Craig Hlavaty - HoustonNewMedia.org https://houstonnewmedia.org/author/craig-hlavaty/ Building "Bridges" Across the Bayou City! Tue, 26 Jul 2022 20:27:35 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.3 https://i0.wp.com/houstonnewmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/cropped-cropped-Houston.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 Craig Hlavaty - HoustonNewMedia.org https://houstonnewmedia.org/author/craig-hlavaty/ 32 32 103504436 The Hidden Perks of HMNS Membership https://houstonnewmedia.org/the-hidden-perks-of-hmns-membership/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-hidden-perks-of-hmns-membership Tue, 26 Jul 2022 20:27:35 +0000 https://blog.hmns.org/?p=32415 The Houston Museum of Natural Science staff is full of people who spent their wonder years walking its halls during field trips and family visits. One of those is membership manager Jacquelyn DiStefano. “I came here the first time in fourth grade,” she...

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]]> 382905 Feisty ‘Sea Lions’ Get Some Giant-Screen Love in the Newest Film to Debut at HMNS https://houstonnewmedia.org/feisty-sea-lions-get-some-giant-screen-love-in-the-newest-film-to-debut-at-hmns/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feisty-sea-lions-get-some-giant-screen-love-in-the-newest-film-to-debut-at-hmns Wed, 08 Jun 2022 21:55:26 +0000 https://blog.hmns.org/?p=32385 It’s fitting that as director Paul Phelan speaks to us from the windswept, idyllic west coast of Ireland, decompressing with his family between film projects, one of his children will soon leave the nest. “Sea Lions: Life by a Whisker,” his newest natu...

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]]> 345076 Why that Rock in Your Backyard is (Almost) Never a Dinosaur Egg https://houstonnewmedia.org/why-that-rock-in-your-backyard-is-almost-never-a-dinosaur-egg/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=why-that-rock-in-your-backyard-is-almost-never-a-dinosaur-egg Fri, 03 Jun 2022 18:11:39 +0000 https://blog.hmns.org/?p=32343 At least once a week, David Temple receives a breathless message about an oddly-shaped rock or stony object some individual came across in their backyard or while on a nature hike. Almost everyone thinks they have found a priceless paleontological arti...

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]]> 340587 Magic of our “Prehistoric Planet” comes to Apple TV https://houstonnewmedia.org/magic-of-our-prehistoric-planet-comes-to-apple-tv/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=magic-of-our-prehistoric-planet-comes-to-apple-tv Fri, 27 May 2022 16:10:34 +0000 https://blog.hmns.org/?p=32322 What do you get when you combine the talents of executive producer Jon Favreau, naturalist Sir David Attenborough, composer Hans Zimmer, and the power of prehistoric life in ultra-high-definition? Why, Apple TV’s newest series, “Prehistoric Planet”, wh...

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]]> 334707 Seashell Queen Reveals Most Common Treasures Found on Texas Beaches https://houstonnewmedia.org/seashell-queen-reveals-most-common-treasures-found-on-texas-beaches/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=seashell-queen-reveals-most-common-treasures-found-on-texas-beaches Mon, 23 May 2022 14:53:09 +0000 https://blog.hmns.org/?p=32303 As the Associate Curator of Malacology at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, Tina Petway is our resident queen of the seas. At 75 years young, the native Texan has spent her whole life walking along the nearly 3,400 miles of the Texas Gulf Coast sh...

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]]> 330660 Celebration: Earth | April is all about our Earth at HMNS https://houstonnewmedia.org/celebration-earth-april-is-all-about-our-earth-at-hmns/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=celebration-earth-april-is-all-about-our-earth-at-hmns Thu, 01 Apr 2021 19:14:00 +0000 http://blog.hmns.org/?p=31449 Although Earth Day is officially set worldwide for Thursday, April 22, 2021, the Houston Museum of Natural Science is celebrating our planetary home throughout April with Celebration: Earth. All month long, Houston’s science museum is concentrating on ...

