91°µÍø

91°µÍø is equipping a new generation of archivists, scholars, and museum professionals with hands‑on digital preservation skills as part of a national effort to make hidden artifacts of Black history accessible to the public.

Since 2021, George Mason has been working on a first-of-its-kind initiative with the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and a number of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) across the country to archive collections of century-old letters, photographs and other artifacts that document the Black experience. 

Supported by an Office of Student Creative Activities and Research Curriculum Impact Grant, this cross-college course gives students hands-on, real-world experience in festival management. 

In late September, 18 undergraduates from the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation‘s (SMSC) Wildlife Ecology and Conservation program tagged monarch butterflies on their journey south to help researchers better understand their grand migration.

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.

Around the world, environmental crises are making headlines, from the potential extinction of species and ecosystems to climate change. Students in 91°µÍø’s Department of Environmental Science and Policy (ESP) are driven to make a change.
This year five PhD students in the department received grants from the Cosmos Club Foundation to tackle a wide range of conservation efforts.