013, Quiros 2013,
Ruiz 2013, Denise Smith 2013, Zoe Smith 2013).
The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County also conducted a survey,
asking, “What would you like to read more about in our member magazine?” Fifty-eight
of the 129 people who responded said that they wanted to read more research news
(Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County 2011).
Of course, this fascination extends far beyond museum walls — 8 million people
worldwide subscribe to National Geographic (National Geographic Society 2012), and
the Discovery Channel’s Planet Earth is the most-watched original cable miniseries of all
time with more than 65 million viewers (Discovery Communications 2007).
My startup Naturity.org, a central Website for natural history news, allows
museums to share their latest research discoveries directly with this aggregated national
audience of people who clearly appreciate coelacanths as much as I do.
4
Chapter Two: The Proposal for Naturity.org
By serving as a central Website for natural history news, Naturity.org empowers
museums to “be their own journalists.” Financed and operated by participating natural
history museums and related institutions, Naturity shares research news directly with the
general public — including lay adults, researchers, educators, journalists, and students of
all ages.
For an annual membership fee, each museum has the opportunity to submit
existing content from their individual Websites or other sources to Naturity’s editors.
Membership is open to the 362 natural history museums, science centers,
aquariums, zoos, arboretums, botanic gardens, and planetariums accredited by the
American Alliance of Museums (AAM) or the Association of Zoos and Aquariums
(AZA) (American Alliance of Museums 2013, Association of Zoos and Aquariums
2013).
1
Naturity benefits its member museums by enabling them to tell their own
stories directly to an aggregated audience of interested readers and media consumers,
without relying on the popular press.
Naturity appeals to a wider public than any individual museum Website can.
Naturity aggregates this truly national audience, and it serves and informs this audience
by providing a convenient one-stop shop for natural history news through its Website as
well as its Facebook page, Twitter and RSS feeds, and e-newsletter.
1
See
Appendix.
5
Chapter Three: The Beta Version of Naturity.org
Figure 1: Screenshot of the Homepage
6
Figure 1: Screenshot of the Homepage (Continued)
7
Figure 2: Screenshot of the About Naturity Page
8
Figure 3: Screenshot of an Article Post (“Insect traces on fossils offer insights into
Ice Age”)
9
Figure 4: Screenshot of a Video Post (“Video: Turtle shells appeared 40 million years
earlier than previously believed”)
10
Figure 5: Screenshot of an Archive by Category Page (Zoology & Botany)
11
Figure 6: Screenshot of an Archive by Date Page (September 23, 2013)
12
Figure 7: Screenshot of an Archive by Tag Page (Birds)
13
Chapter Four: The Business Model for Naturity.org
Low-budget. This encapsulates Naturity.org’s business strategy, which is based
on an existing, tried-and-true model with the suspiciously similar-sounding name
Futurity.org. A nonprofit news Website launched in 2009, Futurity features the latest
discoveries by scientists at 65 top research universities. The Website is funded and
operated by participating universities in an effort to share their research news directly
with the public, rather than with the limited number of journalists still covering the
science beat (Leonard 2013).
Futurity, which relies on funding from member institutions, exemplifies the same
basic monetization strategy as Naturity — and it’s been a huge success.
According to Futurity’s editor Jenny Leonard, low overhead makes the
Website work.
“We’ve kept it simple,” she said, “and it’s inexpensive.”
The idea for Futurity arose in 2008 when Bill Murphy, vice president of
Communications at the University of Rochester, and his colleagues began discussing
alternative ways to distribute university research news at a time when many newspapers
and media outlets were shutting down their science desks. In collaboration with
communications officers at Duke and Stanford, who now serve on Futurity’s Governing
Board, Murphy and his colleagues decided to launch a Website aggregating the best
university research news (Leonard 2013).
“We decided that we would just try it, instead of trying to map it out first,” said
Leonard. “It was basically like, ‘Let’s just experiment.’ ”
14
A Web designer at the University of Rochester customized a WordPress theme,
and Futurity launched in 2009 with 30 university members, each paying $3,000 a year in
dues. To preserve Futurity’s brand integrity, the option to join is only extended to top
research universities — members of the Association of American Universities (AAU) in
the United States and Canada, the Russell Group in the United Kingdom, and the Group
of Eight in Australia. Futurity now has 65 members, with Harvard and MIT being the
most notable abstentions (Leonard 2013).
“When Futurity launched, there was a lot of pushback about this idea that public
relations was going to take over journalism, and I think they just didn’t want to project
any sense of conflict about their role in promoting science journalism and the next
generation of journalists,” explained Leonard. “And I think they don’t need help
promoting their work.”
