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.
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act Review Committee will hold a public forum in conjunction with their committee meeting. The forum will include panel discussions and an open networking session for NAGPRA practitioners. The forum will be held at the Holiday Inn Missoula Downtown on July 12 from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm. […]
The Albuquerque Journal published an in depth article about the impacts of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) funding hiatus for collections. The article focuses on the Museum of Southwestern Biology, which is part of the University of New Mexico and is the recipient of several grants from the Collections in Support of Biological Research (CSBR) […]
Biological diversity makes human life on Earth possible. Unfortunately, we are at a time in Earth’s history when an increasing number of species are at risk of extinction. Despite the significance of this issue, the scientists and institutions at the forefront of efforts to understand biodiversity are ringing alarm bells about inadequate investments in this […]
An op-ed published in the New York Times on April 1 extolls the unsung virtues of natural history collections. “Natural history museums are so focused on the future that they have for centuries routinely preserved such specimens to answer questions they didn’t yet know how to ask, requiring methodologies that had not yet been invented, […]
The American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) has launched the 6th Annual Faces of Biology Photo Contest. The competition recognizes scientists who use imagery to communicate aspects of biological research to the public and policymakers. “Over the past five years, this contest has been effective at showing the public and decision-makers what the scientific process […]
Earlier this week, the NSC Alliance learned that the National Science Foundation would place the Collections in Support of Biological Research (CSBR) on hiatus for fiscal year 2017. The NSC Alliance is deeply concerned by this announcement. In 2012, the NSC Alliance worked with other national organizations to oppose a proposal at that time to […]
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has initiated a national search for an Assistant Director for Geosciences (GEO). The Assistant Director will lead a directorate comprised of four divisions: Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences, Earth Sciences, Ocean Sciences, and Polar Programs. Dr. Ralph Cicerone, President of the National Academy of Sciences, will head the search committee. Nominations […]
iDigBio’s Outlier Detection and Documentation by Collectors (ODD Collectors) Working Group is conducting a survey related to your experience with outliers (or “anomalies” or “oddities”) in biodiversity collections. For this survey, outliers are defined as individual specimens that differ from a previously documented or perceived general norm within a taxon in any biological characteristic such […]
The “Stressors and Drivers of Food Security: Evidence from Scientific Collections” symposium will be held on 18-20 May 2016. This will be the first-ever symposium that brings together food security researchers and experts on scientific collections in diverse research disciplines. The symposium will be an ambitious look forward into food security research that relies on […]
Institutions that house biodiversity collections are encouraged to participate in the Worldwide Engagement for Digitizing Biocollections Event. The event encourages citizen scientists and the public to assist in the digitization of natural history collections. Organizations can post images of specimens with their labels on a partner transcription platforms for transcription or host an on-site transcription […]