Editorial.

The Natural Science Museum in Jackson has opened in its new and much improved facilities. Not only is the building much larger, but also the grounds surrounding the facility are more impressive than those of the old museum. The Mississippi Academy of Sciences is pleased to highlight the museum in this issue with a brief article describing the facility and a lengthy article describing the ecology and flora of LeFleur's Bluff, the area on which the museum is built. In addition this issue contains another natural history article not associated with the museum, but certainly with the theme of the issue, on Hemiptera and Homoptera found in parts of Hancock County.

The Junior Academy is also highlighted in this issue with an article from one of last year's Junior Academy paper competition winners and articles concerning and our former Junior Academy director, Joan Messer who is assuming directorship of the American Junior Academy of Sciences.

The annual meeting of the Mississippi Academy of Sciences will be held in Tupelo, Mississippi, next year on the 8th and 9th of February. This issue contains the first call for abstracts. Visit the Academy website to submit your abstract electronically.

As we approach the meeting this year, many of you will be directing students training as research scientists. State academies have always been excellent places for these students to get their first opportunity to deliver a formal, oral scientific presentation. Please consider this Academy journal as a place where those students could publish their first formal written paper. The Journal of the Mississippi Academy of Sciences is peer reviewed. We publish across the breadth of the sciences, but are especially interested in research associated with Mississippi and the Southeastern United States. Much of the work these junior scientist do is not of the depth necessary to publish in a national journal, but the information is still of value to the scientific community. This journal could be a student's first, invaluable opportunity to experience peer review and the publishing process.

How many of you took the science quiz published in the last issue? How many of you got all the answers correct? Do any of you have a similar diversion that you think our readers would be interested in seeing? Let me know.

Ken Curry