Of the 65 members, approximately 75 percent submit at least a couple of stories
or videos each week. Futurity posts between 80 to 90 percent of these submissions,
excluding any news that has what Leonard describes as an “internal or ‘rah rah’ feel to it”
(Leonard 2013).
Futurity currently enjoys 350,000 monthly pageviews, 8,815 Facebook likes,
7,209 Twitter followers, and 6,500 e-newsletter subscribers, including a large contingent
of journalists and employees of government agencies and nonprofits. Futurity has
established formal syndication partnerships with the science and astronomy Website
EarthSky.org and with Silicon Valley entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki, who has more than
15
1.4 million Twitter followers. Good old Google search, however, is still the largest source
of traffic (Leonard 2013).
Leonard began as Futurity’s sole editor, with her salary subsidized by the
University of Rochester. In the past few years, membership dues have enabled Futurity to
hire two other full-time editors, pay for site hosting and IT support at the University of
Rochester, and complete a responsive redesign to keep up with the steady increase in the
Website’s mobile visitors, which now account for more than 10 percent of the total traffic
(Leonard 2013).
“I’m actually pleased that we’ve been able to do it on such a small budget,”
said Leonard.
If budgets at universities are tight, those at museums are even tighter. Naturity
needs to be an even leaner online operation.
For launching the beta version, total costs were under $350 — $251.64 for three
years of Website hosting by Bluehost, $26.97 for three years of the domain name
Naturity.org, and $39 for a pre-designed Website template or theme, which I customized
with a few limited forays into coding.
With the Website’s design in place, communications officers at four leading
museums — the American Museum of Natural History, the Field Museum, the Natural
History Museum of Los Angeles County, and the Smithsonian Institution National
Museum of Natural History — granted permission to post their press releases, blog posts,
photos, and videos. Naturity is now a functional, well-designed Website featuring a
16
year’s worth of content — approximately 300 videos and stories with photos — from its
four founding member museums.
Using this beta version as a proof of concept, Naturity now can begin to recruit its
first paying member museums from among those accredited by the Alliance of American
Museums (AAM) or the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) (American Alliance
of Museums 2013, Association of Zoos and Aquariums 2013).
Membership dues are charged on a tiered basis according to the number of staff
members employed at each museum: Small museums with up to 19 employees pay
subsidized dues of $500 a year. Once a museum hires its 20
th
employee, it pays full dues
of $2,500 a year. Dues cover the costs of editors’ salaries, Web design, site hosting, and
IT support. Site visitors do not pay a subscription fee.
As membership grows, senior staff members at certain museums may want to take
a leadership role by joining Naturity’s Executive Board. By serving in this capacity,
museum professionals will bring prestige to their institutions, positioning them at the
leading edge of science and natural history communication. In exchange, board members
will promote Naturity by participating in the Website’s fundraising efforts.
Another key source of support will be foundations dedicated to advancing
education, science, the environment, or innovation in journalism and communications.
The Knight Foundation’s Prototype Fund or the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s program on
the Public Understanding of Science, Technology & Economics present two solid
possibilities (Knight Foundation 2013, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation 2013).
17
Lastly, as Naturity gathers steam, integrating a “Support Naturity” button on the
Website’s homepage will offer visitors a secure way to make donations.
The next step will be to build Naturity’s audience. In terms of monthly
pageviews, the American Museum Website (amnh.org) attracts more than one million,
while the other founding member museums’ Websites (fieldmuseum.org, nhm.org, and
mnh.si.edu) receive in the 200,000 to 300,000 range (URLmetrics 2013).
To distill how many of these visitors are viewing research news as opposed to
ticket prices, directions, or other information, it’s instructive to look at the analytics for
smithsonianscience.org, the Smithsonian Institution's separate, dedicated Website
highlighting natural history research in the fields of anthropology, astrophysics,
conservation biology, geology, materials science, paleontology, and zoology. This site
garners 15,771 monthly pageviews from visitors specifically interested in the
Smithsonian Institution’s natural history research news (URLmetrics 2013).
These numbers suggest that Naturity must attract traffic on the order of tens of
thousands of monthly visits to provide a significant service to some of its larger and
higher-profile museum partners. For small museums, membership could be worthwhile
even if Naturity could only offer a thousand monthly pageviews.
