Behind the Scenes of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History

In this interview, Dena'ina Athabascan historian Aaron Leggett discusses his contributions to the Arctic Studies Center exhibition Living Our Cultures, Sharing Our Heritage: The First Peoples of Alaska at the Anchorage Museum and its value to Alaska Natives and other visitors. He provides details about Dena'ina cultural heritage objects from the Smithsonian's collection on display and also discusses his other work, including Dena'ina language revitalization projects.

Aron Crowell talks about the research and collaboration with Alaska Native elders and scholars behind the innovative exhibition Living Our Cultures, Sharing Our Heritage: The First Peoples of Alaska (2010- 2017) at the Anchorage Museum and the Sharing Knowledge website.

Helen James and Storrs Olson discuss the discovery of extinct birds.

Bill Melson talks about his research on the origin of ocean basins and risky rock collecting on remote islands, and explains the importance of Smithsonian rock collections.

Roy McDiarmid talks about the excitement of remote fieldwork in tropics and explains the benefits of multidisciplinary expeditions.

Terry Erwin explains the importance of collections in directing research, talks about ground beetle research in tropical treetops, and discusses the impact of an oil company flare on rainforest insects.

Richard Fiske talks about undersea volcanic rock research in Japan and exploring an undersea crater in submersible.

Bill Fitzhugh talks about starting archeological Arctic fieldwork, the advantages of fieldwork in the North, and the problem with digging in permafrost.

Don Wilson talks about the challenges in catching bats in the wild and observing bats with sophisticated technology.

Vicki Funk talks about her collection and research of high-elevation sunflowers and her expedition to Table Top Mountain in Venezuela. (Table Top Mountain is in Venezuela and not in Peru as stated in the interview.)

Warren Wagner talks about collecting seeds and fruits for the greenhouse and explains the importance of herbaria collections.

Brian Huber talks about fieldwork in Antarctica regarding past climate change.

Candace Greene talks about American Indian collections storage and use.

Jonathon Coddington talks about his field study of spider web building.