Author Archives for Natural Sciences Collections Association

“Our Irish Natural History”: Increasing the Accessibility of Natural History Collections through Community-Driven Interpretation

Written by Adriana Ballinger, Yale University Charles P. Howland Postgraduate Research Fellow at the National Museum of Ireland, Natural History.

Natural history specimens are often inaccessible to the communities from which they were collected. As a result, source communities lack opportunities to connect with elements of their local heritage, and museums and their publics overlook the place-based expertise that many of these communities hold about the specimens we research and see on display. Scientists lead the knowledge creation process surrounding natural history specimens, but source communities can also contribute valuable information, especially regarding the meanings that flora, fauna, and geological features embody in their environments of origin. Although these cultural contexts are often intangible and unquantifiable, they are nevertheless important facets of specimens’ natural histories. For the past year, I have led “Our Irish Natural History,” a community-driven research and exhibition project at the National Museum of Ireland (NMI). I set out to increase the accessibility of the NMI’s natural history collections, explore innovative avenues for community-led interpretation, and create new opportunities for public engagement.

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How to Get a Job Working with Museum Collections

Written by Sarah Burhouse, Caitlin Jamison, Bethany Palumbo & Vicky Ward. Compiled by Jennifer Gallichan, Vertebrate Curator, Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales.

Those of us that that are lucky enough to work with natural science collections will be familiar with the question ‘How do you get a job in a museum’? At a time when cuts to the sector mean that museum jobs seem even fewer and farther between, I felt it was important that we share some of our combined experiences to hopefully give some tips (and hope) for emerging museum professionals.

I reached out to colleagues across the sector to get their ‘origin’ stories and see if they had any advice for those seeking a museum job working with collections. Many thanks to Sarah, Caitlin, Bethany and Vicky for sharing your stories with us.

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NatSCA Digital Digest – October 2025

Compiled by Milo Phillips, Digitisation Co-ordinator at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

Welcome to the October 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

GCG Winter Seminar in Hastings – Registration Open Now

While the call for abstracts has now closed, you can still register to join the Geological Collections Group in December at Hastings Museum & Art Gallery for their 2025 Winter Seminar and Annual General Meeting. The Seminar and AGM will be held at the Museum on December 10th and will be followed by a field trip to the coast in the Pett Level – Fairlight area on December 11th.

For registration forms and details about the talks of the day, guidance on what to expect during the field trip, and directions for finding your ways to all of the above, visit their website here.

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From Deck to Decant: A Marine Biologist’s Déjà Vu After a Year in a Natural History Museum

Written by Dr Jamie Maxwell, Collections Assistant, National Museum of Ireland, Natural History.

Not every job takes you to a windswept beach on Ireland’s west coast to recover the head of a stranded True’s beaked whale calf. But then again, my past year as a Collections Assistant at the Natural History Museum in Dublin has been anything but ordinary. As we collected the head of the slightly decomposed whale calf, I was reminded of my previous fieldwork experiences, mainly on research cruises during my academic career. Before joining the museum, I spent a decade in education and research as a marine biologist, specializing in deep-sea invertebrates. During that time, I not only investigated freshly collected specimens but also engaged with museum collections. It wasn’t until I became a collections assistant at the National Museum of Ireland, Natural History that I became fully immersed in the day-to-day workings of a museum. Much of the past year was taken up with decanting the contents of the Merrion Street building in preparation for renovation. In this blog, I’ll explore how decanting a museum is remarkably like being involved with a research cruise. 

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NatSCA Digital Digest – September 2025

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

Call for Papers – GCG special issue of Geological Curator.

This is reminder of the upcoming GCG special issue of Geological Curator. This issue will be published in Spring 2026, titled ‘Moving towards equitable Geoscience Collections’.

The purpose of this issue is to consolidate current research and initiatives that aim to improve the environment, accessibility, and future of geological collections. Broad themes welcomed in this issue include anti-colonial practice, physical accessibility, neuroinclusive practice, and representation of minority groups. Submissions can include topics relating to museums broadly, but submissions with a Geoscience collections focus would be preferred.

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