In building this audience for Naturity, member museums and schools will be
natural allies, providing link backs, posting flyers, and activating their pre-existing
publicity machines. Naturity will also pursue syndication partnerships with other science
Websites, including Futurity. Naturity’s e-newsletter along with social media platforms
such as Facebook, Twitter, Google News, Reddit, StumbleUpon, Pinterest, and Instagram
18
will be critical tools for getting the word out. And popular natural history bloggers such
as paleontologist Darren Naish might be inspired to give an occasional shoutout to
Naturity as well.
Naturity’s business model allows the Website to scale up as membership
increases. In the four-member beta version, the Website only requires one part-time
editor, me. As membership grows, Naturity will gain the resources to staff up
accordingly.
In the future, this will enable Naturity to evolve beyond aggregating traditional
press releases, blog posts, and videos and to create original interactive content that builds
a nationwide community of natural history enthusiasts. Site visitors can pose questions
directly to museum experts through an interactive feature inviting users to “Ask a
Paleontologist” or “Ask a Herpetologist.” They can share their knowledge through wiki
projects such as Extinctopedia, the extinct portion of the Encyclopedia of Life, or a map
of important fossil finds. They can comment on articles and start discussion threads on
Naturity.org or on the Website’s Facebook or Twitter pages, expressing a depth of
engagement far more meaningful than the sheer number of pageviews.
And if Naturity compels a few people to walk through the doors of their local
museums for a hands-on experience of natural history — from coelacanths to dinosaur
fossils to Luna Moths — so much the better. There may not be a way to capture that on
Google Analytics, but this will still be a measure of success.
19
Bibliography
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. 2013. Public Understanding of Science, Technology &
Economics. Accessed September 25, 2013. http://www.sloan.org/major-program-
areas/public-understanding-of-science-technology-economics.
American Alliance of Museums. 2013. List of accredited museums: August 2013.
http://www.aam-us.org/docs/accreditation/list-of-accredited-museums.
Association of Zoos and Aquariums. 2013. List of accredited museums. Accessed
October 12, 2013. http://www.aza.org/findzooaquarium.
Balekian, Janet. 2013. Interview by Cristy Lytal. Natural History Museum of Los
Angeles County. March 9, 2013.
Brainard, Curtis. 2008. CNN cuts entire science, tech team. Columbia Journalism
Review, December 4, 2008. http://www.cjr.org/the_observatory/
cnn_cuts_entire_science_tech_t.php?page=all.
Briggs, Michelle. 2013. Interview by Cristy Lytal. Natural History Museum of Los
Angeles County. March 9, 2013.
Castillo, Andrea. 2013. Interview by Cristy Lytal. Natural History Museum of Los
Angeles County. March 9, 2013.
Discovery Communications. 2007. Discovery Channel’s Planet Earth the most watched
cable event, reaching over 65 million viewers. May 1, 2007.
http://corporate.discovery.com/discovery-news/discovery-channels-planet-earth-
most-watched-cable.
Futurity.org. Accessed September 25, 2013. http://www.futurity.org.
Knight Foundation. 2013. Knight Prototype Fund. Accessed September 25, 2013.
http://www.knightfoundation.org/funding-initiatives/knight-prototype-fund/.
Leonard, Jenny. 2013. Telephone interview by Cristy Lytal. March 1, 2013.
Lucibella, Michael. 2009. Science journalism faces perilous times. American Physical
Society News, April 2009.
http://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/200904/journalism.cfm.
Lavett Smith, C., Charles S. Rand, Bobb Schaeffer, and James W. Atz. 1975. Latimeria,
the living coelacanth, is ovoviviparous. Science 190, no. 4219: 1105–6.
doi:10.1126/science.190.4219.1105.
20
Lawrence, Steve. 2013. Interview by Cristy Lytal. Natural History Museum of Los
Angeles County. March 9, 2013.
Leiserowitz, Anthony, Edward Maibach, Connie Roser-Renouf, Geoff Feinberg, and
Peter Howe. 2012. Climate change in the American mind: Americans’ global
warming beliefs and attitudes in September, 2012. Yale University and George
Mason University. New Haven, CT: Yale Project on Climate Change
Communication. http://environment.yale.edu/climate/files/Climate-Beliefs-
September-2012.pdf.
National Geographic Society. 2012. Evolution of National Geographic magazine. June
2012. Accessed September 25, 2013.
http://press.nationalgeographic.com/files/2012/05/NGM-History-10-12.pdf.
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. 2011. How’s your Naturalist?
November 8, 2011.
Naturity.org. Accessed September 25, 2013. http://www.naturity.org.
Newport, Frank. 2012. In U.S., 46% hold creationist view of human origins. Gallup, June
1, 2012. http://www.gallup.com/poll/155003/hold-creationist-view-human-
origins.aspx.
