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.

Activities & Events

Reminder to Register: Fifth Annual Digital Data in Biodiversity Research Conference

The Florida Museum of Natural History in collaboration with iDigBio and the Natural Science Collections Alliance will be hosting the fifth annual Digital Data in Biodiversity Research Conference virtually on June 7-9, 2021.  The conference will provide an important opportunity to explore digital data tools, techniques, research protocols, discoveries, and outcomes across all biodiversity research […]

SPNHC Natural History Education DemoCamp

The Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC) is organizing a Natural History Education DemoCamp on June 28-29, 2021.  NSC Alliance is an event partner for the DemoCamp, which is designed to provide materials and resources to teachers, educators, and faculty looking for easy to adopt educational materials that engage students with the […]

Advocacy Alert: Speak Up for Museum Funding

Representatives Paul Tonko (D-NY), David McKinley (R-WV), Chellie Pingree (D-ME) and Andy Barr (R-KY), and Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Susan Collins (R-ME) are now circulating letters in their respective chambers calling for robust fiscal year (FY) 2022 funding for the Office of Museum Services (OMS) at the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). […]

Action Alert: Ask Your Members of Congress to Cosponsor the RISE Act

On March 11, 2021, Congress enacted the latest COVID-19 relief package—the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (H.R. 1319).  The package includes $600 million for the National Science Foundation and $150 million for the National Institute of Standards and Technology, but it does not include research relief provisions at the levels requested by the scientific […]

USFWS Requests Recommendations for Amending CITES Appendices

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora or CITES is an international treaty aimed at ensuring that international trade in listed animal and plant species does not threaten their survival.  Currently there are 183 Parties to CITES, 182 countries, including the United States, and one regional economic integration organization, […]

Global Consultation on Converging Digital and Extended Specimens Begins

Over the past year there have been several exciting conversations about the possibilities of digital representations of the billions of specimens currently held in the world’s natural history collections.  Two concepts the Digital Specimen proposed by the Distributed System of Scientific Collections (DiSSCo) in Europe and the Extended Specimen emerging from the Biological Collections Network […]

Registration Open: 2021 Digital Data in Biodiversity Research Conference

The Florida Museum of Natural History in collaboration with iDigBio and the Natural Science Collections Alliance are hosting the fifth annual Digital Data in Biodiversity Research Conference virtually on June 7-9, 2021.  The conference, Digital Data’s Grand Challenge: Expanding Discovery Across Multiple Domains, will provide an important opportunity to explore digital data tools, techniques, research […]

Consultation on Converging Digital and Extended Specimens

Over the past year there have been several exciting conversations about the possibilities of digital representations of the billions of specimens currently held in the world’s natural history collections. Two concepts the Digital Specimen proposed by the Distributed System of Scientific Collections (DiSSCo) in Europe and the Extended Specimen emerging from the Biological Collections Network […]

Recording Available: Forward-Thinking Discussion on Biological Collections

On January 14, 2021, the Natural Science Collections Alliance (NSCA), in partnership with the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) and the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), organized a joint discussion between the Biodiversity Collections Network (BCoN) and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) on the future of […]

Invitation: Global Consultation on Converging Digital and Extended Specimens

Over the past year several exciting conversations about the possibilities of digital representations of the billions of specimens currently held in the world’s natural history collections. Two concepts the Digital Specimen proposed by the Distributed System of Scientific Collections (DiSSCo) in Europe and the Extended Specimen emerging from the Biological Collections Network (BCoN) in the […]

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