The American Museum of Natural History is completely amazing, and everyone knows that. We mean, come on. They've got dinosaur bones, a planetarium, and a Life at the Limits exhibit we're just dying to check out.
Will the Museum of Natural History be even more excellent once its undergone its $325 million expansion?
Well, the answer to that is certainly. The expansion will take a great thing and make it even greater.
Okay, so we love learning. We really love museums. We're suckers for all that science stuff. Plus, the Museum of Natural history has a lot of cool stuff going on besides its expansion.
For instance, they're having a sleepover this month.
You're intrigued now, aren't you? We thought you might be.
It's called Hack the Dinos, and it's a pro bono collaboration between Splash and the Museum of Natural History. They're aiming to advance open science and create solutions to problems faced by scientists and researchers.
They want you to be a part of it. No, they challenge you to be a part of it. They want you to start building open-source tools and apps that will aid the AMNH paleontology division in their research and education, which could ultimately help other institutions, too.
Oh, now you're really intrigued? Great. You've been hoping for a chance to flex your graphic design, 3-D design, web back-end, and data science skills? Even better.
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The weekend blasts off with a kick-off event on Friday, November 20th from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. You'll get registered and get fed. Plus, you'll get an overview of the paleo data sets so you'll be ready to go on Saturday.
You'll learn all about terminology, data formats, and science from AMNH's dinosaur experts. You'll also get to form teams.
The challenge itself will go down from 3 p.m. on Saturday, November 21st to 3 p.m. on Sunday, November 22nd.
Your team will have 24 hours to build something that solves the problem statement. You could even collaborate with several teams to work on different aspects of the same solution. Hack the Dino, hacked.
thecaliforniac The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles opened its doors in 1913. Today it is home to over 35 million specimens. #dinosaurs #expositionpark #museum #mnh #museumofnaturalhistory #losangeles #california #southerncalifornia #historicplaces #travel #destination #history #losangelescounty
Really, it's about cooperation, not competition (although, winning would be cool).
Demos will be open to the public on Sunday, from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the dinosaur wing of the Museum, so invite your friends.
If you do participate, you can spend the night in the museum among the dinosaur exhibits. Sounds pretty amazing, right? Splash will provide food, drinks, thank you gifts, and cots. All you'll need is a sleeping bag, a pillow, and a pair of warm socks
What food, you're wondering? Good question. They'll have taco bars, Mediterranean platters, cheese boards, yogurt, bagel bars, and a midnight donut and coffee delivery. Amazing.
You interested? Great. Apply here, and do it fast. They've got limited room.
Check out 7 NYC Museums to Cross Off Your 2015 Bucket List.
[Feature Image Courtesy Extinct Monsters]