Quiros, Jonathan. 2013. Interview by Cristy Lytal. Natural History Museum of Los
Angeles County. March 9, 2013.
Ruiz, Rebecca. 2013. Interview by Cristy Lytal. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles
County. March 9, 2013.
Smith, Denise. 2013. Interview by Cristy Lytal. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles
County. March 9, 2013.
Smith, Zoe. 2013. Interview by Cristy Lytal. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles
County. March 9, 2013.
Stelter, Brian. 2009. 8 hours a day spend on screens, study finds. New York Times, March
26, 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/27/business/media/27adco.html.
URLmetrics. 2013. Accessed September 25, 2013. http://urlm.co.
21
Appendix: Potential Naturity.org Member Museums,
Alphabetized by State
The accrediting body for U.S. museums is the American Alliance of Museums,
or AAM, so its Website features a big list of more than 800 accredited museums of
everything from fine art to the history of tenements. The accrediting body for U.S. zoos
and aquariums is the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, or AZA. Culled from the
AAM and AZA membership lists, this is a targeted list of 362 potential Naturity.org
member museums, including accredited natural history museums, science centers,
aquariums, zoos, arboretums, botanic gardens, and planetariums. This list excludes
museums dedicated solely to aerospace and man-made technologies.
1. Anniston Museum of Natural History, Anniston, AL
2. Birmingham Zoo, Birmingham, AL
3. Alaska SeaLife Center, Seward, AK
4. The Pratt Museum, Homer Society of Natural History, Homer, AK
5. University of Alaska Museum of the North, Fairbanks, AK
6. Arizona-Senora Desert Museum, Tucson, AZ
7. Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, AZ
8. Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff, AZ
9. Phoenix Zoo, Phoenix, AZ
10. Reid Park Zoo, Tucson, AZ
11. The Arts and Science Center for Southeast Arkansas, Pine Bluff, AR
12. Little Rock Zoo, Little Rock, AR
13. Museum of Discovery, Little Rock, AR
22
14. Aquarium of the Bay, San Francisco, CA
15. Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach, CA
16. Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA
17. Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, San Pedro, CA
18. California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA
19. California Science Center, Los Angeles, CA
20. Charles Paddock Zoo, Atascadero, CA
21. Chula Vista Nature Center, Chula Vista, CA
22. CuriOdyssey, San Mateo, CA
23. Descanso Gardens, La Cañada, CA
24. Fresno Chaffee Zoo, Fresno, CA
25. Happy Hollow Zoo, San Jose, CA
26. The Lindsay Wildlife Museum, Walnut Creek, CA
27. The Living Desert, Palm Desert, CA
28. Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens, Los Angeles, CA
29. Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey, CA
30. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA
• George C. Page Museum of La Brea Discoveries
• William S. Hart Museum
31. Oakland Museum of California, Oakland, CA
32. Oakland Zoo, Oakland, CA
33. Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, Pacific Grove, CA
23
34. Palm Springs Desert Museum, Palm Springs, CA
35. Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden at Claremont, Claremont, CA
36. Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology, Claremont, CA
37. Riverside Metropolitan Museum, Riverside, CA
38. Sacramento Zoo, Sacramento, CA
39. Safari West Wildlife Preserve, Santa Rosa, CA
40. San Diego Natural History Museum, San Diego, CA
41. San Diego Zoo Global, San Diego, CA
• San Diego Zoo
• San Diego Zoo Safari Park
42. San Francisco Zoological Gardens, San Francisco, CA
43. Santa Ana Zoo, Santa Ana, CA
44. Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, Santa Barbara, CA
45. Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Santa Barbara, CA
• Ty Warner Sea Center
46. Santa Barbara Zoological Gardens, Santa Barbara, CA
47. SeaWorld San Diego, San Diego, CA
48. Sequoia Park Zoo, Eureka, CA
49. Steinhart Aquarium, San Francisco, CA
50. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Colorado Springs, CO
51. Denver Botanic Gardens, Denver, CO
52. Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Denver, CO
24
53. Denver Zoo, Denver, CO
54. Landry’s Downtown Aquarium – Denver, Denver, CO
55. Museum of Western Colorado, Grand Junction, CO
• Cross Orchards Historic Farm
• Museum of the West
• Dinosaur Journey Museum, Fruita, CO
56. Pueblo Zoo, Pueblo, CO
57. University of Colorado Museum of Natural History, Boulder, CO
58. The Bruce Museum of Arts and Science, Greenwich, CT
59. Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo, Bridgeport, CT
