The Annual Conference & AGM of the Natural Sciences Collections Association will be held between the 1st and 3rd May 2019 at the National Museum of Ireland, Dublin – Collins Barracks site.
The afternoon of the first day will include tours and a pre-meeting social, the second day will include the AGM, presentations and poster sessions, and the third day will include presentations and tours.
Dead Interesting: Secrets of Collections Success
The #NatSCA2019 conference aims to unlock the secrets of collections success by sharing how our members and colleagues in the wider sector have used collections to benefit their organisations, communities and the wider world.
We will host three themed sessions, with a focus on:
- Collections: Revealing collections care, research and access secrets
- Museums and Tech: How technology has helped unlock, understand and unleash collections
- Engagement: Engagement success stories and how to make them happen
This conference intends to offer an opportunity to share the best ideas and approaches to working with collections. We have prioritised papers that focus on sharing ideas, tools and guidance rather than simply reporting results.
Conference Programme
Click here to download the NatSCA 2019 Conference Programme as a pdf.
| Wednesday, 1st May - Pre-conference activities | |
|---|---|
| 12:00 - 14:30 | Tour of NMI Collections Resource Centre |
| 15:00 - 17:00 | Tour of National Botanic Gardens |
| 18:00 - 20:00 | Pre-meeting social (location TBC) |
| Thursday, 2nd May - Day 1 | |
| 8:45 - 9:35 | Registration and coffee |
| 9:35 - 9:40 | Introduction & housekeeping |
| 9:40 - 9:45 | Welcome Lynn Scarff, Director of NMI |
Collections |
|
| First Session | |
| 9:45 - 9:55 | Brexit and the Customs Union: The practical impact on museums Clare Brown, Leeds Museums & Galleries & Paolo Viscardi, National Museum of Ireland |
| 9:55 - 10:10 | Success with CITES: Museums and Article 60 Rachel Jennings, Powell-Cotton Museum |
| 10:10 - 10:30 | Investigating alkaloid preservation in herbarium specimens and potential social implications of storing plants with alkaloids Karen Bacon, University of Leeds |
| 10:30 - 10:50 | Secrets of Designation Unlocked: the Tullie House Natural Science Collections and a Window into Cumbrian Biodiversity Simon Jackson, Tully House Museum and Art Gallery |
| 10:50 - 11:10 | Coffee Break |
| Second Session | |
| 11:10 - 11:30 | Cryoarks: Enhancing frozen collections across the UK Kirsty Lloyd, Natural History Museum, London |
| 11:30 - 11:50 | Users and uses of the NHM herbaria (BM) – changes, chances and perspectives Norbert Holstein, Natural History Museum, London |
| 11:50 - 12:10 | Curating Minority Collections: A focus on Fungi Nathan Smith, British Mycological Society |
| 12:10 - 12:30 | Museum Collections – an untapped resource for informing wildlife conservation? Rob Gandola, UCD, Cat Hendry, Herpetological Society of Ireland & Paolo Viscardi, National Museum of Ireland |
| 12:30 - 13:30 | Lunch & Poster session |
| 13:30 - 14:20 | AGM Reports on the running of NatSCA and elections to the Commitee |
Third Session |
| 14:20 - 14:35 | 'Wild about Portsmouth' - discovering and uncovering a little known known Natural History Collection Christine Taylor, Portsmouth Museums |
| 14:35 - 14:50 | Movers, not shakers: challenges and solutions for relocating an entomology collection Esmeralda Herrero, National Museum of Ireland & Paolo Viscardi, National Museum of Ireland |
| 14:50 - 15:05 | Making the Most of What You’ve Got Dr Emma Nicholls, The Horniman Museum and Gardens |
| 15:05 - 15:20 | If I knew then what I know now: Scientific discoveries from the NHM, London mammal collections Roberto Portela Miguez, Natural History Museum |
| 15:20 - 15:40 | Coffee Break & Poster session |
Museums & Technology |
|
| Fourth Session | |
| 15:40 – 16:00 | The collections horizon: Known unknowns and unknown unknowns Lee Davies, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |
| 16:00 – 16:20 | Typing up the Types: Digitising the insect type collection at National Museums Scotland Ashleigh Whiffin, National Museums Scotland |
| 16:20 – 16:40 | Imaging our Horticultural past, present and future Clare Booth-Downs, Royal Horticultural Society & Yvette Harvey, Royal Horticultural Society |
| 16:40 – 17:00 | Seeing through the glass: understanding and interpreting Blaschka models using modern technology Emmanuel G. Reynaud, University College Dublin, & Paolo Viscardi, National Museum of Ireland |
