Compiled by Olivia Beavers, Assistant Curator of Vertebrate Zoology at World Museum, National Museums Liverpool.
Welcome to the June 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
NatSCA Annual Conference & AGM 2025 Recording
On May 8th and 9th 2025, NatSCA hosted ‘Making a Difference: Showing the Positive Impact of Natural History Collections’, the 2025 NatSCA Conference at the Manchester Museum. This conference was recorded and can now be viewed online on our YouTube channel here.
Society for the History of Natural History Summer Meeting 2025 – online registration open
The SHNH are offering an online attendance option for this year’s summer meeting, ‘A Sense of Nature’ on 19th and 20th June 2025. Registration for in-person attendance has now closed.
The conference will explore the intersections of the senses – including sight (vision), sound (hearing), smell (olfaction), taste (gustation) and touch (tactile perception) – with the history of natural history. The programme will feature 12 papers across six sessions.
Full details are available on the website: https://shnh.org.uk/a-sense-of-nature-shnh-2025-glasgow-19-20-june/
Geological Collections Group – Dinosaur trackways field workshop
As GCG members will have seen advertised in the last GCG newsletter, by popular request GCG and OUMNH are re-running the dinosaur trackways field workshop, due to take place in Oxfordshire on 24th July 2025.
This one day field workshop will teach participants how to clean out large sauropod footprints, and take measurements of both isolated prints and entire trackways. This is a practical field workshop, with hands on experience of working with dinosaur trackways. For this reason, participants must be able to move across uneven ground unaided.
For more information and to register, please see their website: Dinosaur Trackways Field Workshop – Geological Collections Group
ICON – Introduction to CITES for Conservators
ICON are running an online course exploring how conservators can help combat wildlife crime. The course provides essential knowledge on CITES, equipping participants with the awareness and tools needed to navigate conservation challenges. It will be led by expert, Craig Fellowes MBE.
The course will be held on the 26th June, 10am – 4pm. Ticket prices are £70 for ICON members, and £115 for non-members. For more information and to book, see the webpage: Introduction to CITES for Conservators
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.
NEW NatSCA BLOG POSTS for 2025
Do you have something exciting coming up this year that you’d like to promote? Is there a subject you’ve been itching to write about? With over 2000 views a month, the NatSCA blog is a great way of getting your work out there.
Jen is seeking blog posts for the latter half of 2025, so if you have something in the pipeline that you would love to tell everyone about, drop her a line! This is an excellent opportunity to book yourself in a slot in the calendar.
If you are interested but have any questions, please email blog@natsca.org. You can also find guidelines on how to contribute here: Guidelines for contributions to the NatSCA blog | NatSCA.
Where to Visit
Bird Photographer of the Year
A new temporary exhibition at Gallery Oldham: Bird Photographer of the Year runs from 14 June – 6 September. This stunning exhibition showcases the work of photographers capturing the beauty and diversity of birdlife.
Lyme Regis Fossil Festival
The Fossil Festival will be held on 14 and 15 June 2025. Find out more on the event website.
Space: Could Life Exist Beyond Earth?
The latest exhibition at the Natural History Museum is running from 16 May 2025 – 22 February 2026. Snap a selfie with a piece of Mars, touch a fragment of the Moon and lay your hands on a meteorite older than our planet. Follow this link to find out more.
What to Read
A new paper written by Giles Miller on Sir John Murray’s H.M.S. Challenger sediment collection at the NHM is now available to read via this free download link from the Journal Historical Biology: https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/MZSRXSFSIXUY83QH6AWI/full?target=10.1080/08912963.2025.2506185
The paper covers the history of how the collection came to the museum, starting with the actions of the Challenger crew during collection, early study and then the various moves the collection made while it was being studied and subsequently stored at the NHM.
There are two amazing new NatSCA blogs to read this month. The first by Dan Gordon, Keeper of Biology, The Great North Museum: Hancock: A Hundred Feet Through the Door – A Chance Encounter with some Centipedes set me on a Curatorial Path… and the second is 5 Top Tips on How to Decant your Museum written by Eimear Ashe, Collections Moves Project Manager, National Museum of Ireland.
Where to Work
Museum Specialist – American Museum of Natural History
The Division of Palaeontology (Invertebrates) at the American Museum of Natural History is searching for a Museum Specialist who would assist in the care and maintenance of the Invertebrate Palaeontology collections. The position is permanent full time. For full details and information about applying, please see: https://careers.amnh.org/postings/4417.
Senior Collections Lead – University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge
A new four-year position, Senior Collections Lead, is available at the University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge (Full-time, fixed term for four years (in the first instance)). The Senior Collections Lead’s primary responsibility is to manage the team responsible for Collections Management, Care, and Conservation; whilst also playing a significant role in the delivery of this work, particularly in areas of collections management. For more information and details on how to apply, please see: https://www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/51272/. Closing Date: June 22nd 2025
Collections Manager Lepidoptera – The African Natural History Research Trust
The African Natural History Research Trust (ANHRT) is looking for a full time, Collections Manager, Lepidoptera. The successful candidate will be responsible for identifying and curating parts of the collections as needed, ensuring proper management and safeguarding in accordance with ANHRT’s collection management protocols. Additionally, the ability to supervise visiting scientists and foster future collaborations will be a key aspect of this position. Full Time, Negotiable Salary. Closing Date: June 27th 2025.
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.
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