Collection Corner

If you spend a lot of time at the museum, it's easy to forget just how incredibly old some of our specimens are. Many of us get distracted by the impressive size and anatomy of our prehistoric beasts or get sidetracked by ever-important "who would win in a fight?" questions. But when I walk through our collections and ponder the items in front of me, I'm struck by the vast stretch of time these fossils represent.

"Deep Time," as it's frequently referred to in earth science, is the multibillion year history of our planet. From the formation of the earth to the first dinosaur to the emergence of...