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
Spare a thought for colleagues at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia
On September 1st the Academy announced that their museum will be closing at the end of September, shocking visitors around the world and staff across the museum. The main reasons cited for its closure seem to be financial stress and federal funding cuts. Although the museum building is closing on September 30th, it seems that plans are being put in place to protect the 19 million specimens in the collections. Whilst we wait to learn more, you can read the latest statement here.
53rd GCG Winter Seminar
Unnatural Disaster: Fighting back against the steady erosion of geological collections
Registration is still open for the GCG Winter Seminar taking place on November 18th – 19th 2026 at Manchester Museum. For more information visit 53rd Winter Seminar and Annual General Meeting – Geological Collections Group.
31st Symposium on Palaeontological Preparation and Conservation (SPPC)
A reminder that the 31st Symposium on Palaeontological Preparation and Conservation (SPPC) is on November 17th, also at the Manchester Museum, so you can register for both meetings for a discounted combined fee. GCG members also qualify for a £10 discount, while an additional concessionary member’s discount is also available (contact events@geocollections.org for details of this).
Registration for both meetings will close on 16th October.
Where to Visit
Curious Creatures, Stone and Bone at the Herbert in Coventry
The Herbert’s latest natural science’s temporary exhibition opened in July and runs for two years. It explores a wide range of nature, from collecting to local wildlife and endangered species. As well as marvelling at the narwhal and a piece of the Barwell meteorite, explore their UV cave and relax in the wellbeing area. Find out more here: Curious Creatures, Stones and Bones – The Herbert Art Gallery & Museum.
Tanyptera Trust Workshops
Take a look at the Tanyptera Trust’s website to see the upcoming workshops that you can sign up for – starting with Chalcid wasps (Chalcidoidea) Workshop on October 2nd.
What to Read
The Economic Botany Collection at Kew has a new book announcement – Weaving Nature: Basketry from Plants to People by Mark Nesbitt and Ruth Stungo (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 2026, £60).
Basketry is among humanity’s oldest and most widespread technologies, providing essential containers, tools and furnishings across cultures and environments. Drawing on six millennia of evidence from around the world, Weaving Nature: Basketry from Plants to People explores the relationship between plants, craft practice and human society. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, the book follows the process from living plant material to finished object. It examines the botanical resources used in basketry, the techniques by which baskets are made, and the social, economic and cultural contexts in which they have been used. Around 300 examples are illustrated from the ethnobotanical collections of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, which preserve examples of basketry traditions from many parts of the world.
The book is currently available at near half price from https://www.booksetc.co.uk/books/view/-9781842468296.
From the Blog
This month Louise Green, Project Manager and Collections & House Manager, Felbrigg Hall, National Trust, and Martha Infray, Regional Conservator, National Trust have written the engaging conservation blog From Dioramas to The Red List: Conserving Felbrigg Hall’s Taxidermy Birds for a New Conservation Story.
Staff from the Natural History Museum’s Unlocked Programme: Lydia Amies, Caitlin Jenkins, Emanuele Casafredda, Lucia Petrera, Tanya Nakamoto and Fabiana Portoni, describe the mammoth task of Stabilising and Protecting Fossil Mammal Specimens in a Sustainable and Access-friendly Way for a Large-scale Collections Move.
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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