Melissa Barton

As far back as I can remember, I have loved writing, science, museums, and travel. I grew up in Oregon and spent much of my childhood exploring the landscape of eastern Oregon and rural Wisconsin, but I moved to Colorado for college. I graduated from Colorado College with a B.A. in Geology. During my time there I was a staff writer for the student monthly alternative magazine, The Cipher, and I also wrote for the Colorado College Alumni Bulletin. I studied briefly in Russia (Russian language) and the Caribbean (geology), the latter aboard the Sailing School Vessel Corwith Cramer of the SEA Education Association. I visited Iceland in 2006. In 2009 I visited Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands.

During and after college, I spent three summers as an intern and then seasonal museum technician for U.S. National Park Service (NPS) at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument.

In May of 2010, I received a Master’s of Science degree in Museum and Field Studies from the University of Colorado at Boulder. During my time in the program, I concentrated academically on paleontology and museum collections management, while I worked as a research and collections assistant and helped maintain and update the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History website.

I am equally passionate about science and communication, which makes the museum field a perfect fit for me.

Writing

As a freelance writer, I have been published in a variety of places, including Geotimes, Transitions Abroad, Colorado Springs News & Views, the Colorado College Alumni Bulletin, and other magazines. I’m also a frequent contributor to Student Health 101 and to reference books from Salem Press. I currently edit the newsletter of the Laramide Chapter of the Association for Women Geoscientists.

This summer I am researching and consolidating resources on natural history collections management best practices for the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections

Web Design

I have been designing websites for more than 10 years. During graduate school, I worked as an informatics assistant at the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History for three years, where I designed several websites for exhibits and special projects, as well as working on creating graphics and moving content over to a new museum website in 2010. I also reorganized and expanded the Museum and Field Studies Graduate Program section of the website, including adding a Student Experiences page and creating a section for the Museum Club.

Photo by Kevin J. Frost.