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]]> 121215 Fill in the Blanks with Director of Curriculum and Content Kat Havens https://houstonnewmedia.org/fill-in-the-blanks-with-director-of-curriculum-and-content-kat-havens/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=fill-in-the-blanks-with-director-of-curriculum-and-content-kat-havens Fri, 19 Mar 2021 18:18:29 +0000 http://blog.hmns.org/?p=31382 As a native Houstonian, Kat Havens has watched the Houston Museum of Natural Science change and grow over the decades. In her role as the Director of Curriculum and Content, she is constantly looking for ways to bring scientific concepts closer to home...

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]]> 116760 A New Science Chapter for Fort Bend County https://houstonnewmedia.org/a-new-science-chapter-for-fort-bend-county/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-new-science-chapter-for-fort-bend-county Tue, 16 Mar 2021 16:36:41 +0000 http://blog.hmns.org/?p=31362 The Houston Museum of Natural Science is investing in the educational and recreational future of Fort Bend County with a revamped experience at the historic George Observatory and a new nature program with key, local experts at the helm, working in col...

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]]> 116154 HMNS In Our Nature | Experiencing the Outdoors from the Ground Up https://houstonnewmedia.org/hmns-in-our-nature-experiencing-the-outdoors-from-the-ground-up/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=hmns-in-our-nature-experiencing-the-outdoors-from-the-ground-up Thu, 11 Mar 2021 16:23:37 +0000 http://blog.hmns.org/?p=31348 Sugar Land resident Erin Mills, formerly the director of the Cockrell Butterfly Center at the Hermann Park campus, will head up a new nature program at the HMNS Sugar Land campus and the George Observatory. The Sugar Land nature program will be primari...

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]]> 115036 Fill in the Blanks with Accessibility Programs Manager Matti Hammett https://houstonnewmedia.org/fill-in-the-blanks-with-accessibility-programs-manager-matti-hammett/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=fill-in-the-blanks-with-accessibility-programs-manager-matti-hammett Fri, 05 Mar 2021 18:49:06 +0000 http://blog.hmns.org/?p=31320 Everyone on staff at the Houston Museum of the Natural Science is dedicated to making sure that every inch of the museum is accessible to each patron that comes through our doors. One of those people whose job revolves around this is Accessibility Prog...

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]]> 114042 HMNS Debunks Popular Blood Donation Myths https://houstonnewmedia.org/hmns-debunks-popular-blood-donation-myths/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=hmns-debunks-popular-blood-donation-myths Mon, 11 Jan 2021 19:00:56 +0000 http://blog.hmns.org/?p=31231 Now through the end of May 2021, the Houston Museum of Natural Science has partnered up with the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center to become a pop-up blood donation destination. Although not all of us may feel comfortable with donating our bodies to sci...

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]]> 101720 Insider Tips and Tricks for Visiting HMNS During the Holidays https://houstonnewmedia.org/insider-tips-and-tricks-for-visiting-hmns-during-the-holidays/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=insider-tips-and-tricks-for-visiting-hmns-during-the-holidays Wed, 23 Dec 2020 16:00:08 +0000 http://blog.hmns.org/?p=31189 The Houston Museum of Natural Science is always a magical place during the holiday season, and we’re not just saying that because, you know, we work here. There’s pretty lights all over, fragrant Christmas trees in the Grand Hall, and Trains Over Texas...

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]]> 98073 Fill In The Blanks With Vice President Of Education Nicole Temple https://houstonnewmedia.org/fill-in-the-blanks-with-vice-president-of-education-nicole-temple/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=fill-in-the-blanks-with-vice-president-of-education-nicole-temple Fri, 30 Oct 2020 19:02:46 +0000 http://blog.hmns.org/?p=31128 The force of nature known as Nicole Temple is responsible for so many of the experiences that make the Houston Museum of Natural Science a wonderland of weird and wonderful. A member of the HMNS family since 1997, she has worked or volunteered con...

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]]> 86167 Fill in the Blanks with Curator of Vertebrate Zoology Dan Brooks https://houstonnewmedia.org/fill-in-the-blanks-with-curator-of-vertebrate-zoology-dan-brooks/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=fill-in-the-blanks-with-curator-of-vertebrate-zoology-dan-brooks Fri, 28 Aug 2020 19:14:22 +0000 http://blog.hmns.org/?p=31010 If you’ve gazed with wide-eyed wonder at the museum’s Frensley-Graham Hall of African Wildlife and the adjacent Farish Hall of Texas Wildlife, you can thank curator Dr. Dan Brooks for his loving attention to detail.  Since 1999 he’s been an integral pa...

