Smithsonian

Road salt has been touted as a lifesaver when it comes to combatting icy roads. Yet using this snow-melting mineral has a dark side once it enters waterways. Graduating senior Maggie Walker, through the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation (SMSC), is gathering data at local streams to influence change.

Mason senior Eva Noroski spent a month assisting alumna and Elephant Trails keeper Ashley Fortner at the National Zoo, researching elephant sleep patterns.

Because elephants only sleep three to four hours a night, and frequently wake during that time, their sleep is a precious commodity.

That’s why George Mason University senior Eva Noroski has spent a month this semester assisting 2017 Mason alumna and Elephant Trails keeper Ashley Fortner at te National Zoo, researching how these massive mammals can get optimal sleep.

Spencer Crew, A Robinson Professor of U.S. history at Mason and the first African American to lead a major Smithsonian museum, talks about the evolving role museums play in society, and how the Black community in the United States, and those who work with it, are trying to be the conscience of the nation.