Category Archives for exhibitions

Top NatSCA Blogs of 2023

Compiled by Jen Gallichan, NatSCA Blog Editor.

To celebrate all of your wonderful contributions to the blog in 2023, here is a round up of the top ten most read blogs of the year. I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who contributed an article. And what a bumper year it has been with articles covering decolonisation work, collections moves, exhibitions, workshops, collections research and management. The NatSCA blog is driven solely by your contributions and it is stands as a testament to the hard work you are all in doing despite challenging times.

I am pleased to say that the 2024 blog calendar is open for business, so drop me a line if you would like to contribute.

In descending order…

10. 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, National Museums Liverpool. We kick of with a great blog looking at the work Olivia Beavers has been up to in Liverpool to highlight the work of a collector whose contributions to understanding Jamaican biodiversity are not yet fully recognised.

9. People and Plants Workshop Three: Sharing Knowledge in the Amazon. Written by Fiona Roberts (Collaborative ESRC PhD student, Cardiff University & Amgueddfa Cymru-National Museum Wales) and Violet Nicholls (Assistant Curator in Herbarium, Portsmouth Museums). The People & Plants workshops were an interesting series of training events focusing on decolonising collections. This article reviews the last of these events which addressed the question of how ethnobotanical collections in museums can best be used to support Indigenous communities.

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NatSCA Digital Digest – December 2023

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

Welcome to the December edition of NatSCA Digital Digest.

This is the last Digest of 2023 – packed full of festive activities and the latest on where to go, what to see and do in the natural history sector including jobs, exhibitions, conferences and training opportunities. If you have any top tips and recommendations for our next Digest please drop an email to blog@natsca.org.

Sector News

NatSCA Conference & AGM 2024 – SAVE THE DATE & CALL FOR PAPERS

The Annual Conference & AGM of the Natural Sciences Collections Association will be held on Thursday 18th and Friday 19th April 2024 in the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. The first day will include the AGM, presentations, and lightning talks. The second day will include presentations in the morning, followed by gallery and collection tours in the afternoon.

Trials and Triumphs: sharing practice across the museum sector

The #NatSCA2024 conference invites proposals for presentations on a broad range of themes. We seek ideas from the natural history collections community, educators, collaborators, and beyond. We are interested in practical lessons, unique solutions, new collaborations, and to show what has and hasn’t worked with projects.  We are looking for presentations that touch on every aspect of museum operations, including audience engagement, collections management practices, changing laws, social justice, restitution and decolonisation, environmental issues, global challenges, research and academic engagement.

This practical conference aims to celebrate triumphs and amplify successes in museums, but also highlight the pitfalls and lessons learned from situations that didn’t go as planned. We will prioritise papers that focus on sharing ideas, tools, and guidance rather than simply reporting results. We want to make this conference practical and useful, so please try to reflect this in your abstract.

While we have a focus on natural science collections, we recognise that we can learn from others in the wider museum sector, and we welcome submissions from anyone who wishes to share techniques and ideas with broader relevance and application.

Papers can be presented in any of several formats: A 20-minute presentation (consisting of a 15-minute talk followed by 5 minutes of Q&A) or a 5-minute lightning talk. Talks (both lightning and longer) can be presented in person or by submission of a pre-recorded presentation, with the option of an in-person or live stream Q&A (via Zoom).

Deadline for submission: 5pm GMT Friday 19th January. Please email conference@natsca.org with any questions.

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How to Reimagine a 117-year-old Diorama of Seabirds for a 2021 Gallery.

Written by Patricia Francis, Natural History Curator, Gallery Oldham. 

An account of ‘how to’ reuse an old, forgotten about diorama and turn it into a display highlighting a widespread and major environmental problem of today.

I first found this large sea stack diorama in a corner of a museum storeroom. The storeroom being in a basement of a building without lift access, so the display obviously had had a bit of a rough arrival to its resting place. It had been left uncovered for many years and was in a bit of a sorry state. There were a few birds left in position covered by plastic bags, sad remnants of a previous splendid display. It is a four-sided diorama and on one side at the base of the display is a ‘rock pool’ where a large sea worn pebble bears the following: Fred Stubbs, Oldham 1905.

After a bit of background research, I found this exhibit had four periods when it has been displayed. Firstly, in Oldham’s first Museum which opened in 1883 and where it was made – one of four original dioramas mentioned in a notebook and in the local newspaper the ‘Oldham Chronicle’ in an article of 1909 when it was described as: ‘A splendidly conceived stack, an isolated sandstone rock in the sea…provides accommodation on its ledges for a number of seabirds…makes up a beautiful picture at once artistic and scientific’. At this time a young Fred Stubbs was a leading light in the Oldham Natural History Society. Although the Museum was overseen by the Borough Council, the Society had been charged with the day to day running and creating natural history displays.

Very strangely three of these dioramas were coastal – sea stack, salt marsh and seashore, the fourth was woodland. Quite odd for a town museum like Oldham, far from the sea and where the largest local habitat is the Pennine and Peak District moorland! The maker, Fred, was born in Liverpool – so I wondered if his continued family connections with the coast had influenced this?

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NatSCA Digital Digest – October 2023

Compiled by Milo Phillips, Assistant Curator of Entomology for National Museums Scotland.

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

Museum Association Conference 2023: The Power of Museums

There’s still time to register for this years’ Museum Association Conference, 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/

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. 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. Bring your sandwiches and a cuppa and we hope to see you on the day!

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NatSCA Digital Digest – September 2023

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

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