Tag Archives for practical tips

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 →

Impala Trophy Head – A Conservation Treatment Summary

Written by Greta Kelly, Conservation Practice MSc Student at Cardiff University.

During my studies on the Conservation Practice MSc at Cardiff University I had the opportunity to do a placement with the natural science conservation department at Museums NI. As part of this I assisted in an ongoing project to conserve and stabilise a number of trophy heads in the museums stores. The trophy head that I worked on was an impala skull, mounted on a wooden shield, dated to the 1930s.

Before beginning any conservation, I carried out a condition assessment of the skull and shield, to determine what treatment would be needed. The skull was generally in good condition, with no identifiable breakages or loss. The teeth while still in their sockets, were loose, and there was slight delamination at the base of the right horn. There was extensive surface dirt on the teeth, horns and skull, including inside the skull.

Before cleaning images of the impala skull. Image credit: Greta Kelly

The wooden shield was in good condition, with just some surface dirt. However the two metal hooks which looped through the zygomatic arches to hold the skull in place, were not providing sufficient support, allowing the skull to move about on the shield and putting it at risk of damage.

Continue reading →

NatSCA Digital Digest – July 2026

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

Welcome to the July 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 Abstracts – GCG Winter Seminar – Unnatural Disaster: fighting back against the steady erosion of geological collections

Despite their clear public popularity, the future of geological collections, as well as that of the people and institutions who care for them, feels constantly under threat. The 2026 GCG Winter Seminar will serve as a ‘call to arms’ for those in our community to present on and discuss the public and scientific benefits of our collections.

The Winter Seminar and AGM will take place on the 18th November 2026 at Manchester Museum. A fieldtrip to the Peak District (max. capacity 20) and tours of the Manchester Museum collections (max. capacity 10) will take place on19th November.

The deadline for abstracts is the 31st of July 2026. Find more information here.

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 →

Meet the Taxidermist – A New Way to Engage the Public with Taxidermy

Written by Julie Griffith, Property Experience Curator, Calke Abbey – National Trust & Sarah Burhouse, Taxidermist, Birdhouse Taxidermy.

How to challenge negative pre-conceptions of taxidermy and facilitate deeper, positive engagement with the objects – this was the challenge faced at Calke Abbey, a National Trust property in Derbyshire.

Credit – National Trust/Julie Griffith

Julie – Calke Abbey

Integral to Calke Abbey’s identity, the natural history collection demonstrates the interests and collecting of several generations of the Harpur Crewe family. Most visible is the taxidermy, present in over 10 rooms of the house and ranging from high quality finished dioramas to unfinished mounts hanging upside down in overcrowded cases. In the Saloon, large cases of birds even obscure a painting of Harpur Crewe children, demonstrating the importance placed on these objects by their historical owners.

Continue reading →