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NatSCA 2022 AGM and Minutes
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No Môr Plastic: Museum conservation practise supporting youth led museum environmental activism
Carter, J.Plastic pollution has long been a serious environmental issue, but it is only in recent years we have begun to see a rapid rise in public awareness of the environmental challenges of such pollution. Museums can play a key role in raising awareness of such issues by utilising our collections, spaces, and expertise in novel…
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One Earth one future: A new approach to inspiring biodiversity, through artwork, digital technology and museum specimens
Jackson, S., Green, L. H.21st century technology offers a powerful way to virtually explore the great diversity of habitats and landscapes of our planet, including its most remote regions. However, natural science collections provide a unique connection to the organisms themselves that live within those habitats and complex ecosystems. This paper describes a novel approach through using a combination…
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Mineral-specific issues in 3D scanning and printing for digital collections, outreach and display
Hearth, S. , Densmore, B.Three-dimensional (3D) scanning and 3D printing of natural history specimens presents interesting opportunities for informal and formal science education, as well as specimen preservation and display. Museum staff in several museums have begun scanning and making specimens available online. However, very few mineral specimens are available as scanned 3D objects, because minerals present unique challenges…
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The history of the dried Mola mola (Linnaeus, 1758) and Mola tecta (Nyegaard, et al., 2017) specimens in the collection of Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden
Winters, L.This study provides an overview of the historical preparation techniques used on the Mola mola and Mola tecta specimens in the collection of the Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden. The current state of the specimens is examined to ascertain these techniques, and observations are set against the contextual framework of a selection of 19th century taxidermy…
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Effectiveness of ambient control on invertebrate pest management in a botanical collection in the Galapagos
Mahtani-Williams, S., Jaramillo, P. J.Herbaria are natural history collections that host a vast amount of information on plant taxonomy, biology, distribution, and genetic diversity, and are therefore are a key resource for scientific research. However, changes in environmental conditions can make these collections highly susceptible to pest infestations. Maintaining relative humidity (RH) and temperature control within herbaria can help…
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Recreating a long-lost herbarium
Harvey, Y.The Horticultural Society of London (now the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS)) sold its herbarium collection at auction in 1856. The collection was made up of specimens collected by its sponsored plant collectors in addition to a number of donated collections. This paper attempts to recreate the lost herbarium virtually by tracking down the current location…
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Curious specimens in the collection: Comparative dental anatomy, skulls and historical catalogues
Ryder, S., Sales, G. D., Fischer, E. E.In the Museum of Life Sciences at King’s College London is a series of craniofacial specimens which were originally housed in the Royal Dental Hospital of London and the London School of Dental Surgery. These sagittally-sectioned skulls and mandibles are distinctive in their preparation. One half skull and mandible have been dissected out to show…
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Hidden beauties: Using an orchid collection to provide an initial analysis of the Henry Leopold Foster Guermonprez Herbarium
Taylor, C. A., Lock, J. E., Gostling, N. J.In the early 1970’s a large natural history collection from Bognor Regis Museum was transferred to Portsmouth Museums. Within it was a collection, estimated at between 60,000 – 80,000 specimens, mainly from West Sussex, amassed by Henry Leopold Foster Guermonprez. During his lifetime Guermonprez was well known in Bognor Regis where he lived but has…
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Promises of mass digitisation and the colonial realities of natural history collections
Kaiser, K., Heumann, I., Nadim, T., Keysar. H., Petersen, M., Korun, M., Berger, F.Recent debates have highlighted the colonial roots and legacies of museums, prompting intense discussions about these institutions within the museums themselves. Amidst the debates, policy-makers and museum professionals worldwide have come to regard the digitisation of collections as an important means for addressing global inequity by advancing fast and fair access to collection items. In…
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Colonial entanglement in extinction narratives: The afterlives of two Saint Lucia giant rice rats
Westergaard, G.European colonialism exposed islands to significant threatening processes that drove species to or near extinction. At the same time, they were regular sites of collecting living animals especially because of their high level of endemism. Natural history museums house animals that carry stories of colonial conquest over island ecologies. I argue that existing decolonising approaches…
