Science Stories

John Hausdoerffer, PhD, explores how RMBL Youth Programs are inspiring the next generation of scientists by connecting K–12 students with researchers in the field. From marmots and hummingbirds to mountain streams and snowpack, young scientists are learning that discovery begins with curiosity.

A ray of mid-May Gothic sun cut through a light snow shower in 2025 as I visited RMBL Research Scientist Ian Breckheimer, PhD, and Western Colorado University Paul M. Rady School of Computer Science and Engineering students just north of the Visitor Center. …

Three years ago, during a residency at the Design Museum in London, design researcher Eliza Collin was developing a new project about olfactory evolution and looking for scientists studying how climate change affects the scent of flowers. …

On a summer morning near Gothic, before most of the valley stirs, ecologist Josh “Bear” Grinath is already thinking about questions that stretch far beyond any single field site: How do pollution and predators shape communities of plants and animals? What might those interactions portend for the future? …

On March 13, 2026, longtime RMBL scientist Paul Ehrlich, PhD, passed away in Palo Alto, California, at age 93. …

The East River carves a perfect “S” just before it flows between the base of Gothic Mountain and a treehouse named “Bean Pod.” Rocky Mountain Biological Station …

On Nov. 14, 2025, I drove the short distance from my apartment in Mount Crested Butte to Dr. David Inouye’s cabin in South Gothic. At that point in this dry year, the Gunnison Basin measured 16 percent of average…  

This past October, RMBL closed on an 8,271 square foot former hostel at 615 Teocalli Avenue in Crested Butte. The three floors offer a large ground floor living room for scientific collaborations and community discussions…