The Natural Sciences Collections Association (NatSCA) is a

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

based membership organisation and

charitable organization A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...

(No.1098156) run by volunteers from the membership. NatSCA's

mission Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...

is "to promote and support

natural science Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...

collections, the institutions that house them and the people that work with them, in order to improve collections care, understanding, accessibility and enjoyment for all." The subject specialist network promotes research and exchange of ideas, advances in technical and ethical standards, and raises the public profile of the conservation and preservation of

collections and objects. The organisation describes their focus as: * Community – developing an open, friendly and accessible network for sharing information, experience and skills. * Support – facilitating the professional development of stakeholders in natural science collections. * Standards – identifying and promoting good quality practice in the care and use of natural science collections. * Promoting collections – increasing awareness of the scientific and cultural value of natural science collections. * Advocacy – challenging neglect of collections and lobbying for the appropriate resourcing of collections for their care and sustainable use.

History

The Natural Sciences Collections Association was founded in April 2003 from the merger of Natural Sciences Conservation Group (NCSG) and Biological Curator's Group (BCG) at a meeting in the

Manchester Museum Manchester Museum is a museum displaying works of archaeology, anthropology and natural history and is owned by the University of Manchester, in England. Sited on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road (A34 road, A34) at the heart of the university's group ...

on 7 April 2003. The organisation has a Memorandum of Understanding with the Geological Curators' Group and Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections. On 14 May 2020 Isla Gladstone (based at

Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery Bristol Museum & Art Gallery is a large museum and art gallery in Bristol, England. The museum is situated in Clifton, about from the city centre. As part of Bristol Culture and Creative Industries it is run by the Bristol City Council with no ...

) was elected chair, replacing Paolo Viscardi (based at the

National Museum of Ireland – Natural History The National Museum of Ireland – Natural History (), sometimes called the Dead Zoo, a branch of the National Museum of Ireland, is housed on Merrion Street in Dublin, Ireland. The museum was built in 1856 for parts of the collection of the R ...

) who was chair for two terms since June 2014.

Patrons

In 2013, the charity announced

Alice Roberts Alice May Roberts (born 19 May 1973) is an English academic, TV presenter and author. Since 2012 she has been professor of Public Engagement in Science at the University of Birmingham. She was president of the charity Humanists UK from Januar ...

, Iain Stewart and

Ben Garrod Ben Garrod (born 29 January 1982) is an English evolutionary biologist and primatologist known for his work on great ape conservation. He is also an author and television presenter who regularly appears as a science presenter on BBC programme ...

as patrons.

Publications

The Natural Sciences Collections Association publishes an annual

peer-reviewed Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work ( peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...

academic journal An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which Scholarly method, scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. They serve as permanent and transparent forums for the ...

, the ''Journal of Natural Science Collections'' as well as occasional papers under the title of Notes & Comments and a

blog A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...

. Previous publications include ''NatSCA News''.

References

External links

Natural Sciences Collections Association website
2003 establishments in the United Kingdom Scientific organizations established in 2003 *Natural Sciences Collections Association Charities based in the United Kingdom *Natural Sciences Collections Association Natural sciences {{science-org-stub