Nature 101 | More than Meets the Eye: Hidden Symbiotic Communities in Museums

In museums, visitors get to experience the splendor of the macroscopic natural world, including many varieties of plants and animals. But did you know these macroscopic organisms are more than meets the eye? None of them would be able to survive without complex communities of microscopic organisms that call their host's home. While some microbes are parasites that harm their hosts, others are mutualists that can help their hosts digest food or maintain a beneficial skin barrier. At this talk, you can learn about the spectrum of invisible communities that live in every museum specimen, including how an evolutionary arms race is happening in your own lungs, how a virus made live birth possible in placental mammals, and more!

Spenser Babb-Biernacki has a B.S. in Conservation Biology and Ecology from Arizona State University, a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from Louisiana State University, and started as an SRI postdoctoral fellow in January 2026.

When it comes to nature, the basics are far from boring! Listen to experts from the Natural History Museum of Utah and the University of Utah who will provide an introduction to their topic of study and a fascinating look into their worlds of research; no background knowledge required. These 45-minute talks offer opportunities for asking questions and engaging with scientists, allowing audience members to build a foundation as a naturalist by learning from the ground up.

Nature 101 lectures are included with Museum admission, which is free for Museum Members.