Indiana Jones, science, and what it takes

    Next month is my 30th Birthday. When I was a little kid I used to imagine what I would be doing I as a 30 year-old in the far, distant future (it sure doesn't seem that long now!), and even then I would have told you that I wanted to be a scientist. I knew that I loved biology, doing research and investigating stuff. Only until college did I learn that studying insects (entomology) was even a real field, thanks to my neighbors in Virginia that moved in around high school.  Both are entomologists, and steered me to volunteering at the Smithsonian during my summer breaks to see if I liked working with bugs and working in a museum. I was hooked...I got to work on something I liked, and got to be the cool scientist I hoped to be!

What real scientists look like: http://lookslikescience.tumblr.com

   Why did working at a museum have such an affinity? Well, because it was such a mystery to know what goes on behind the scenes: the land of Scientists. And not just regular Scientists, but Field Scientists. The likes of Indiana Jones! Except for the archeology part...I wasn't so interested in that.
     The character played by Harrison Ford was always a likeable character to me: the academic on one-side who wears the stuffy teaching gear, bow-tie, and could put any colleague to shame with his depth of knowledge. Yet, he was also a field expert who could go out into the jungle, transverse dozens of cultures with ease and the occasional tuxedo swap, and obtain his prize in the end. An appealing dichotomy that never really fits in the regular world, but thrives in the land of academic research and acquisition of invaluable data for future generations ("it belongs in a museum!"). That is what I wanted to be...a girl version of Indiana Jones hunting down exotic bugs in cool places, then getting to work on them and deposit them in museums for future research and record.

One of my favorite scenes: what its like to return back to the museum after field-work! He just needs a bug-themed bow-tie. Plus the water-heater room being his office and collection room: very accurate!

Okay, so what does this have to do with invertebrates and the SNOMNH? Because if you have a kid that has dreams of being a scientist, loves to be outside and being a part of research, they too can grow up to be their own Indiana Jones of their chosen field. Its not the easiest of paths, that's for sure (I only got out of school last year with my last degree...at 29!). Perhaps that is why its okay that Harrison Ford was cast for the role in his mid 30's-40's...that's about when most of us hit our research/academic stride. But it CAN happen, and if you encourage yourself or your children to follow that dream, you'll be one step closer.

Climbing up a mountainside in Costa Rica looking for bugs and frogs

Doing fieldwork in Australia...no arrows, gun slinging or mining roller-coasters! Just lots of netting, sunburns, and an interesting experience driving with the British system.

 So, what does it take? In honor of my year turning big 3-0, I offer my 3 suggestions for how I became my own personal "Invertebrate Indiana"

            1.) Find your passion, and foster it. Its a bit of a joke that for entomologists you're either born "knowing" or you come to it later, but I'd actually say that the majority of us who are in the field had a passion for insects at a very young age. And most of us will tell you that the reason we're still doing it is partly because our parents supported and fostered that passion. My parents let me do anything I wanted related to insects (except maybe bringing them into the house), and I never heard "eww, that's gross...whats wrong with you?". In Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Indiana even knew as a kid he wanted to be an archeologist. And his father (partly because he was one himself) helped foster it, albeit a bit distantly and forcing him to learn Greek!

            2.) Find a mentor. As I mentioned previously, I would have NEVER known that entomology was ever a field until my entomologists neighbors pointed it out to me. Most of us won't have neighbors in the field, but there are lots of opportunities to volunteer: at nearby schools, museums, businesses, you name it. The best way to find a mentor is to look, then ask: What is it like doing your job? How did you get to where you are today? Do you have any suggestions? In today's information age, finding a mentor is getting easier than ever. Plus, the worst thing that can happen is that by emailing them or calling they won't respond, which isn't a big deal. Indiana had Dr. Abner when at the University of Chicago, I had the Alonsos and Dr. Henry!

           3.) VOLUNTEER. The best way to see what its really like to be a scientist and work in museums is to volunteer for one. My last year of high school I emailed the Smithsonian Entomology department offering my services as a volunteer, and was immediately signed up. Very few people turn down free help. Further, it helps you meet the people that will help you refine your skills or interests, and eventually will become your colleagues if you do stick with it. That is where I got my first taste of field-work, collecting, and doing research projects.

So, get out there and get to it...your inner kid will thank you, even when you are crossing the age-line of "definitely-no-longer-a-kiddo-and-should-move-on-from-Indiana-Jones-much-like-the-directors-from-Indiana-Jones-4"! Have a good one everyone!