Behind Every Wing – DelMNS Bird Collection Volunteers

Ginny Schiavelli is the Delaware Museum of Nature and Science’s longest-serving volunteer. She has always loved birds, sparking her initial interest in volunteering in the bird collection. Since her initial interest in the museum’s bird collection, she has volunteered at the museum for about 29 years. During her time at the museum, she has gained experience with many tasks ranging from organizing the Collection and Resources library to rehousing bird egg collections. As a longtime volunteer, she has been able to see the collection of eggs in boxes, organized the way that they have in comparison to previous years when she was helping to organize data with specimens. Outside of volunteering, Ginny is an involved resident at a local retirement home community and an elevator operator. In her free time, she likes to go on bird walks, watch movies, and travel. 

Laura Balascio retired with a background in the pharmaceutical industry, and she enjoys spending her free time at the museum. Her interest in birds started at the age of four when she received a book about birds from her aunt. As her interest in birds grew, she became more fascinated by the museum’s collections of birds and decided to volunteer. As a volunteer, Laura helps to database the bird egg collection. She weighs and documents the information on the eggs in the computer for a digital catalog of the bird egg collection. With the help of her work cataloging information, she says “[people] can go back and see trends and changes in [the specimen].” Outside of volunteering, Laura dedicates her time to other organizations. In her free time, she likes to garden native plants and knit for charity. 

Lew Scharpf retired with a background in biochemistry, and he loves to volunteer to deepen the museum’s knowledge of birds. As a lifelong birder and his love of education, he decided to volunteer at the museum. He studies the role of songs in the behavior of songbirds, specifically in Thrashers. To study songbird vocalization, he reads various literature works, talks to Dr. Matthew Halley (DelMNS Research Director & Curator, Bird Collection), analyzes collection of specimens, enters data in database, and discusses the results with the DelMNS Collections and Resources staff. Lew’s work at the museum highlights how DelMNS specimens are a way for us to learn more about the species that have inhabited the earth because the museum has these specimens in hand and can study them in many different ways. Outside of volunteering, Lew is a musician and an editor in a local magazine. In his free time, he likes to go on bird walks, play ping-pong, and spend time with family.  

Thompson (Tom) Pizzolato retired with a background in plant anatomy, and he enjoys volunteering to further the museum’s contribution to research. Due to his background in plant anatomy, he was interested in the museum’s collection of nests. He decided to volunteer his time to learn more about the plant structures found in the nests. To study the nests, he collects samples from the museum’s nest collection and makes glass slides of the samples to look at them under a microscope at home. After looking at the samples in a microscope, he can identify the plant material. Tom’s work with nests shows the wonder of nature and the variety of nature. Outside of volunteering, Tom spends a lot of quality time with family. He also likes to go for a walk in the woods, identify various types of plants, and read nonfiction books.