A moving experience: The redevelopment of the University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge

A plan to redevelop the University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge (UMZC) and the David Attenborough Building in which it is housed began to take shape in 2010. Beginning in June 2013, three million specimens housed in five storerooms and a gallery had to be safely moved to newly-designed stores with limited time, money, and staffing levels. Advocacy amongst key partners played a crucial role in maximising resources, and an ambitious plan to recruit collection volunteers was developed. Teaching and researcher access had to be maintained throughout the redevelopment.

This paper serves as an introduction to the first half of the project, from 2010 up until early 2015, which covers collections-related aspects of the planning, initial packing and moving phase. Larkin (2016a,b) discusses methods used to pack and move the largest gallery specimens.