Compiled by Olivia Beavers, Assistant Curator of Vertebrate Zoology at World Museum, National Museums Liverpool.

Welcome to the September edition of NatSCA Digital Digest.

A monthly blog series featuring the latest on where to go, what to see and do in the natural history sector including jobs, exhibitions, conferences, and training opportunities. We are keen to hear from you if you have any top tips and recommendations for our next Digest, please drop an email to blog@natsca.org.

Sector News

Museum Association Conference 2023: The Power of Museums

This years’ Museum Association Conference is being held in Gateshead on 7th-9th November. The conference will explore how we can help our communities flourish by having a positive impact on health and wellbeing, placemaking, economic regeneration and by providing space to reflect on the pressing issues that we face. The cost of living crisis, discrimination and climate change are all having an impact on our communities. What do people need from us in times of upheaval and change? Follow the link to find out about the registration fees and to book your place: https://www.museumsassociation.org/events/conference-2023/

#BlackInNHMs – Black in Natural History Week – Registration is now open!

The 3rd Annual Black in Natural History Museums (#BlackInNHMs) Week runs from Sunday 15th – Saturday 21st October. Anyone can join in: non-black and black colleagues are invited to a series of online events planned for the week. Follow this link to register and find out more: https://www.blackinnhms.org/2023-binhms-week

Digital Geoscience – Unleashing the Power of Data and Technology in Earth Sciences

This Digital Geoscience hybrid conference is taking place on Zoom and at Burlington House from the 13th – 14th November 2023. The key areas covered are Digital Geoscience Futures, Field Data Collection, Communication, and Education. To find out more about the speakers, registration fees and event programme visit here.

NatSCA Lunchtime Chats

The new lunchtime chats are for members only and run on the last Thursday of every month. This series is supposed to be informal; no fancy equipment is needed; it will be put out over the NatSCA Zoom platform and there is no fixed format. For those who want to take part please email training@natsca.org to put forward your idea; if a stable internet connection for what you want to achieve is tricky, we can put up a pre-recorded video and then speakers can jump in at the end for the discussion. Bring your sandwiches and a cuppa and we hope to see you on the day! All members will have received a link to join via Zoom (the same link works for all sessions) – if you haven’t, get in touch with membership@natsca.org.

Where to Visit

The Natural History Museum of Denmark has a new website to follow the adventures of their conservation team. There will be new posts every month detailing object restoration and conservation efforts, as well as exhibition planning and the general antics of moving into a new museum. It can be found here: https://snm.ku.dk/english/conservation/

World Museum Liverpool is hosting a screening of Tiger on the Rocks on behalf of Bower Bird Films at 2pm on 16th September. Short Synopsis: On a cave wall in Mok Clan country in far north Australia, a magnificent painting of the Tasmanian Tiger is the final resting place of an ancestor spirit. The people from that country call it djarnkerrk. Also called the Thylacine, it’s not a true ‘tiger’, despite its striped flanks, but a marsupial. An unusual one. A pouched animal with a kangaroo’s tail and a dog’s head. The British, who colonised lutruwita/Tasmania in 1803, blamed the Tiger for killing their sheep and put a bounty on its head. Since 1936 there have been no verifiable sightings. But its story lives on all over the continent in rock art, footprints and fossil bones. Tiger on the Rocks goes in search of the traces. To register for the Beyond the Label: Tiger on the Rocks film you can click here. There are plenty of Tanyptera Trust workshops, seminars and recording days planned for September – click here for more information.

What to Read

The new Irish Museums Association Journal Museum Ireland is now published online and is open access. There are several articles relating to natural history which can be found here: https://irishmuseums.org/uploads/downloads/publications/Museum-Ireland-Vol-29_Web.pdf.

We have more NatSCA blogs to read this month – including the re-introduction of the important figure William Thomas March, a Jamaican Collector, Naturalist and Early Pioneer of Biological Data Recording in Jamaica written by Olivia Beavers (Assistant Curator of vertebrate Zoology at World Museum).

And the latest thought-provoking blog: What is Taxidermy? An Intimate Relationship between Death and Maker written by Jazmine Miles Long (Taxidermist) which discusses the stigma and assumptions behind taxidermy, the art, beauty and skilfulness required, how death is communicated to children and how perceptions are changed when viewers are shown how animals are preserved.

Where to Work

The Natural History Museum, London is looking for a Curator, Fossil Bryozoans, Sponges, Worms and Trace Fossils on a permanent, full time contract. They are also looking for permanent, full time Curator/Senior Curator of Fishes within the Vertebrates Division. You can find out more information here.

The Canadian Museum of Nature is also hiring for a permanent full-time position (37.5 hours/week) for the Head, Library, Archives, and Special Collections. The position is responsible for responsible for the planning, supervision, operation, and maintenance of CMN’s Library, Archives, and Special Collections (archives, photo collections, NatureART). Please follow the link for more information: https://nature.ca/en/join-give/careers/opportunities/head-library-archives-and-special-collections/

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is recruiting a Senior Curator Botanist (Africa) for a fixed term of 18 months. The role includes facilitating access for their many visitors to the collections from around the world, identifying specimens collected from Africa and providing research support. Click here to read more and apply.

Before You Go…

If you have any top tips and recommendations for our next Digest please drop an email to blog@natsca.org. Similarly, if you have something to say about a current topic, or perhaps you want to tell us what you’ve been working on, we welcome new blog articles so please drop Jen an email if you have anything you would like to submit.