Nature’s Memory: Behind the Scenes at the World’s Natural History Museums

Join Jack Ashby, Assistant Director of the University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge, for a talk on his new book Nature’s Memory: Behind the Scenes at the World’s Natural History Museums.

Far less than 1% of all collections are on display in the world’s natural history museums, and they consistently top the polls for the most popular tourist attractions. Yet we don’t often stop to think about what they tell us about our world, how crucial they might yet be to saving life on Earth, or their role in honestly reframing social histories. What is the science is being done behind the scenes? What is chosen for display and why? Who really collected it, and how? What has been left out? Can they tell us new stories for the 21st century?

Nature’s Memory is the first book to explore both the scientific and social relevance of the world’s natural history museums while offering an illuminating insider’s guide to visiting them.

This talk is presented in conjunction with the School of Life and Environmental Sciences (SOLES).