Natural Science Collections Alliance
Our members are part of an international community of museums, botanical gardens, herbariums, universities and other institutions that house natural science collections and utilize them in research, exhibitions, academic and informal science education, and outreach activities.
In 2016, the NSC Alliance engaged in a number of notable activities to raise the profile of natural history collections with policymakers, researchers, and the general public. A few highlights are presented below: NSC Alliance led the effort to reverse the suspension of the Collections in Support of Biological Research program by the National Science […]
Registration and abstract submission for the Digital Data in Biodiversity Research Conference will open on January 15, 2017. The conference is presented by iDigBio, the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, and the University of Michigan Herbarium and will be held in Ann Arbor, Michigan on June 5-6, 2017. The rapid mobilization of digitized biodiversity […]
The Department of the Interior has proposed a new rule to “preserve, manage, and protect paleontological resources” on lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The proposed rule would address the management, collection, and curation of paleontological resources from […]
The Interagency Working Group on Scientific Collections has announced a new registry of federally owned and operated scientific collections. The registry is managed by the Smithsonian Institution and includes more than 125 collections from 475 federal institutions. These numbers are anticipated to grow in the coming months. The registry has information about the location of […]
Graduate students looking to make a difference in science policy and funding are encouraged to apply for the 2017 AIBS Emerging Public Policy Leadership Award. This award recognizes graduate students in the biological sciences who have demonstrated initiative and leadership in science policy. Recipients receive first-hand experience at the interface of science and public policy.This […]
The Natural Science Collections Alliance signed a letter in support of S. 3391, “The Museum and Library Services Act of 2016.” The thank you letter was sent to the bill’s sponsor, Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), and primary cosponsors, Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Thad Cochran (R-MS), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY). The legislation would reauthorize funding levels […]
Science took center stage in recent interactions between researchers and policymakers. Across the nation, dozens of researchers and educators met with their lawmakers as part of the Biological Sciences Congressional District Visits event, an initiative organized by the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) and sponsored by the Natural Science Collections Alliance. This nationwide event […]
A new video from iDigBio highlights the need to and benefits of digitizing natural history collections. The short video includes interviews with researchers and students who work with biological specimens. Dr. Larry Page, former president of NSC Alliance and director of iDigBio, said “There is more information about biodiversity…in natural history collections than in all […]
The Worldwide Engagement for Digitizing Biocollections (WeDigBio) Event kicks off this week from 20-23 October. Citizen scientists are teaming up with researchers and other participants around the world to capture biodiversity specimen data digitizing the information for scientific research, education, and policy. Participants can pick a project in which to participate online (https://www.wedigbio.org/find-a-project) or find […]
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) Program will be holding several meetings and training programs in the near future. On 25 October at 2 pm (Eastern), a webinar will be held for NAGPRA grants administrators. This webinar is for new recipients of a Consultation/Documentation Grant or a Repatriation Grant, and for NAGPRA […]