Cabinet of Curiosities
Cabinets of Curiosities, or Wonder Rooms, were the original natural history museums. Wikipedia says they were both modest collections by naturalists, and elaborate and princely collections by the wealthy as a status symbol. The objects they held were not always real, or not always presented with the correct interpretation - the classic example is the Narwhal horn being presented as a unicorn horn. They were used for quiet contemplation, for showing off wealth, and for just marveling at the natural world.
There is nothing that can replace being in a natural history museum, or being outdoors experiencing the wonders of nature itself.
But - the next wonder of the natural world is the data that has already been collected by institutions and by individuals. There are many institutions that host this data and make it available to the public for free.
Ciera Martinez and I started our blog Cabinet of Curiosities to reflect this level of excitement and available data that can be really used to see the world in new light. Posts in the blog will be aimed at exploring how to access the data through APIs, and some ways in which the data could be analyzed. We think that data can unlock more understanding of the natural world, and there is a treasure trove already available. We aim to create a resource for people who want to learn to access data from these sources, and to also analyze the data in new ways, and to explore new vizualizations of the data.