NatSCA Digital Digest

Welcome to the weekly digest of posts from around the web with relevance to natural science collections. We hope you find this useful and if you have any articles that you feel would be of interest, please contact us at blog@natsca.org

1. Blog: Collecting Organisms to Save their Species

Dr.Prosanta Chakrabarty, Louisiana State University

Synopsis

An advocate of specimen collecting in the 21st Century, Chakrabarty tackles the idea that we must no longer actively collect from the natural world if species are endangered.

Collecting Organisms to Save their Species

2. Blog: Museum of Natural History, Oxford

Rachel Parle, Oxford University Museum of Natural History

Synopsis

Parle talks about the way OUMN used social media to keep the public interested as the Museum lay closed for 14 months.

Museum of Natural History, Oxford

3. Blog: When Two Tribes Go To War: Art & Science ‘Curatorship’

Mark Carnall, Grant Museum of Zoology

Synopsis

‘The University of Cambridge museums and collections are currently running a project Curating Cambridge: our city, our stories, our stuff. Part of that project is looking at the art & science of curation asking curators what they think is meant by curation. My colleague Nick Booth has previously written about the problems with the word curator now becoming almost meaningless through overuse. I was inspired to write about the differences between “Art and Science” curation for the Art & Science of Curation website.’ ~ Mark Carnall

When two Tribes Go To War: Art & Science ‘Curatorship’

Compiled by Emma-Louise Nicholls, NatSCA Blog Editor

Is it ever acceptable for museums to lie?

Reblogged from the UCL Museums and Collections Blog

Is it ever acceptable for museums to lie?

By Jack Ashby, Grant Museum of Zoology

I ask this question to our Museum Studies Masters students every year, and last month put it to our new Bachelor of Arts and Sciences students. Despite the difference in the age, background and interests of these two groups, the reaction is the same – anger and horror. I am playing devil’s advocate in these debates, but my own opinion is yes, there are circumstances when everyone benefits from museums lying.

The lectures I discuss this in focus on object interpretation, and I use a tiger skull as a prop for discussing how to decide what information to include in labels. The choice of a tiger isn’t important – I just need something to use as an example I can attached real facts about natural history and conservation to, but I spend the two hours talking about tigers.

Lion (left) and tiger (right) skulls. Or is it the other way round? LDUCZ-Z1644 and LDUCZ-Z396

Lion (left) and tiger (right) skulls. Or is it the other way round? LDUCZ-Z1644 and LDUCZ-Z396

At the end of the lecture I reveal that the skull is in fact from a lion. Everything else I told them about tigers is true. Did it matter that I lied?

Continue reading →

NatSCA Digital Digest

Welcome to the weekly digest of posts from around the web with relevance to natural science collections. We hope you find this useful and if you have any articles that you feel would be of interest, please contact us at blog@natsca.org

1. Blog: ARKive’s Top Ten Eggs

Kathryn Pintus, ARKive

Kathryn Pintus
Kathryn Pintus

Synopsis

For those of us with a public programme to fill each holiday season, ideas and inspiration from other sources can never be too much or too numerous. I for one know first hand what it is like to keep trying to deliver a programme that is constantly fresh and original. As we egg-sit (sorry) another Easter of promoting eggs, egg-laying, anything eggy or egg-like that we have in our collections, I thought you may appreciate a pick me up. Here is a refreshing and quirky blog from ARKive that should do the trick.

ARKive’s Top Ten Eggs

Peacock butterfly eggs. © John Bebbington FRPS

Peacock butterfly eggs. © John Bebbington FRPS

Continue reading →

Become a Member of NatSCA Today!

Our long awaited online membership subscription system is now up and running at http://www.natsca.org/membership! Joining NatSCA has never been easier. You can now pay online securely by card, without needing to register with PayPal and we can also accept international payments.

New members can join online now by visiting http://www.natsca.org/membership, but we ask that existing members email us at membership@natsca.org to obtain a unique renewal link.

If you have not paid your membership dues yet, now is the perfect opportunity to do so! Membership costs just £15 for individuals (£10 unwaged) and £30 for institutions. Earlybird registration for our conference with SPNHC in Cardiff closes this Friday, April 25th and to receive the discounted rate, you must be a member in good standing.

For a full list of the benefits of NatSCA membership, please visit our membership page.

Thank you for supporting our work and welcome aboard new members!

NatSCA Digital Digest

Welcome to the weekly digest of posts from around the web with relevance to natural science collections. We hope you find this useful and if you have any articles that you feel would be of interest, please contact us at blog@natsca.org

1. Blog: NatureBase: Observe, Conserve, Protect

Sam Misan

Synopsis

One of the wonderful things about working in museums is the opportunity to inspire young minds. Cliche? Yes, maybe. But that doesn’t make it not true! The Grant Museum recently had a young visitor who told them about his like for blogging about museums that he visits, as well as his own collection of natural history objects. It is great to see how we are viewed by the upcoming generations of natural sciencers, and thought you’d enjoy a perusal of his blog.

NatureBase

2. References: Subject Specialist Networks

Various

Synopsis

Subject specialist networks are an integral tool for sharing information between museum professionals (and others) and tapping into the wealth of knowledge that may otherwise not be written down. The following website gives a list of SSNs, including many that are relevant to natural sciences.

Subject Specialist Networks

Compiled by Emma-Louise Nicholls, NatSCA Blog Editor