The Plant Press

From The Plant Press, Vol. 28, No. 3, July 2025.

Staff recognition award ceremony and open house

On June 18, the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) held a staff recognition award ceremony where the Office of Education, Outreach, and Visitor Experience and the Office of the Associate Director for Science recognized some of the outstanding work of NMNH staff in 2024. Among the honors was a 2024 Collections Achievement Award presented to the Department of Botany’s Greenhouse Relocation Project Team: Eric Dirksen (Greenhouse contractor), Carl Johnson, Sue Lutz, J.R. Smith, and Kenneth Wurdack. They were recognized for successfully moving the entire Botany Greenhouse collection from the temporary house to a new facility. The Botany Research Greenhouses are located at the NMNH Museum Support Center (MSC) in Suitland, Maryland.

After the award ceremony, NMNH hosted its first open house at MSC. The event was open to all NMNH staff members where those attending got to learn more about the museum, its functions, and from one another. Most NMNH museum departments and offices, from exhibits and human resources to all of science and more, hosted information booths giving colleagues an opportunity to learn more about their contributions to NMNH’s mission. The event was well attended beyond all expectations. The Department of Botany hosted a booth showcasing its important collections with a display of bulky, liquid preserved, and pressed specimens, including coralline algae, cacti, medicinal plants, and items from the very impressive wood collection (the second largest xylarium, or collection of wood specimens, in the U.S. and fifth largest worldwide). A tour of the new greenhouse facility and the living collections was a great highlight and popular attraction. The Botany team who organized the booth and tours included Eric Schuettpelz, Ken Wurdack, Carl Johnson, Sue Lutz, Gary Krupnick, and Gabe Johnson.