The Natural History Museum Wants To Check Out Your 'Specimens'

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — Ever find something out in nature and wonder: What is this thing?

Hopefully you've hung onto it, because the American Museum of Natural History wants New Yorkers to bring their unidentified "specimens" into the museum on Saturday, June 16 for "Identification Day." Scientists specializing in fields such as botany, anthropology, entomology and even paleontology will on hand to identify a wide range of specimens and artifacts, museum officials said in a statement.

Identification Day has been an American Museum of Natural History staple since it debuted in 1979. Highlights from past years include a 3,000-year-old hand axe found in a Staten Island and a 72-million-year-old shark tooth found in New Jersey, museum officials said.

If the museum's scientists are blown away with any Identification Day submissions, they will be presented in a temporary exhibit at the museum that celebrates "the spirit of curiosity that drives exploration of the natural world," according to a press release.

Anybody submitting specimens for identification should include as much information about the object as possible, including who the specimen belonged to and its place of origin. Plants that are brought in should be recently harvested (with permission) and should be brought in a ziplock bag to avoid carrying pests into the museum. Sickos beware: the museum will not like it if you bring in a live or recently deceased animal. Gemstones will also not be identified.

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