Reading Nature, Observing Science: Examining Material Practices in the Lick Observatory Archives and Kenneth S. Norris PapersMain MenuIntroduction to the Lick Observatory ArchivesThe Lick Observatory: Imaging the CosmosThe Lick Observatory: Eclipse ExpeditionsEclipse Intro page (first in a path)Introduction to Kenneth S. Norris PapersKenneth S. Norris Papers: Natural History in PracticeKenneth S. Norris Papers: Pedagogy and ConservationConnections: In Relation to NatureThese images demonstrate the different constructions of nature in the two archivesConnections: Materials of ObservationVisualization of the ConnectionsVisualizes the connections between all the contentReading Nature, Observing ScienceCaptions and information for the cases of objects on display at UCSC Special CollectionsAlex Moore6cd84a9f7efd71803c15562e48a509db9e0bb5a6Christine Turkb279a3dcf419860f915007f04f08e6fc0f8662ceDanielle Crawford22ce6a14f83c9ff73c3545a665951a092258f08e
Kathy, with Blindfolds in Place, Pokes the Target with her Nose, undated
12016-06-02T19:10:51-07:00Danielle Crawford22ce6a14f83c9ff73c3545a665951a092258f08e91844Photograph of Kathy the dolphin pressing a target while wearing blindfolds. This was part of Norris and John Prescott's echolocation experiment.plain2016-06-08T00:30:17-07:00Danielle Crawford22ce6a14f83c9ff73c3545a665951a092258f08e
12016-06-03T15:13:12-07:00Danielle Crawford22ce6a14f83c9ff73c3545a665951a092258f08eCase 2: Natural History, Pedagogy, and EcholocationDanielle Crawford50All of the objects in this case are from the papers of Kenneth S. Norris, who was a professor of natural history at UCSC's Environmental Studies Department. The materials in this case highlight Norris's work in natural history, his creation of the popular Natural History Field Quarter, and his research in dolphin echolocation.gallery2016-06-08T00:16:57-07:00Danielle Crawford22ce6a14f83c9ff73c3545a665951a092258f08e
12016-05-30T02:19:18-07:00Echolocation31plain2016-06-08T00:44:04-07:00Norris was a leader in early research on dolphin echolocation. Much of his early echolocation work was done during his time as founding curator at Marineland of the Pacific in Palos Verdes, California. In particular, Norris and John H. Prescott did a key echolocation experiment with Kathy, a bottlenose dolphin, which entailed placing blindfolds on Kathy and having her press a target with her nose while blindfolded. This experiment helped to prove the existence of dolphin echolocation.
In his echolocation research, Norris relied on various technologies. He used audiotapes to record sound emissions made by marine mammals, such as Baby Jean and Amiko, a short-finned pilot whale and bottlenose dolphin respectively. These audiotapes document Baby Jean and Amiko's whistles, clicks, and buzzes. Norris also took sonographs of Baby Jean and Amiko, which were used to chart various frequencies and sound emissions at specific depths.