A circuitous route

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 248
Author(s):  
Diana Jones
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Natural History ◽  
World Wide ◽  
Small Child ◽  
Conservation Science ◽  
Wide Audience ◽  
Natural History Collections ◽  
New Ideas ◽  
Circuitous Route ◽  
The Way

Little did I know as a small child with a love of nature and exploration that one day I would be doing exactly the same thing – studying biology, exploring new and exciting environments, and telling everyone about it! – as well as realising my wildest dreams. However, it has been a circuitous route, with several swerves and ups and down. On the way through, I have been resilient and developed skills in diverse areas, by taking advantage of whatever opportunities were offered to me and being receptive to new ideas and ways of doing things. My STEM background has affected and enhanced every position I have held in this broad, life-long education. My ultimate passion is unlocking the information contained in historical and contemporary natural history collections, and translating why this work is important and why we should be looking after our environment, to a world-wide audience. Hopefully, this will engender in young people especially a curiosity about their world and a desire to pursue careers in conservation science – just like me!

scholarly journals Promoting Public Engagement of Natural History Collections through Science Communication

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. e28479
Author(s):  
Bryan Lessard
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Natural History ◽  
Public Relations ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Public Speaking ◽  
Wide Audience ◽  
The Public ◽  
Natural History Collections ◽  
New Students

Natural history collections are essential for understanding the world’s biodiversity and drive research in taxonomy, systematics, ecology and biosecurity. One of the biggest challenges faced is the decline of new taxonomists and public interest in collections-based research, which is alarming considering that an estimated 70% of the world’s species are yet to be formally described. Science communication combines public relations with the dissemination of scientific knowledge and offers many benefits to promoting natural history collections to a wide audience. For example, social media has revolutionised the way collections and their staff communicate with the public in real time, and can attract more visitors to collection exhibits and new students interested in natural history. Although not everyone is born a natural science communicator, institutions can encourage and provide training for their staff to become engaging spokespeople skilled in social media and public speaking, including television, radio and/or print media. By embracing science communication, natural history collections can influence their target audiences in a positive and meaningful way, raise the profile of their institution, encourage respect for biodiversity, promote their events and research outputs, seek philanthropic donations, connect with other researchers or industry leaders, and most importantly, inspire the next generation of natural historians.

The documentation of the British Museum's natural history collections, 1760–1836

2012 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer M. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
British Museum ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Select Committee ◽  
Natural History Collections ◽  
Critical Attention ◽  
The Way

While much critical attention has been paid to the British Museum's early collections of natural history, less has been made of the way in which the items were catalogued and recorded. This paper will examine how information was organized within the Museum from its inception in 1753 to 1836, following the publication of the second Report from the Select Committee on the condition, management and affairs of the British Museum. Drawing on the Museum's avian collections as a case study, it will become apparent that while the Trustees and staff recognized the need for detailed catalogues of their natural history collections, their attention and resources were diverted from this task for various reasons during the early years of the Museum.

scholarly journals Nie tylko kurs historii naturalnej. Księżnej Anny Jabłonowskiej zbiór „wszystkich przedmiotów dociekań rozumu człowieka”

2021 ◽  
pp. 137-160
Author(s):  
Iwona Arabas ◽  
Larysa Bondar ◽  
Lidia Czechowicz
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Human Reason ◽  
Russian Academy Of Sciences ◽  
Natural History Collections ◽  
History Of ◽  
The University ◽  
Academy Of Sciences ◽  
The Way

Not Only a Natural History Course. Duchess Anna Jabłonowska’s “Collection of All Objects of Human Reason Inquiries” One of the richest natural history collections in Europe at the end of the 18th century was the Cabinet of Natural History of Duchess Anna Jabłonowska née Sapieha (1728–1800) in Siemiatycze. In 1802, the collection was purchased by Tsar Alexander I and handed over to the University in Moscow (where it burned down in 1812). It was only possible to recreate the richness of the collection and the way it was taken over after the sales documents had been found in 2008 in the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg. However, some documents were illegible, and it was only in 2020 that the entire documentation was read. It revealed a completely different image of the collection than expected, as in one part the collection refers to cabinets of curiosities. The article is the first publication in Polish on Anna Jabłonowska’s “art cabinet”, with translations of the lists of exhibits by Count Stanisław Sołtyk (from French) and by V.M. Severgin and A.F. Sevastyanov (from Russian).

Joseph Sidebotham: vicissitudes of a Victorian collector

2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurence M. Cook
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Species Limits ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Natural History Collections ◽  
As Species ◽  
Scientific World

Joseph Sidebotham (1824–1885) was a Manchester cotton baron whose natural history collections are now in the Manchester Museum. In addition to collecting he suggested a method for identifying and classifying Lepidoptera and investigated variation within species as well as species limits. With three close collaborators, he is credited with discovering many species new to Britain in both Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. A suspicion of fraud attaches to these claims. The evidence is not clear-cut in the Lepidoptera, but a possible reason is suggested why Sidebotham, as an amateur in the increasingly professional scientific world, might have engaged in deceit.

The Banksian natural history collections of the Endeavour voyage and their relevance to modern taxonomy

1981 ◽  
Vol 1981 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-70
Author(s):  
H. B. Carter ◽  
Judith A. Diment ◽  
C. J. Humphries ◽  
Alwyne Wheeler
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Natural History Collections

Correspondence between Adolphe Brongniart and Robert Schomburgk: trading natural history collections for honours

2002 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 333-336
Author(s):  
PIOTR DASZKIEWICZ ◽  
MICHEL JEGU
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Natural History ◽  
Dominican Republic ◽  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Herbarium Specimens ◽  
British Guiana ◽  
Natural History Collections ◽  
History Of ◽  
Source Of Information ◽  
German Naturalist

ABSTRACT: This paper discusses some correspondence between Robert Schomburgk (1804–1865) and Adolphe Brongniart (1801–1876). Four letters survive, containing information about the history of Schomburgk's collection of fishes and plants from British Guiana, and his herbarium specimens from Dominican Republic and southeast Asia. A study of these letters has enabled us to confirm that Schomburgk supplied the collection of fishes from Guiana now in the Laboratoire d'Ichtyologie, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris. The letters of the German naturalist are an interesting source of information concerning the practice of sale and exchange of natural history collections in the nineteenth century in return for honours.

Profilometry. Using Corneo-scleral topography for scleral lens fitting

The Eye ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (128) ◽  
pp. 19-22
Author(s):  
Gregory DeNaeyer
Keyword(s):  
Ocular Surface ◽  
World Wide ◽  
Contact Lenses ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Way

The world-wide use of scleral contact lenses has dramatically increased over the past 10 year and has changed the way that we manage patients with corneal irregularity. Successfully fitting them can be challenging especially for eyes that have significant asymmetries of the cornea or sclera. The future of scleral lens fitting is utilizing corneo-scleral topography to accurately measure the anterior ocular surface and then using software to design lenses that identically match the scleral surface and evenly vault the cornea. This process allows the practitioner to efficiently fit a customized scleral lens that successfully provides the patient with comfortable wear and improved vision.

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