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.
A major untapped pool of undiscovered flowering plant species may be natural history collections, according to a paper recently published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Based on a survey of 3,200 plant species, the study’s authors found that only 16% of species were described within five years of collection; nearly […]
Starting 1 January 2011, natural history specimens shipped via commercial air will no longer be classified as “dangerous goods.â€Â The new policy, issued by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), also removes a requirement for shippers to be formally trained in how to package scientific specimens; instead the shipper can train themselves. These special provisions, […]
The Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC) is working to produce practical guidelines to help develop best practices and ethics policies for natural history collections. With this goal, SPNHC is reaching out to museums, universities, and discipline-specific societies to request copies of their best practices and ethics documents. It is from this […]
Taxonomists are pushing for a large scale mission to find and describe all of the species on the planet. Lead by scientists at Arizona State University, the effort was launched at a recent meeting of taxonomists, informatics experts, ecologists, sociologists, and computer scientists. The meeting was organized by Quentin Wheeler, a member of the NSC […]
Biologists are expressing concern for the preservation and appropriate curation of specimens held in the Museo de Historia Natural of San Marcos University in Lima, Peru. On 19 November 2010, university officials are scheduled to consider plans to develop new space for the university’s graduate school and new facilities for the museum. The problem, according […]
On 17 November 2010, the Natural Science Collections Alliance (NSC Alliance) joined with nine other scientific societies and organizations to request that Congress pass an FY 2011 appropriations bill that would provide the National Science Foundation with $7.424 billion. The text of the letter follows (the same letter was sent to Representatives Obey and Lewis, […]
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Review Committee will meet on June 21-22, 2011, in Syracuse, NY, at the Grant Auditorium of the Syracuse University College of Law. The agenda for this meeting will include discussion and adoption of the draft Review Committee Report to the Congress for 2010; discussion of the scope of […]
The Encyclopedia of Life, a collaborative project that aims to gather and share knowledge about all species on the planet, has a new executive director, Dr. Erick Mata. Mata is currently the Director of Biodiversity Informatics and Education at the National Biodiversity Institute of Costa Rica. Dr. Jim Edwards, who previously held the position, retired […]
The National Park Service is soliciting nominations for two members of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Review Committee. The Secretary of the Interior will appoint the two members from nominations submitted by national museum organizations and scientific organizations. Committee members serve a four year term. The Review Committee normally meets face-to-face two times […]
A new report by the Inspector General (IG) for the Department of the Interior calls for the prioritization of management of museum collections within the department. The report, which outlines major management and performance challenges facing Interior, reflects “what the Office of Inspector General considers significant impediments to the Department’s efforts to promote economy, efficiency, […]