60. Earthplace: The Nature Discovery Center, Westport, CT
61. Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, Norwalk, CT
62. Mystic Aquarium, Mystic, CT
63. Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, CT
64. Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC
65. Smithsonian Institution National Zoological Park, Washington, DC
66. United States Botanic Garden, Washington, DC
67. Brandywine Zoo, Wilmington, DE
68. Atlantis, Paradise Island, Plantation, FL
69. The Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum, Sanibel, FL
70. Brevard Zoo, Melbourne, FL
71. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Tampa, FL
25
72. Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens, Sanford, FL
73. Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Lake Buena Vista, FL
74. The Florida Aquarium, Tampa, FL
75. Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, FL
76. Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, Jacksonville, FL
77. Lion Country Safari, Loxhatchee, FL
78. Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, Sarasota, FL
79. Miami Museum of Science, Miami, FL
80. Mote Marine Aquarium, Sarasota, FL
81. Museum of Arts & Sciences, Daytona Beach, FL
82. Museum of Discovery and Science, Fort Lauderdale, FL
83. Museum of Science & History of Jacksonville, Jacksonville, FL
84. Museum of Science and Industry, Tampa, FL
85. Naples Zoo, Naples, FL
86. Orlando Science Center, Orlando, FL
87. Palm Beach Zoo, West Palm Beach, FL
88. Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo, Gainesville, FL
89. The Seas, Lake Buena Vista, FL
90. SeaWorld Orlando, Orlando, FL
91. St. Augustine Alligator Farm, Saint Augustine, FL
92. Tallahassee Museum of History & Natural Science, Tallahassee, FL
93. Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo, Tampa, FL
26
94. Zoo Miami, Miami, FL
95. Chehaw Wild Animal Park, Albany, GA
96. Fernbank Museum of Natural History, Atlanta, GA
97. Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta, GA
98. Georgia Southern University Museum, Statesboro, GA
99. The Museum of Arts & Sciences, Macon, GA
100. Zoo Atlanta, Atlanta, GA
101. Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu, HI
102. Honolulu Zoo, Honolulu, HI
103. Lyman Museum, Hilo, HI
104. The Herrett Center for Arts and Science, College of Southern Idaho, Twin Falls, ID
105. Idaho Museum of Natural History, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID
106. Tautphaus Park Zoo, Idaho Falls, ID
107. Zoo Boise, Boise, ID
108. Adler Planetarium, Chicago, IL
109. Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe, IL
110. Chicago Zoological Society – Brookfield Zoo, Chicago, IL
111. Cosley Zoo, Wheaton, IL
112. Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL
113. Henson Robinson Zoo, Springfield, IL
114. Illinois State Museum, Springfield, IL
115. John G. Shedd Aquarium, Chicago, IL
27
116. Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, IL
117. Miller Park Zoo, Bloomington, IL
118. Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL
119. Museum of Grand Prairie, Mahomet, IL
120. Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, IL
121. Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum at the Chicago Academy of Sciences, Chicago, IL
122. Peoria Riverfront Museum, Peoria, IL
123. Peoria Zoo, Peoria, IL
124. Scovill Zoo, Decatur, IL
125. Southern Illinois University Museum, Carbondale, IL
126. Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN
127. Conner Prairie, Fishers, IN
128. Evansville Museum of Arts, History and Science, Evansville, IN
129. Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo, Fort Wayne, IN
130. Indiana State Museum, Indianapolis, IN
• Angel Mounds, Evansville
131. Indianapolis Zoo, Indianapolis, IN
132. Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden, Evansville, IN
133. Potawatomi Zoo, South Bend, IN
134. Blank Park Zoo, Des Moines, IA
135. Family Museum of Arts and Science, Bettendorf, IA
136. Grout Museum of History and Science, Waterloo, IA
28
137. National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium, Dubuque, IA
138. Putnam Museum of History and Natural Science, Davenport, IA
139. Sanford Museum and Planetarium, Cherokee, IA
140. Science Center of Iowa, Des Moines, IA
141. The David Traylor Zoo of Emporia, Emporia, KS
142. Hutchinson Zoo, Hutchinson, KS
143. Lee Richardson Zoo, Garden City, KS
144. Rolling Hills Zoo, Salina, KS
145. Sedgwick County Zoo, Wichita, KS
146. Sunset Zoological Park, Manhattan, KS
147. Topeka Zoo, Topeka, KS
148. Louisville Zoo, Louisville, KY
149. Newport Aquarium, Newport, KY
150. Alexandria Zoological Park, Alexandria, LA
151. Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, New Orleans, LA
