Natural History Blog Archives - Ohio History Connection

May 12, 2025

A Brief History of the Golden-winged Warbler: Part I

By Erin Cashion, Curator of Natural History At first glance, it appears to be only a brownish wad of grapevine bark strips and old beech leaves. Its age alone (and the person who collected it) make it a specimen of high historic and scientific significance. But this plain-seeming clump of old leaves has an even […]

April 14, 2025

Did We Really “De-extinct” the Dire Wolf?

By Erin Cashion and David Dyer On April 7, the story in Time magazine was posted everywhere: we had brought the extinct Ice Age Dire Wolf, Aenocyon dirus, back from the dead. Alongside this unbelievable headline came the video of two adorable white, fluffy canines in the hands of a human caregiver. These two pups […]

March 5, 2025

Itacolumite, the “Gumby Stone”!

By Dave Dyer, Curator Natural History

June 27, 2024

An Ode To Caterpillars

November 13, 2023

The World’s Smallest Carnivore – in Ohio!?

By David Dyer, Natural History Curator When we think of extremes in the animal kingdom we don’t tend to think of such species as being in Ohio. The largest, smallest, and heaviest animals we assume are in more exotic locales. Let’s test your knowledge; see if you can name the following species (answers are at […]

July 28, 2023

Birds of a Feather: The Smithsonian and OHC Natural History Collections

Join Dave Dyer, Natural History Curator, and Marie Swartz, Archaeology Curator, on a journey that intertwines ornithology, archaeology, and natural history, revealing the significance of collaborative research in unraveling the secrets of the past. One of the basic tenets of a scientific collection is that the data associated with the specimens is as important […]

March 15, 2023

Natural History’s “Green” collections

In honor of the St. Patrick’s Day holiday we delved into our Natural History collections to showcase five of our green specimens and tell their stories!

February 20, 2023

The Deep Woods Insect Collection

By David Dyer, Natural History Curator When we were first contacted about the possible donation of a Deep Woods collection I was immediately intrigued. As a hiker who seeks out trail-less wilderness areas around the country, the concept of “deep woods” is never far from my thoughts (and no, not the insect repellant!). As I […]

January 24, 2023

Four Outdoor Natural History Sites You Should Visit this Winter (+ our picks for a coffee or hot chocolate stop for after your visit!)

Get bundled up and head out to one of these Ohio History Connection sites this winter to get out of the house and get a new perspective on our state’s incredible natural history.

August 23, 2022

Peering Back In Time – 19th Century Microscope Slides of William Sullivant

An unassuming dark wooden cabinet on the shelves in the collections revealed beautiful 19th century microscope slides from William Sullivant.