News & Stories

The introduction of exotic species and their potential to become invasive is one of the leading causes of the declining status of native biodiversity. In addition, costs to the economy from the prevention, control, elimination, and the mitigation of effects of exotic/invasive species, and costs from lost opportunities are estimated to be in the hundreds of billions of dollars per year worldwide. For Canadian freshwater fishes, exotic/invasive species are the second most important cause of extinction or extirpation (after habitat loss and degradation).

Congratulations to Ildiko Szabo, Assistant Curator of the Cowan Tetrapod Collection at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum, for becoming a member of the American Ornithology Union (AOU) Committee for Bird Collections. The AOU was founded in 1883 and is the oldest and largest North American society for the scientific study of birds. This AOU sub-committee represents both traditional and non-traditional collections, including skins, skeletons, fluid-preserved material, eggs and nests, genetic resources, and sound or video holdings.

February 12 is Darwin Day. To celebrate his birthday and the evolution of life, the Beaty Biodiversity Museum has hosted its annual Bake a Cake for Darwin Contest, as part of FestEVOLVE 2013.

Opening tomorrow, our newest temporary exhibition INVOKING VENUS, Feathers and Fashion will feature photo-based images by Catherine Stewart and accessories from the clothing collections of Claus Jahnke and Ivan Sayers.

If you haven’t visited the Beaty Biodiversity Museum lately, there is no better time than now to see INVOKING VENUS, Feathers and Fashion, an exhibition of photo-based images by Catherine Stewart and accessories from the clothing collections of Claus Jahnke and Ivan Sayers. Using bird specimens from the Beaty Biodiversity Museum, Vancouver-based Stewart explores the role colour, patterning and adornment play in courtship and attraction. Interested in more in depth insights? Join the artists as we explore various fascinating topics related to this exhibition.

To launch INVOKING VENUS, Feathers and Fashion, a special exhibition of photo-based artwork by Catherine Stewart and accessories from the clothing collections of Claus Jahnke and Ivan Sayers, the Beaty Biodiversity Museum held an extravagant fashion show on February 7, 2013.

INVOKING VENUS, Feathers and Fashion opened at the beginning of February, and we would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank our community partners sponsors that have helped make this exhibition possible.

Hey! Mom and Dad! Are you thinking about where to bring your children during spring break in the next two weeks? How about a trip to the Beaty Biodiversity Museum at UBC? We will be hosting extra programming with our weekend schedule, March 16-31 (except for Mondays, March 18 & 25).

Last summer, UBC student Mele Avery helped Ildako Szabo, Assistant Curator of Birds at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum, on organizing specimens at the Museum. She shares with us her experience working on this project.