SCIENCE

Maine Mineral & Gem Museum

A COSMOS Discovery in the Middle of Maine

September 4, 2024

By Chris Munkholm

While perambulating the vicinity of our Air B&B in Harrison, Maine, we stumbled upon the Maine Mineral & Gem Museum. And discovered an entry portal into the inner earth of mineral excavation, an historical industry in Maine. We were astounded by the curated contents of natural and cut specimens. Never has a region’s history produced such a visual tour de force. The elegant galleries tell the history of mining in Maine through a stunning display of gorgeous mineral rocks …

Iceland’s Upper Crust

COSMOS Explores the Mid-Atlantic Ridge

September 20, 2023

By Paul Erickson

At 4:30 AM on 18 November 1775, an earthquake rocked eastern Massachusetts, tilting church steeples, and sending the grasshopper weathervane atop Boston’s Faneuil Hall hopping to the plaza below. Today, geologists link this magnitude 6 quake with an undersea fault line—a fracture in the bedrock—27 miles east of Rockport. …

Glam Clams

June 14, 2023

By Paul Erickson

I’d like to tell you about the huge “killer” clams I’ve photographed on Indo-Pacific coral reefs. And I will. But first, I’d like to pay homage to our local softshell clam (Mya arenaria), famously harvested in my hometown of Ipswich, Massachusetts, which is located just a few flaps of a gull’s wing from Cape Ann. …

Public Service Announcement

Seagulls Prefer the Human Touch

May 31, 2023

By Chris Munkholm

Summary of Scientific Study of Gulls and Food Attraction

As we enter the brief beach season of New England, many of us hope to maximize the pending days of relaxation and salty air. What has become a secondary experience is the company of increasingly aggressive seagulls, who also have their summertime plans: plundering human food. They seem to prefer “junk food”, in the form of hot dogs, French fries, potato chips, pizza and ice cream. We have no reports of seagulls snatching kale or tofu, but who takes healthy food to the beach? …