Tag Archives for Blogs

NatSCA Digital Digest – October 2026

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

MIDS Standard Public Review Now Open

The MIDS Task Group is pleased to announce that the public review of the Minimum Information about a Digital Specimen (MIDS) standard is now open.

MIDS gives collections a shared, measurable definition of what it means for a specimen to be “digitized”. It helps institutions prioritize digitization work, track progress consistently, and publish specimen data that are fit for research and reuse. MIDS complements existing standards such as Darwin Core and ABCD rather than replacing them.

The review begins on 5 October 2026 and will remain open until 4 December 2026. You can participate via the TDWG site here.

Continue reading →

NatSCA Digital Digest – August 2026

Compiled by Ellie Clark, Curator of Fossil Cnidaria at the Natural History Museum.

Welcome to the August edition of NatSCA Digital Digest.

Digital Digest is 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

Entomological Skills Workshop at National Museums Northern Ireland

Join Buglife Northern Ireland Conservation Officer, Hannah, and National Museums Northern Ireland Curators for a workshop on collecting, preparing, and identifying insect specimens for conservation research.

The workshop is free and taking place on Saturday the 19th of September.

Book via their webpage. Age group 18 and above.

Continue reading →

NatSCA Digital Digest – June 2026

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

Journal of Natural Science Collections – Call for Papers

The deadline for submissions to the 15th Volume of the Journal of Natural Science Collections is 30th June. If you have projects and practices to share that will benefit the museum community, please send your manuscript to editor@natsca.org

The Journal represents all areas of work with natural science collections, and includes articles on best practice and latest research across disciplines, including conservation, curation, learning, and exhibitions. Articles should be relevant and accessible to our diverse membership.

If you would like to contribute to the Journal, please contact the editor (editor@natsca.org) and see our guidelines for authors.

All submissions are peer reviewed, resulting in high quality articles. If you are interested in contributing to the Journal by acting as a reviewer, please contact editor@natsca.org, along with the areas of specialism you would be confident reviewing (e.g. bird curation, mineralogy, conservation techniques, etc). You can read our information for reviewers here.

Continue reading →

NatSCA Digital Digest – April 2026

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

Welcome to the April 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 2026: Registration Now OPEN!

Booking is now open for the Annual Conference & AGM of the Natural Sciences Collections Association (NatSCA) held on Thursday 14th and Friday 15th May 2026 at The Ulster Museum in Belfast, Northern Ireland. This year’s theme is: Collaborating and Connecting with Natural History.

Due to limited venue capacity, the conference is limited to 120 places. Please follow this link to the conference page to find out more information: https://www.natsca.org/event/2924.

Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions. If you would like to become a member, which would qualify you for the conference discount or bursaries, please see our website for details.

Please note that the early bird discount ends on the 14th April so get in quick if you want to get the cheaper rate!

Continue reading →

NatSCA Digital Digest – March 2026

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

Welcome to the March 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 2026: Registration Now OPEN!

Booking is now open for the Annual Conference & AGM of the Natural Sciences Collections Association (NatSCA) held on Thursday 14th and Friday 15th May 2026 at The Ulster Museum in Belfast, Northern Ireland. This year’s theme is: Collaborating and Connecting with Natural History.

Continue reading →