| 17:00 | End and Drinks in nearby pub |
| 20:00 | Conference dinner at The Market Bar, Fade Street, Dublin |
| Friday, 3rd May – Day 2 | |
| 09:00 – 9:25 | Registration, posters and coffee |
| 09:25 – 9:30 | Introduction & housekeeping |
Engagement |
|
| Fifth Session | |
| 9:30 – 9:50 | Inspiring, Enthusing and Engaging - Where is learning and engagement going to go next? Dean Veall, Freelance |
| 9:50 – 10:10 | Arsenic and Old Books: Using Danger as a Tool for Engagement Alexandra Newman, Smithsonian Libraries |
| 10:10 – 10:30 | It’s alive! And it’s got too many legs! The use of live arachnids alongside specimens in community engagement Ella Deutsch, University of Nottingham |
| 10:30 – 10:50 | Outreach on a Budget – Actual and Virtual Mike G. Rutherford, The University of the West Indies Zoology Museum, UWI |
| 10:50 – 11:10 | Coffee break & Poster session |
| Sixth Session | |
| 11:10 – 11:30 | The Brymbo Fossil Forest Project: The Future Interface of the Public and Palaeontology? Tim Astrop, Brymbo Heritage Project |
| 11:30 – 11:50 | The #Cyclapeople: development of deep engagement to enhance the scientific value of a collection Alastair Culham, Herbarium, University of Reading |
| 11:50 – 12:10 | Seduce, Entertain and Inform: Using commercial photographic techniques in Scientific Communication Steve Galloway, University of Nottingham, David McMahon, University of Nottingham, & Tom Hartman, University of Nottingham |
| 12:10 – 12:30 | Transformative Collections – how collections work can change lives. Sarah Briggs, Museums Association, & Sally Colvin, Museums Association |
| 12:30 – 13:30 | Lunch & Poster session |
| Tours and talks at NMI – Natural History & Trinity College Dublin Zoology Museum These two sets of tours will include talks about education, engagement and outreach carried out at the Trinity College Dublin Zoology Museum and National Museum of Ireland – Natural History. |
|
| 14:00 – 15:20 | Group 1 – NMINH / Group 2 TCD Zoology |
| 15:30 – 16:50 | Group 2 – NMINH / Group 1 TCD Zoology |
| 17.00 | Conference end |
Tours
If you would like to attend tours please BOOK a time, location and date. We will be organising a free coach for the Wednesday tours, with capacity for 45 people. The coach will pick-up from the airport at several times between 10:30am and 2:15pm (full details of location and time once bookings are confirmed).
Weds 1 May, 1pm - NMI Collections Resource Centre
Weds 1 May, 3pm - National Botanic Gardens
Fri 3 May, 2-5pm - Dead Zoo (NMINH) and TCD Zoology Museum
Conference Meal
This year's conference meal is at Market Bar - lots of yummy tapas - it is a set menu available to view on their website.
Spaces are limited, so please book early! The meal is not compulsory, but most people do come - very informal and lots of fun. It's much easier for everyone if you book in advance.
Tickets
We recommend booking via Eventbrite (see interface below).
| Early bird booking (by March 22nd 2019): | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Two day cost: | NatSCA members £90 | non-member £125 | |
| One day cost: | NatSCA members £50 | non-member £70 | |
| From March 22nd 2019: | |||
| Two day cost | NatSCA members £120 | non-member £140 | |
| One day cost | NatSCA members £65 | non-member £85 | |
| Speakers | |||
| The day you speak is free of charge. Additional days charged at above one day costs. A promotional code will release these free tickets. | |||
| Other | |||
| Conference meal at Market Bar - £22 (includes service charge) | |||
Members - please contact membership@natsca.org for your promotional code to release discounted tickets. Please note, institutional members may claim up to two discounted places. If you'd like to become a member please use the same email address.
The most efficient way to book is using this Eventbrite system via above or https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dead-interesting-secrets-of-collections-s....
However, if your organisation is unable to pay in this manner please complete this booking form by clicking here and email it to treasurer@natsca.org.
Please note, NatSCA is not VAT registered and no VAT is being charged.
Refunds
Refunds will be offered until 5pm on April 24th. Please email treasurer@natsca.org
Meetings Policies
As a NatSCA led event, this event is subject to our meetings policies, which can be found here.