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]]> 70238 Fill in the Blanks with Horticulturist Theresa Lancaster https://houstonnewmedia.org/fill-in-the-blanks-with-horticulturist-theresa-lancaster/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=fill-in-the-blanks-with-horticulturist-theresa-lancaster Mon, 10 Aug 2020 18:54:18 +0000 http://blog.hmns.org/?p=30959 Part of the dynamic and hands-on team that keeps the Cockrell Butterfly Center humming and fluttering with life on a daily basis, horticulturist-slash-entomologist Theresa Lancaster has a very important role on the front lines inside our butterfly sanc...

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]]> 65865 Fill in the Blanks with Discovery Guide Jurassic James Washington https://houstonnewmedia.org/fill-in-the-blanks-with-discovery-guide-jurassic-james-washington/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=fill-in-the-blanks-with-discovery-guide-jurassic-james-washington Mon, 27 Jul 2020 18:58:11 +0000 http://blog.hmns.org/?p=30917 If you have visited the Houston Museum of Natural Science extensively over the past decade, you have more than likely found yourself captivated by James E. Washington III, our resident dinosaur and mineral expert. Blessed with a boundless love of learn...

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]]> 62569 Fill in the Blanks with Curator of Malacology Tina Petway https://houstonnewmedia.org/fill-in-the-blanks-with-curator-of-malacology-tina-petway/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=fill-in-the-blanks-with-curator-of-malacology-tina-petway Fri, 05 Jun 2020 19:52:52 +0000 http://blog.hmns.org/?p=30832 Ever since she was a little girl, Tina Petway has been enthralled with shells. Living along the Texas Gulf Coast, it just comes naturally to many of us.  The Houston native, now the associate curator of the George W. Strake Hall of Malacology at the Ho...

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]]> 50296 Fill in the Blanks with Curator of Anthropology Dr. Dirk Van Tuerenhout https://houstonnewmedia.org/fill-in-the-blanks-with-curator-of-anthropology-dr-dirk-van-tuerenhout/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=fill-in-the-blanks-with-curator-of-anthropology-dr-dirk-van-tuerenhout Wed, 27 May 2020 16:43:46 +0000 http://blog.hmns.org/?p=30797 Whether you need a quick explainer on a key turning point in the history of the Mayan civilization, the New Orleans Saints’ past playoff woes or the subtleties between seasons of “The Simpsons”, there is no person better equipped at the Houston Museum ...

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]]> 47598 The Best Science Films and Documentaries to Stream with the Family Right Now https://houstonnewmedia.org/the-best-science-films-and-documentaries-to-stream-with-the-family-right-now/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-best-science-films-and-documentaries-to-stream-with-the-family-right-now Thu, 30 Apr 2020 20:44:25 +0000 http://blog.hmns.org/?p=30719 Sick of watching the entire run of “The Office” for the twentieth time? Already knocked out that crucial rewatch of HBO’s “Game of Thrones”? Have you grown tired of your kids playing the same YouTube videos of toys you can’t afford right now being unbo...

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]]> 40706 Volunteer Appreciation Week: Volunteer’s Neighborhood Butterfly Sanctuary Brings our Mission to her Front Yard https://houstonnewmedia.org/volunteer-appreciation-week-volunteers-neighborhood-butterfly-sanctuary-brings-our-mission-to-her-front-yard/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=volunteer-appreciation-week-volunteers-neighborhood-butterfly-sanctuary-brings-our-mission-to-her-front-yard Sat, 25 Apr 2020 16:13:00 +0000 http://blog.hmns.org/?p=30701 Down a residential street in Montrose, canopied by trees that would be right at home in Middle Earth and surrounded by million-dollar houses, you will find Patti Thompson’s thriving front yard butterfly garden. It’s grown to be a neighborhood landmark,...

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