152. Audubon Zoo, New Orleans, LA
153. BREC’s Baton Rouge Zoo, Baton Rouge, LA
154. Louisiana Art and Science Museum, Baton Rouge, LA
155. Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME
156. The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, Baltimore, MD
157. National Aquarium in Baltimore, Baltimore, MD
158. Salisbury Zoological Park, Salisbury, MD
29
159. Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art, Salisbury University, Salisbury, MD
160. Boston Children’s Museum, Boston, MA
161. Buttonwood Park Zoo, New Bedford, MA
162. Capron Park Zoo, Attleboro, MA
163. Franklin Park Zoo, Boston, MA
164. Garden in the Woods: Botanical Garden of the New England Wildflower Society,
Framingham, MA
165. Museum of Science, Boston, MA
166. New England Aquarium, Boston, MA
167. Springfield Science Museum, Springfield, MA
168. Tower Hill Botanic Garden, Worcester County Horticultural Society, Boylston, MA
169. Walter D. Stone Memorial Zoo, Stoneham, MA
170. Alden B. Dow Museum of Science and Art, Midland, MI
171. Alfred P. Sloan, Jr. Museum, Flint, MI
172. Binder Park Zoo, Battle Creek, MI
173. Children’s Zoo at Celebration Square, Saginaw, MI
174. Cranbrook Institute of Science, Bloomfield Hills, MI
175. Detroit Zoo, Royal Oak, MI
176. John Ball Zoological Garden, Grand Rapids, MI
177. Kalamazoo Valley Museum, Kalamazoo, MI
178. Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, MI
179. Potter Park Zoological Gardens, Lansing, MI
180. Como Park Zoo and Conservatory, Saint Paul, MN
30
181. Lake Superior Zoo, Duluth, MN
182. Minnesota Zoological Garden, Apple Valley, MN
183. Science Museum of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN
184. Jackson Zoological Park, Jackson, MS
185. Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, Jackson, MS
186. The Butterfly House, St. Louis, MO
187. Dickerson Park Zoo, Springfield, MO
188. Kansas City Zoo, Kansas City, MO
189. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO
• Shaw Nature Reserve, Gray Summit
• Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House & Education Center, Chesterfield
190. St. Joseph Museum, St. Joseph, MO
191. Saint Louis Zoological Park, St. Louis, MO
192. St. Louis Science Center, St. Louis, MO
193. Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center, West Yellowstone, MT
194. Museum of the Rockies, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT
195. Hastings Museum of Natural and Cultural History, Hastings, NE
196. Lee G. Simmons Conservation Park & Wildlife Safari, Ashland, NE
197. Lincoln Children’s Zoo, Lincoln, NE
198. Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium, Omaha, NE
199. Riverside Discovery Center, Scottsbluff, NE
31
200. University of Nebraska State Museum, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE
• Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park, Orchard
• Trailside Museum of Natural History, Crawford
201. Nevada State Museum and Historical Society, Las Vegas, NV
202. Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, NV
203. Squam Lakes Natural Science Center, Holderness, NH
204. Adventure Aquarium, Camden, NJ
205. Bergen County Zoological Park, Paramus, NJ
206. Cape May County Park Zoo, Cape May Court House, NJ
207. Jenkinson’s Aquarium, Point Pleasant Beach, NJ
208. Monmouth Museum and Cultural Center, Lincroft, NJ
209. New Jersey State Museum, Trenton, NJ
210. The Newark Museum, Newark, NJ
211. Turtle Back Zoo, West Orange, NJ
212. Alameda Park Zoo, Alamogordo, NM
213. Albuquerque Biological Park, Albuquerque, NM
214. Living Desert Zoo & Gardens State Park, Carlsbad, NM
215. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Albuquerque, NM
216. American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY
217. Binghamton Zoo at Ross Park, Binghamton, NY
218. Bronx Zoo, Bronx, NY
219. Buffalo Museum of Science, Buffalo, NY
32
220. Buffalo Zoo, Buffalo, NY
221. Central Park Zoo, New York, NY
222. Hudson River Museum of Westchester, Yonkers, NY
223. New York Aquarium, Brooklyn, NY
224. New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY
225. Prospect Park Zoo, Brooklyn, NY
226. Queens Zoo, Flushing, NY
227. Roberson Museum and Science Center, Binghamton, NY
228. Rochester Museum and Science Center, Rochester, NY
229. Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnet Park, Syracuse, NY
230. Sciencenter, Ithaca, NY
231. Seneca Park Zoo, Rochester, NY
232. Staten Island Zoo, Staten Island, NY
233. Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum, Centerport, NY
234. Trevor Zoo, Millbrook, NY
235. Cape Fear Museum of History & Science, Wilmington, NC
236. Discovery Place, Charlotte, NC
237. Greensboro Science Center, Greensboro, NC
238. The Health Adventure, Asheville, NC
