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.
Most government offices have been closed for more than a week as the result of a congressional impasse over funding the Affordable Care Act (i.e. Obamacare). Conservative Republicans have sought to defund the law by adding riders to legislation that would provide fiscal year 2014 funding to keep the government open.  Thus far, both chambers […]
In August, biological researchers and educators participated in the 5th Annual Biological Sciences Congressional District Visits event. This nationwide event, sponsored by the Natural Science Collections Alliance, enabled scientists to meet with their members of Congress in their local area rather than in Washington, DC, and allowed elected officials to learn first-hand about the science […]
iDigBio will host two workshops in September on digitization of biological specimens. Both training events will be accessible online. Fluid-preserved Invertebrate and Microscopic Slide Imaging This workshop focuses on imaging techniques for fluid-preserved invertebrates and microscopic slides. The primary goal is to prepare participants for imaging these difficult to record collection objects. More information is […]
Annual NSCA Board elections are getting underway, as per the NSCA Bylaws, which state: “The Nominating Committee shall furnish the names of nominees to the Secretary, who shall circulate them either in written or electronic form (e.g., web site) to the members at least thirty (30) days in advance of the election in order to provide […]
The Natural Science Collections Alliance is pleased to announce the start of the 5th Annual Biological Sciences Congressional District Visits event.  This national initiative encourages scientists across the nation to showcase for federal and state lawmakers the people, facilities, and equipment required to conduct scientific research. The event is made possible by the American Institute […]
The 2013 U.S. Virtual Herbarium Survey is now online. This survey is designed to assess the progress herbaria in the United States are making towards the goal of making records of all specimens in all U.S. herbaria available online. The information provided by survey participants is used in reports, grant proposals, and articles highlighting a […]
A recent post on the blog “The Lab and Field” explored why natural history museums are “essential for science.” The blogger described his recent use of bird specimens to study moult energetics in Least Auklets. The species spends most of the year over the Pacific Ocean, where they are inaccessible to researchers. Using 60 specimens […]
The National Science Foundation is accepting proposals for the Advancing Digitization of Biodiversity Collections program. This initiative seeks to enhance and expand digital data documenting existing vouchered biological and paleontological collections. The deadline for full proposals is 18 October 2013. More information is available at http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2013/nsf13569/nsf13569.htm.
The NSC Alliance has been asked to circulate the following survey to our members. I hope you will take a few moments to complete this survey. Regards, Larry Page President Dear Colleagues: We are writing to invite you to participate in a survey on the state of teaching in taxonomy and systematic biology.  If your […]
The 2014 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and Ecosystem Science Conference is soliciting proposals from the community for sessions to address the conference themes and integrative topics. For guidelines and submission instructions, please visit http://gulfofmexicoconference.org/program/scientific-sessions/. The deadline for submissions is 30 June 2013.