Vocabulary: Zion National Park Teaching with Museum Collections Lesson Unit Plan

Archives- primary sources (such as field notes, letters, photographs, recordings, or video footage, etc.) That are preserved to document a particular ecosystem or research activity.

Biodiversity- the variety of life in the world or in a particular place

Birder- a person with an interest in looking for and observing birds

Ecosystem- biological community of living organisms interacting with their physical environment.

Exhibit- an object or objects displayed for public viewing in a way that shares meaning through careful design, and which often includes texts or other means of learning more about the subject

Field study- scientific study or research conducted in a natural or unfabricated setting

Fluorescence- the property of absorbing short wavelength light and emitting longer wavelength light

Natural history museum- scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climate, and more.

Plumage- a bird’s feathers collectively

Range- the area in which an organism lives

Specimen- an organism, part of an organism, or fossil that has been collected for scientific research or display