239. North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher, Kure Beach, NC
240. North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores, Pine Knoll Shores, NC
241. North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island, Manteo, NC
33
242. North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, NC
243. North Carolina Zoological Park, Asheboro, NC
244. Schiele Museum of Natural History and Planetarium, Gastonia, NC
245. Western North Carolina Nature Center, Asheville, NC
246. Chahinkapa Zoo, Wahpeton, ND
247. Dakota Zoo, Bismarck, ND
248. Red River Zoo, Fargo, ND
249. Roosevelt Park Zoo, Minot, ND
250. African Safari Wildlife Park, Port Clinton, OH
251. Akron Zoological Park, Akron, OH
252. Boonshoft Museum of Discovery, Dayton, OH
• SunWatch Indian Village and Archaeological Park
253. Cincinnati Museum Center, Cincinnati, OH
254. Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, Cincinnati, OH
255. Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, Cleveland, OH
256. The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland, OH
257. Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Powell, OH
258. Holden Arboretum, Kirtland, OH
259. Toledo Zoological Gardens, Toledo, OH
260. The Wilds, Cumberland, OH
261. Oklahoma City Zoological Park and Botanical Garden, Oklahoma City, OK
262. Science Museum Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, OK
34
263. Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, University of Oklahoma,
Norman, OK
264. Tulsa Zoo, Tulsa, OK
265. Columbia Gorge Discovery Center and Museum, The Dalles, OR
266. The High Desert Museum, Bend, OR
267. Oregon Coast Aquarium, Newport, OR
268. Oregon Zoo, Portland, OR
269. Wildlife Safari, Winston, OR
270. The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
271. Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve, New Hope, PA
272. Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, PA
273. Carnegie Science Center, Pittsburgh, PA
274. Clyde Peeling’s Reptiland, Allenwood, PA
275. Elmwood Park Zoo, Norristown, PA
276. Erie Zoo, Erie, PA
277. The Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, PA
278. Lehigh Valley Zoo, Schnecksville, PA
279. Morris Arboretum, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
280. National Aviary, Pittsburgh, PA
281. North Museum of Natural History & Science, Lancaster, PA
282. Philadelphia Zoo, Philadelphia, PA
283. Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, Pittsburgh, PA
284. Reading Public Museum, Reading, PA
35
285. The Scott Arboretum, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA
286. State Museum of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, PA
287. ZOOAMERICA North American Wildlife Park, Hershey, PA
288. Roger Williams Park Zoo, Providence, RI
289. Brookgreen Gardens, Murrells Inlet, SC
290. The Charleston Museum, Charleston, SC
291. Greenville Zoo, Greenville, SC
292. Ripley’s Aquarium, Myrtle Beach, SC
293. Riverbanks Zoo & Garden, Columbia, SC
294. South Carolina Aquarium, Charleston, SC
295. South Carolina State Museum, Columbia, SC
296. Bramble Park Zoo, Watertown, SD
297. Great Plains Zoo & Delbridge Museum of Natural History, Sioux Falls, SD
298. Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science, Sioux Falls, SD
299. Chattanooga Zoo at Warner Park, Chattanooga, TN
300. Frank H. McClung Museum, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN
301. Knoxville Zoological Gardens, Knoxville, TN
302. Memphis Pink Palace Family of Museums, Memphis, TN
• Coon Creek Science Center
• Lichterman Nature Center
• Memphis Pink Palace Museum and Planetarium
303. Memphis Zoo, Memphis, TN
36
304. Nashville Zoo, Nashville, TN
305. Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies, Gatlinburg, TN
306. Tennessee Aquarium, Chattanooga, TN
307. Abilene Zoological Gardens, Abilene, TX
308. Aquarium & Rainforest at Moody Gardens, Inc., Galveston, TX
309. Caldwell Zoo, Tyler, TX
310. Cameron Park Zoo, Waco, TX
311. Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History, Corpus Christi, TX
312. The Dallas World Aquarium, Dallas, TX
313. Dallas Zoo, Dallas, TX
314. El Paso Zoo, El Paso, TX
315. Ellen Trout Zoo, Lufkin, TX
316. Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, Fort Worth, TX
317. Fort Worth Zoo, Fort Worth, TX
318. Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, Glen Rose, TX
319. Gladys Porter Zoo, Brownsville, TX
320. The Grace Museum, Abilene, TX
321. Houston Aquarium, Inc., Houston, TX
322. Houston Museum of Natural Science, Houston, TX
• The George Observatory, Brazos Bend State Park
• HMNS at Sugarland, Sugarland
323. Houston Zoo, Inc., Houston, TX
37
324. International Museum of Art and Science, McAllen, TX
