These exhibits were created by College of Idaho students in a First-Year Seminar course titled “Wondering about Things” during the Fall 2021 Semester. 

 

Each student chose a specimen from the Orma J. Smith Museum of Natural History, researching the various ways in which the specimen has meaning—in the natural world through geologic time, to humans in various cultures, to commerce or society, to religious or spiritual thought, to literature or cuisine, to ecology or chemistry, to industry or aesthetics. Their research was interdisciplinary, thorough, and creative. Here, you can view what they distilled to share with you. 

 

Through cedar waxwings and helicopters and our specimens, we practiced the art of wondering, learning to work with texts, objects, and each other to uncover unexpected meanings.