From Winston Salem-Journal:
Meg Lowman has found that one way to stir interest in the new wing at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences is to hang out up in the trees.
Lowman was doing just that Wednesday on the campus of Salem College, dangling in a harness affixed to a stately maple tree.
The purpose of the treetop stop was to promote the Raleigh museum’s Nature Research Center, an 80,000-square-foot wing that opens April 20.
“The museum will focus on how we know what we know,” explained Lowman, the director of the Nature Research Center. “Most museums focus on what we know. They show you their snakes and other collections. We will focus on how we study treetops and how you look at DNA. This is what we hope will produce the next generation of scientists.”
On Wednesday, Lowman, known as “Canopy Meg” for her groundbreaking work in tree canopy ecology, visited Salem College as part of the center’s statewide marketing campaign. The crew has also gone up trees in Charlotte and Wilmington.
At each stop, Lowman has invited small groups to go up trees and examine the creatures milling about the trunk and branches, high above the world.
