The Connecticut State Museum of Natural History is bringing its exhibit “Right Below Your Feet”: A Beautiful Evolutionary Success Story”to life with a special pop-up exhibit of live mosses at the Mansfield Public Library.

Dr. Bernard Goffinet, professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and Director of the Biodiversity Research Collections at UConn, will lead this hands-on opportunity to look more closely at and admire the diversity of mosses during “A Window into the Universe of Mosses” on Saturday September 20 in the Buchanan Auditorium. Highlights of the afternoon will include instruction on the use of different microscopes and viewing equipment, a moss petting zoo, and remarks with Q&A by Dr. Goffinet.

This program is a fantastic hands-on supplement to the Museum’s campus exhibit, currently on display in the Wilbur Cross Building at the University of Connecticut. “Right Below Your Feet” was planned and produced in 2022 by the CSMNH in collaboration with the Goffinet Lab (Bryology and Lichenology) in the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at the University of Connecticut and Mark Smith, co-owner and founder of Macroscopic Solutions. The exhibit introduces the group of organisms called bryophytes, also known as mosses, liverworts and hornworts. With about 20,000 species in the group, bryophytes exhibit a broad range of physical features and sizes. Unlike most flowering plants, bryophytes can often survive significant water loss. This allows them to thrive in many environments across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic, from bare rock surfaces to leaves.

The installed exhibit offers a magnified look at bryophytes, and highlights some of the features that have contributed to their remarkable evolutionary success. The goals of this special pop-up exhibit and presentation are for visitors to witness the unique behavior and movement in mosses and appreciate the spectacular variety in shape and form across the “universe of mosses”.

Program will be held at the Buchanan Auditorium in the Mansfield Public Library from 1-3pm on Saturday September 20. A short talk will start at 1:30pm, but visitors are invited to drop in at any time between 1-3pm to view specimens and ask questions of Dr. Goffinet.

If you require an accommodation to participate in this event, please contact the CSMNH at 860-486-4460 or [email protected].

The event is free and open to the public! RSVP is suggested and donations are appreciated, as they help us keep our public programs free!

Visit https://csmnh.uconn.edu/programs/ for more information and to RSVP.

The Connecticut State Museum of Natural History is part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Connecticut.

Contact: Elizabeth Barbeau

[email protected] | 860-486-4460 | Web: csmnh.uconn.edu | Facebook: @CSMNH | Instagram: @ctnaturalhistory