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.
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 […]
Learn more about the Museums for America grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) on February 24 at 3 pm EDT. The program supports small natural history collections with awards ranging from $5,000 to $150,000 to help with collections management, conservation surveys, treatments, environmental improvements, rehousing, professional development/training, digitization, and collections information […]
In his fiscal year (FY) 2017 budget request to Congress, President Obama is seeking $152 billion for research and development, a four percent increase from the current funding level. The budget request includes a $900 million increase for basic research. Highlights of proposed FY 2017 include: Doubling federal investments in clean energy research and development […]
A recent article in The Atlantic highlights the important role of natural history collections as a place of discovery. “Natural History Museums Are Teeming With Undiscovered Species” features the tales of researchers who have identified new species using specimens that were previously collected. Dr. Evon Hekkala collected DNA from museum specimens of Nile crocodiles to […]
The Building with Biology Project, funded by the National Science Foundation, is organizing an event this summer to engage the public and scientists in a dialogue about synthetic biology. Two hundred kits are available for free for host sites. The kits include six hands-on activities designed to promote conversations between the public and scientists about […]
The National Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act Program is accepting fiscal year 2016 grant applications for repatriation and consultation/documentation projects. The application materials and guidelines are available on Grants.gov. Competitive consultation/documentation applications are due by March 11 by 11:59 p.m. (EST). To apply, visit Grants.gov and search for Funding Opportunity Numbers: P16AS00001 for […]
iDigBio and the Small Collections Network are hosting the Small Collections Symposium at the SPNHC 2016 meeting in Berlin in June 2016. Presentations are invited on current museum-based educational and workforce training initiatives, the development and sharing of novel educational or training modules and resources, the involvement of graduate and undergraduate students and early career […]
“Assuring the quality of your data: A natural history collection community perspective” Drawing from examples within the taxonomic and natural history collection communities, this webinar will detail the data types and challenges of biological specimen data. The event will explore the value and importance of data quality open resources, the current status of data assurance […]
In 2015, 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: Successfully re-nominated LindaLee (Cissy) Farm to serve on the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act Review Committee. She previously chaired the […]
The Natural Science Collections Alliance presented a briefing on digitization of natural history collections for staff of congressional offices, federal agencies, scientific organizations, and non-governmental organizations. The event was held in the Capitol Visitors Center in Washington, DC on 14 December 2015. Dr. Larry Page, President of NSC Alliance and Director of iDigBio, provided the […]