Museum Curation
The best questions natural history collections can answer are the ones we haven’t asked yet. As natural history collections are a snapshot in time, the data an extended specimen contains will be preserved when those questions are asked. I believe in collecting and preserving these invaluable specimens until such questions are asked and beyond. For more information on my curatorial philosophy please see my full curatorial statement.
As a trained museum scientist, I understand the care that has been devoted to each specimen in the hope that current and future generations will be able to use it for novel research. As a student I have spent over five semesters working as a curatorial assistant and I have prepared over 250 bird specimens and over 100 invertebrate specimens.
While preservation is a good endeavor, it is not the end-all of a natural history collection. For a collection to remain relevant there is always a need for new material and for it to be used. As such for ornithology I have been on a major expedition to the Cordillera Azul in Peru and shorter trips to Peru, Costa Rica, and around Louisiana. My invertebrate collecting has largely been along the lower Colorado River, a region that has been under collected.
The value of natural history collections does not just lie in drawers or on shelves, it is a valuable teaching tool. Public exhibits and regular tours allow the public to understand the value and connect with natural history museums.
Well curated, accessible collections and continued collecting are important to future research.