KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2011 / NEWS / 3
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CAMPUS
Dyche Hall sixth floor closed a year for renovations
BY MAX LUSH mluch@kansan.com
Karlie Brown/KANSAN
mlush@kansan.com
The rain sprinkles the steps of the Natural History Museum Tuesday morning. The museum will be adding a new exhibit on the sixth floor soon.
Bren Stewart, a sophomore from Hutchinson, looks at a pond scum exhibit at the Natural History Museum Tuesday morning. Stewart had never been inside the museum and had time in between classes, so he decided to explore the exhibits. The museum is currently in the process of adding new exhibits on the sixth floor.
Kartie Crown/KANSAN
Visitors to the Natural History Museum located in Dyche Hall will not be able to see the sixth floor for about a year, as it is closed for renovations to prepare for the addition of several new exhibits.
The renovations include creating more exhibit space by raising ceilings and pushing existing exhibit walls backwards. The museum, which is run by the University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute, plans to add four new exhibits to the sixth floor: One displaying skulls of different mammals, one showing the information of how the Biodiversity Institute conducts its research, one displaying cleared and stained specimens and another displaying the biodiversity of plant and animal life around the world.
According to the Biodiversity Institute's website, clearing and staining is the process of using a digestive enzyme called Trypsin to turn specimens translucent. Scientists then use red dye to designate bone or hard tissue in the specimen and use blue dye for soft tissue. This allows scientists to study the skeletal and skin structures of animals.
All of the specimens and artifacts that will be put on display are currently part of the Biodiversity Institute's collection, which includes
more than 8 million different specimens, as well as approximately 2.2 million artifacts. Jen Humphrey, communications officer for the Biodiversity Institute, said it likes to use its reserve specimens for display when possible.
Benjamin and Margaret Hall donated $100,000 for the renovations and new exhibits in honor of Benjamin's father, the late E. Baynard Hall, a former director of the museum who studied mammals at the University Humphrey said the Halls asked that their donation be used to create an exhibit for mammals in honor of his father. She said the rest of the costs needed for renovations
were being covered by other private donors.
Humphrey said she was excited for the teaching opportunities the exhibits could provide.
"Any time we can offer something new to the public and allow them to see animals and plants in a new light is a fantastic opportunity," she said.
Matthew Gonzales, a senior from Topeka, works in the lobby of the museum and said he has been surprised with how far some people travel to see the museum. He said one time a lady came all the way
"We're one of the front doors to the University," Humphrey said. "We're one of the first places the public visits when they come to see the school."
The new additions will enhance only the sixth floor, which Humphrey says is already one of the most popular floors in the museum. Also displayed on the sixth floor is the Biodiversity Institute's collection of snakes and bees.
from the United Kingdom to see Comanche, a stuffed horse that the museum has on display.
Humphrey also said that the museum was a vital part of the Univer-
schools have something like this on their campus," Gonzales said. "The fact that it's also a research institution is pretty cool."
sity.
"I think the museum is extremely valuable to the school, not a lot of
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Playing the scene
Samantha Gamble, a junior from Odessa, Mo., plays her flute during the song"A Hymn for Band," Tuesday night at the Lied Center. The University Band played a total of five works followed by the Symphonic Band with six.
Chris Neal/KANSAN
Winning helps testosterone levels for male wrestlers KU professor Andrew Fry studied wrestlers from Penn State and found successful performances hinge on high testosterone
BY KATASHA KUMAR kkumar@kansan.com
Andrew Fry, professor and chairman of health, sport and exercise sciences, conducted research on Penn State's wrestling team, among others, looking for a correlation between the success level of wrestlers and their testosterone levels. He found that wrestlers who won matches had significantly higher testosterone levels than those who lost.
Wrestling teams can use these findings to strategically set their tournament schedules.
Additionally, the research team proved that having higher levels throughout the season positively affected the wrestlers mentally and built up their esteem.
As if a victorious wrestler isn't intimidating enough in himself, recent studies show that he may have an extra boost of testosterone driving him in the ring.
"The scheduling and how you arrange it could be very important," Fry said.
Fry said that the scheduling
of meets should be arranged so that the squad does not face the tougher teams at the start. He said
that it was better to challenge tougher teams later in the season because the athletes' confidence is potentially already built up from defeating easier opponents early on.
While conducting the research, Fry
Penn State was chosen because it has a long wrestling history and a large team, as opposed to
"We will do additional research on what contributes to the success of successful sport performance."
ANDREW FRY Professor and chair of health, sport and exercise sciences
had a team of researchers who filmed the meets, did performance analyses and watched the hormonal responses. Part of the study group was the wrestling team at Penn State, including the coaches.
the University,
which does not. The U.S.
Olympic committee provided
funding for the research,
and Fry hopes that
the findings of this study
will spur more research for KU
Athletics.
research on what contributes to the success of successful sport performance" Fry said.
"We will do additional
- Edited by Sarah Gregory
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ANGELIQUE MCNAUGHTON
Line and block allocations occur every two years and address larger entities that are funded through Senate. The student fee review subcommittee also made recommendations on all student fees.
Student Senate Notebook
Multiple bills went through the committee quickly because all of the buzz and controversy surrounded line and block allocations and fee review.
Student Senate Finance Committee met last night in what was deemed as one of the "most important meetings of the semester."
Finance committee originally discussed removing certain social services from block funding because it said those services were not considered an "activity" and it should not fund them.
Senate treasurer David Cohen, a senior from Leawood, presented legislation to allocate $612,678 from the student activity fee for the block budget.
Committee passed the bill allocating $106,088 for the line budget. Services funded under line-items range from alternative breaks funding to student organizations and groups.
An amendment was made to the bill to strike the rules that would deny funding for the Douglas County AIDS Project, Gadugi Safe Center and Headquarters Counseling Center. Those services will receive funding for one more year, while the Willow Domestic Violence Center will not.
Line allocations for the fiscal year 2012 passed with much less controversy than block funding.
The campus fee review subcommittee suggested an increase in 17 areas within student fees. However, committee chair Mark Pacey said the fee increases were offset by a significant amount of decreases that would ultimately result in a 0 percent increase from the current total of $428.95 per student.
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