325. Museum of Nature and Science, Dallas, TX
326. Museum of Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX
327. San Antonio Zoological Society, San Antonio, TX
328. SeaWorld San Antonio, San Antonio, TX
329. Texarkana Museums System, Texarkana, TX
330. Texas State Aquarium, Corpus Christi, TX
331. Witte Museum, San Antonio, TX
332. CEU Prehistoric Museum, Price, UT
333. Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT
334. Tracy Aviary, Salt Lake City, UT
335. Utah Museum of Natural History, Salt Lake City, UT
336. Utah’s Hogle Zoo, Salt Lake City, UT
337. Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium, St. Johnsbury, VT
338. Mill Mountain Zoo, Roanoke, VA
339. Norfolk Botanical Garden, Norfolk, VA
340. Science Museum of Virginia, Richmond, VA
• Danville Science Center, Danville
341. Science Museum of Western Virginia, Roanoke, VA
342. Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center, Virginia Beach, VA
343. Virginia Living Museum, Newport News, VA
344. Virginia Museum of Natural History, Martinsville, VA
38
345. Virginia Zoological Park, Norfolk, VA
346. The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, University of Washington,
Seattle, WA
347. Northwest Trek Wildlife Park, Eatonville, WA
348. Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, Tacoma, WA
349. Seattle Aquarium, Seattle, WA
350. Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle, WA
351. Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences of West Virginia, Charleston, WV
352. Museums of Oglebay Institute, Wheeling, WV
353. Oglebay’s Good Zoo, Wheeling, WV
354. Henry Vilas Zoo, Madison, WI
355. International Crane Foundation, Baraboo, WI
356. Kenosha Public Museums, Kenosha, WI
• Dinosaur Discovery Museum
• Kenosha Public Museum
357. Milwaukee County Zoological Gardens, Milwaukee, WI
358. Milwaukee Public Museum, Milwaukee, WI
359. Northeastern Wisconsin (NEW) Zoo, Green Bay, WI
360. Racine Zoological Gardens, Racine, WI
361. National Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson, WY
362. Wyoming State Museum, Cheyenne, WY
Abstract (if available)
Abstract
Naturity.org features the latest discoveries by scientists at top natural history museums and related institutions. The nonprofit Website is supported solely by its member museums in an effort to share research news directly with the public. ❧ Membership is open to leading natural history museums, science centers, aquariums, zoos, arboretums, botanic gardens, and planetariums accredited by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) or the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). ❧ Naturity benefits its member museums by aggregating a truly national audience of readers and media consumers, and it serves and informs this audience by providing a convenient one-stop shop for natural history news.
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University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
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Asset Metadata
Creator
Lytal, Cristy Michelle
(author)
Core Title
The evolution of Naturity.org
School
Annenberg School for Communication
Degree
Master of Arts
Degree Program
Specialized Journalism
Publication Date
10/31/2015
Defense Date
10/31/2013
Publisher
University of Southern California
(original),
University of Southern California. Libraries
(digital)
Tag
Anthropology,Aquariums,Arboretums,Biology,botanic gardens,Botany,Communication,environment,Geology,health,journalism,museums,natural history,Nature,Naturity.org,OAI-PMH Harvest,paleontology,Planetariums,Science,science centers,space,website,zoology,Zoos
Format
application/pdf
(imt)
Language
English
Contributor
Electronically uploaded by the author
(provenance)
Advisor
Parks, Michael (
committee chair
), Chiappe, Luis M. (
committee member
), Hernandez, Robert (
committee member
)
Creator Email
dearcristy@gmail.com,lytal@usc.edu
Permanent Link (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c3-341894
Unique identifier
UC11296987
Identifier
etd-LytalCrist-2124.pdf (filename),usctheses-c3-341894 (legacy record id)
Legacy Identifier
etd-LytalCrist-2124.pdf
Dmrecord
341894
Document Type
Thesis
Format
application/pdf (imt)
Rights
Lytal, Cristy Michelle
Type
texts
Source
University of Southern California
(contributing entity),
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
(collection)
Access Conditions
The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...
Repository Name
University of Southern California Digital Library
Repository Location
USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA
Tags
botanic gardens
environment
journalism
natural history
Naturity.org
paleontology
science centers
space
website
zoology