Written by Lucie Mascord, NatSCA committee conservation representative.

During the week of the 18^th January 2021 NatSCA will be hosting their first ever Twitter conference all on the subject of conservation.

Following on from the success of our inaugural conservation conference “Caring for Natural Science Collections” held at Oxford University Museum of Natural History back in October 2018, the NatSCA conservation working group had hopes of another conference this year. However, it was not to be, so we are changing the format and coming to you in 2021!

The attendees of the “Caring for Natural Science Collections” one-day conference at Oxford University Museum of Natural History in 2018. ©Bethany Palumbo @bethany_bug

Given how strange this year has been we are keeping it simple. Just follow us on the week of 18^th January (programme with exact dates and times to follow) on the hashtag #NatSCAConservation and we will bring the unique world of natural science conservation to you for free! Join us for this great opportunity to explore conservation work relating to the range of natural materials including bone, taxidermy, fluid preserved collections, geology, botany and entomology.

If you have a natural science conservation project to share, whatever the size, shape or specimen, we would love to hear from you. The subject of each submission can be as diverse as the field of natural history itself, from storage projects, preventative work, treatments, new innovations, or to how recent world health events are shaping the way we work with collections. Check out the event page to find instructions on submitting an abstract, the deadline is the 30^th November.

My particular highlight of our conservation conference in 2018 was seeing the number of emerging professionals we had in attendance, and speaking. This included Kathryn Royce giving an excellent talk on her research into geological collections with Dr Christian Baars at the National Museum Cardiff; and three very differing technical projects from Samuel Suarez Ferreira, Beth Hamilton and Anastasia van Gaver during their placements at the Cambridge University Museum of Zoology. It was heartening to see such enthusiasm and skilled work displayed through these talks. My other highlight, in a day of valuable talks, was to see Natalie Jones speak about the needle-felting technique that has been expertly adapted for fur in-fills on taxidermy. The before and after pictures always succeed in delighting the audience.

Natalie Jones from the Cambridge University Museum of Zoology speaking about the needle-felting process at the NatSCA Caring for Natural Science Collections one-day conference in 2018 ©Lucie Mascord

To find out more about our 2021 Twitter conference, keep an eye on the event page (https://www.natsca.org/conservation-2021) where more information will be posted soon. Please contact conservation@natsca.org with any questions.