Field Notes

Field Notes is the San Diego Natural History Museum magazine designed exclusively for members and donors of the Museum. Field Notes is published three times a year and showcases Museum research, exhibitions, public programs, news, and events.

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Pages from the Past

Charles Harbison was Curator of Entomology from 1942 to 1969 and a wonderful ambassador for the Museum. He was particularly good with children. In April 1968 hereceived a call from fi rst graders at the John G. Marvin Elementary School in Allied Gardens, who passed the telephone around from one student to the next in order to ask “Harbie” lots of questions about ants. This telephone program was developed as part of a plan to allow students to contact professional scientists and specialists in San Diego who might not be able to visit schools in person. In June, those same first-graders were told that they could choose any place in San Diego to go on their bus fieldtrip for the year, and their very first choice was to visit Harbie at the Natural History Museum. This photo records that visit in June 1968. For more information about Harbie and his legacy, see the Museum History area of our website.

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Read more from the archives of Museum publications.

In this photo from 1925, Laurence Huey, former Curator of Birds and Mammals, is seen searching for cactus wren nests in a cardon in Baja California near Canyon San Juan de Dios. Huey went on many collecting excursions for the Museum from 1916 till his retirement in 1961, and kept extensive field notes. In regard to this particular trip, he noted at the end of the day, “Feeling somewhat exhausted I looked at my watch and discovered I had been going up the canyon for over five hours carrying the now heavy ladder.” He also remarked with characteristic understatement that “tramps of this sort go rather hard on participants...with the only available supply of water 20 miles away and only two canteens and an oil can of water in camp.” Learn more about Laurence Huey in the history section of our website .