GC3RR31 Things that Fly: Smithsonian NMNH GeoTour (Unknown Cache) in District of Columbia, United States created by Smithsonian NMNH

This cache has been archived.

Smithsonian NMNH: Thanks to all who have enjoyed this geocache and tour

GC3RR31 ▼

A cache by Smithsonian NMNH Message this owner

Hidden : 4/2/2013

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: small (small)

Join now to view geocache location details. It's free!

Watch

How Geocaching Works

Related Web Page

Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions in our disclaimer.

Geocache Description:

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY GEOTOUR

NMNH GEOTOUR TO END DECEMBER 31, 2017

Passports must be received, and the required photo (for the geocoin) must be posted, on or before January 31, 2018. There is no guarantee that passports received after January 31, 2018 will be processed.
The NMNH GeoTour was launched April 2, 2013; and we’ve appreciated the support and positive feedback on the NMNH GeoTour from the Geocaching community. We have enjoyed reading your logs. We hope; and I believe we did, through the cache pages and puzzles, provided a different look into the National Museum of Natural History. We wish it could continue but that will not be possible. We wanted to let you know, at this time, so that if you wish to do the tour it should not be put off. As of Dec. 1, 2017; 80 geocoins remain to be awarded.

The National Museum of Natural History GeoTour, launched on April 2, 2013, consists of nine caches in the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Caches need not be accomplished in any particular order; each can be treated and logged as a stand-alone cache. Geocachers must download passport, in which the code word(s) from each cache must be recorded. Each cache will take a greater time commitment than most caches due to the nature of the puzzles being a combination of web research and field puzzles. Some caches are in high traffic area and will be extremely difficult to retrieve without drawing attention. Be prepared to explain what you are doing to lots or passersby. If you intend to do all the caches in one time, it will serve you well to read each cache page and determine the various locations that information for each of the final cache locations must be gathered. Information may have to be gathered from the web (cache-specific sites are listed on the appropriate cache page), in the museum, on the individual cache pages, and in state parks or forests. Each of the nine caches will feature a department but it will be seen that in nature, the subjects of these caches are not so easily pigeon-holed. This cache features the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History’s Department of Vertebrate Zoology.

To sign the log in this cache, it is not necessary to trample planted vegetation in the gardens. Do not leave any walkways! The first sign of damage to any planting, attributed to the placement of this geocache will result in it being immediately archived. Please respect and appreciate that the Smithsonian Institution has allowed the placement of this, and other caches on museum grounds. This cache is easy to find once you have the coordinates. Thank you.

The Smithsonian’s Feather Identification Lab at the Natural History Museum identifies the feathered culprit (or victim) of over 8,000 bird strikes each year. This is done by examination of microscopic feather characters and comparison with whole feathers of identified birds in the museum’s collections. DNA bar-coding is also used to identify bird ‘snarge’ . By identifying the exact species of birds that cause damage to airplanes, biologists can modify the habitat at airports to keep birds from coming to rest and feed. Most large airports have full time wildlife biologists who oversee airport programs to keep all forms of wildlife from interfering with safe flight operations. Dr. Carla Dove explains the process of identifying birds in this short video.

Airports have often been constructed near landfills or in wetlands because they are flat and have unobstructed approaches, and are otherwise commercially unusable. This practice naturally put birds and aircraft in competition for airspace. Gulls, geese, ducks, cormorants, and many small passerines are commonly seen at Gravely Point as there is a water fowl sanctuary right across the parkway.

A little physics about birds: When is a 6.8 kg (15lbs) goose like an elephant? When an airplane traveling at 200 knots (230 mph) thinks the goose is a shuttlecock! But that shuttlecock effectively weighs 16 tons
Traveling at 250 knots (290 mph) the same bird is equivalent to 26 tons and at 280 knots (325 mph) 26 tons and the plane and the shuttlecock hit the ground. Fortunately commercial aircraft take off around 150 knots (170 mph). Still not the recommended way to hunt geese but by the time the aircraft reaches greater speeds it is above the vast majority of bird traffic.

The cache is located at N 38° AB.CDE’ 077° VW.XYZ’. C and X will be obtained at Gravely Point. The rest of the coordinates will be obtained by visiting the CSI for Birds website, and the other listed waypoints which are located at the Smithsonian Urban Bird Habitat garden.

Go to GC4C1E waypoint 1. From here project a point 247° distance 800 feet. There you will find the numbers for C and X.
C = Number of the rule which states who has the right-of-way.
X = Number of the rule stating which activities are prohibited.

N 38° AB._DE' go to CSI for Birds and answer the following questions.
A = Tissue samples submitted for DNA testing included 123 species from _____ different orders. A = Digit sum of missing number.
B B = To prevent wildlife from congregating at airports. “Researchers have found that ______....” works well. Choose the correct answer and use the associated number.
Air cannons B = 8
Screaming kids on air planes B = 0
Poisons B = 1
Planting grass B = 3
Pepper spray B = 7

D = Number of letters in the last name of the “…late _________________ … who founded the Smithsonian forensic ornithology program…”
E = A bird that weighed less <0.25 ounces did $mn,000 damage to a B - 2 (a large bomber not a math problem). E = m - n.
Digit sum for AB.CDE = 6

The remainder of the coordinates for the latitude W 077° VW._YZ' are obtained by visiting the Smithsonian Urban Bird Habitat Garden with its series of signs:
Go to waypoint 2:
V= “Over _____ bird species…” V = 2nd to last digit in this number
Go to Waypoint 3:
W Corvus brachyrhnchos vary in size. W= the difference between the biggest and the smallest(in inches).
Y = Size, in inches, of Passer domesticus?
Go to Waypoint 4:
Z = The number of letters in the missing word: The Hummingbird is helping the plants by taking ______ from one flower to the next. This is not a direct quote from the sign.
Digit sum of VW.XYZ = 1

For more information see the following websites:
http://www.faa.gov/airports/airport_safety/wildlife/faq/
http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/people/natures-bar-code-inside-the-smithsonians-efforts-to-catalog-dna/
http://www.mnh.si.edu/highlight/feathers/
http://wildlife-mitigation.tc.faa.gov/wildlife/

NMNH GEOTOUR GEOCOIN.
Critical requirements and rules for the award of the geocoin are here.

1) The Original 9 caches of the NMNH GeoTour must be completed.

2) Two (2) photographs are required. Posted with your found log. (This is not an ALR as you may log a find on these two caches without posting a picture. It is a requirement to be awarded a geocoin. In other words – no photos no coin but your found log will stand).
a. Photo of an adult at GC3RRWA "CINMAR" with the log book clearly next to the face. Do not expose the code word in the photo.
b. Photo of an adult at GC3T24J “Leave it to Beaver” with the log book clearly next to the face. Do not expose the code word in the photo.

3) A completed Passport with the required code words sent to the address listed on the Passport.

4) One (1) coin per household or mailing address. If there are multiple geocachers in a household who have completed the tour, only one (1) coin will be awarded to that address.

5) The passports that have been received prior to January 1, 2016 will be awarded one coin without having to meet item 1 above, and these rules were not in effect for the NMNH GeoTour at that time.

6) January 1 will be the date of publication of these requirements to earn the geocoin.
The NMNH GeoTour Passport can be found here.

Additional Hints (No hints available.)

This cache has been archived.

Watch

Geocache Description:

Attributes

Inventory

Bookmark Lists

Things that Fly: Smithsonian NMNH GeoTour Mystery Cache

This cache has been archived.

Watch

Geocache Description:

Attributes

Inventory

Bookmark Lists