Thread by @SUEtheTrex

(Irony filter off) I’ve been doing this dumb job (Twitter) for almost a decade now.

And on days like today, I think a lot about the part of @FieldMuseum most folks aren’t privy to: the staff that keeps our facilities and systems humming.

Even when the weather is crummy.

The @FieldMuseum isn’t just a museum. It’s an active research institution that also stores millions of specimens and artifacts for academics all over the world.

We need to keep the liquid nitrogen pumping. The humidity carefully controlled. The flesh eating beetles fed.

At any given time, we could have hundreds of active experiments, data being collected, or specimens to be cataloged and processed happening at the same time.

The weather doesn’t cancel the need for humans to maintain and safeguard this research.

And while people love to ask “How much is [X] worth?” we have numerous specimens and artifacts that can’t be valued.

(Like human remains that deserve dignity and care.)

Our security and access control staff are in place to ensure everything is protected and safe.

Not to mention we host data that we make available for other institutions that aren’t currently caught in a polar vortex.

For that, our IT staff helps keep this data available with remarkable uptime.

(Shoutout to @surenuts and his team)

Anyway, shouts out to everyone @FieldMuseum who are still plugging away at work today.

I love y’all.