Dear All,
We are still coping with the loss of Kristian here and have been working to=
find ways to remember him best. We have decided to declare International =
Polychaete Day and kick it off on 1 July, 2015 with a big public outreach e=
ffort. This date would have been Kristian=92s 80th birthday so it seems an=
appropriate day to blitz the public with an appreciation for the amazing a=
nimals that Kristian loved so much.
I am writing for two reasons =96 first, to encourage similar efforts at oth=
er venues (real and online) and second, to request a few images for use in =
the Ocean Portal (ocean.si.edu<http://ocean.si.edu>) polychaete slide show =
that will show the beauty and diversity of the group. At the Smithsonian N=
ational Museum of Natural History we will host a day of public interactives=
focused on teaching the public about polychaetes and polychaete research. =
We will post a story about the diversity and importance of polychaetes on =
the Ocean Portal (ocean.si.edu<http://ocean.si.edu>), a slide show on the b=
eauty of polychaetes on Smithsonian Science (smithsonianscience.org<http://=
smithsonianscience.org>), and a biography of Kristian on the Department of =
Invertebrate Zoology blog (nmnh.typepad.com<http://nmnh.typepad.com>). All =
of these outreach efforts will be accompanied by social media efforts throu=
gh the Ocean Portal, Dept. of Invertebrate Zoology, and main NMNH and Smith=
sonian Public Relations offices. If you can contribute something similar at=
your institution at any scale or would like to contribute something to thi=
s effort to memorialize Kristian=92s impact on all of us and the study of p=
olychaetes, please let me know so that we can provide links to your efforts=
. After the event we will provide a summary of all the pieces to Len, the r=
est of Kristian=92s family and anyone who participates.
Thank you for your contributions to this fun way of memorializing Kristian,
Karen Osborn and Linda Ward
~~~
Karen Osborn
osbornk from si.edu<mailto:osbornk from si.edu>
202-633-3668
Research Zoologist/Curator
Department of Invertebrate Zoology
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, MRC-163
P.O. Box 37012
Washington, DC 20013-7012 USA
Courier address:
Smithsonian Institution, MRC 0163, Natural History, West Loading Dock
10th and Constitution Ave., Washington, DC 20560
