Jobs and Placements

Life Collections Conservator (maternity cover) – Oxford University Museum of Natural History. A great opportunity to join the Oxford team. Applications close 21 October 2015.

Collections Administrator and Access Coordinator – Science Museum, London. A 6 month, fixed-term post. Applocations close 27 October 2015.

Two placement positions are available at Leeds Museums: with their Zoology collections, and on a Geoblitz Project. Applications for both close 31 October 2015.

As always, more opportunities are advertised on our Jobs Page.

Events

The Geologists’ Association’s Festival of Geology is on 7 November, at UCL, London. The festival includes talks, walks, stalls, displays, and a photography competition. Entry is free!

On 27 November, there is a free one-day conference at the Natural History Museum (NHM), London, entitled ‘Biotic Response to Environmental Change: Insights from Natural History Collections‘. Booking is via Eventbrite, where you can also see the full schedule of talks.

Save the date! The Geological Curators’ Group’s AGM is coming up on 1 – 2 December at NHM, London. This year the theme is ‘Not just rocks in the cupboard: communicating geoscience through collections‘. Further details have yet to be announced.

Around the Web

Controversy over the collection (and non-collection) of specimens seems to have reigned lately…

The first male moustached kingfisher to be observed was found by a research team from the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), and a single specimen was euthanised and collected. Following a negative reaction in the press, the lead researcher wrote an article defending the decision to collect this scientifically important specimen.

A new species of South African bee fly was described, solely on the basis of photographic evidence, with no physical type specimens preserved for study and comparison.