This article is reposted from the UCL Museums blog.
By Mark Carnall, Curator of the Grant Museum of Zoology, UCL
My colleague Jack Ashby alluded to the Natural History Bingo Card in a recent blog post so I thought I’d take the time to present it to the wide world! Natural history museums are funny places. Despite the millions of species of animals and the enormous variation within species between broods, sexes, life stage, populations and seasonal variations you’d expect that you could visit every natural history museum in the World (finances allowing) and never see the same thing twice. You might think that, but the truth is many natural history museums have the same stuff on display whether you’re at the Grant Museum, the Natural History Museum London or in Paris, New York, Prague or Plymouth.
In fact, some specimens are so common, you can go around a natural history museum with this handy NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BINGO* and nine times out of ten you’ll have seen most of these specimens before you get to the gift shop. So what gives?
- Click to embiggernate & cut out and Keep! Natural History Bingo modified from the version in Carnall, M.A (2011): Completely Rethinking the Organisation of Natural History Museums: A Taxonomically Arranged National Collection. NatSCA News:21
I originally published the above figure in a paper looking at why natural history museums are all the same and what, if anything, could be for natural history museums to make the best use of their vast collections. You can tell from this Microsoft Paint produced chart that tongue was firmly in cheek but why does the Bingo hold true (go ahead and try it next time you are museuming)? It’s partly because, unlike other kinds of museums, natural history museums by and large have the same remit and are collecting and presenting the same thing (the natural world). But with so many different species and shapes of organisms why are the same specimens used as the public face of biology (specifically zoology) here? Continue reading
Last Wednesday the staff of the Grant Museum went on an expedition to the 
Natural science collections have a lasting and irreplaceable value and are highly relevant when defining national biodiversity and conservation goals today. By housing type specimens, vouchers and reference material they are a resource that enables recorders to produce more accurate and reliable data. However, funding for museums is at a critical point, with cuts, closures and the loss of curatorial expertise jeopardizing appropriate care for collections and access for researchers. Without overt use there is a very real possibility that collections will be lost, to the detriment of all. This open plenary meeting will draw on the experience of The Tullie House Museum in Carlisle and the Angela Marmont Centre for UK Biodiversity at the NHM as well as the NBN and NFBR to debate how museums can more effectively engage with recorders and taxonomists for the benefit of all.
NatSCA 