Course Description
Theories, policies, and operational procedures in the management of natural history collections, including higher category classification, identification, field collecting, accessioning, preparation, curation, and data management.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students will do a term project to develop and curate a
collection, demonstrating this plan with a test collection and
summarizing the results in a written report. The results will also be presented to the class in an oral format. Thus, graduate students will demonstrate the ability to independently curate an actual natural history collection.
Athena Title
NAT HIST COLL MGMT
Prerequisite
Permission of department
Semester Course Offered
Offered spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
Objectives of this course are to train students in the operational procedures involved in natural history collection management, to demonstrate to them the importance of these collections, and to instruct them in the diversity of research, service, and teaching that can be done via collections. Students will learn some of the theories, policies, and operational procedures involved in the management of collections. They will practice identification, field collecting, accessioning, preparation, curation , and data management skills as well as prepare study specimens. Students will demonstate a responsible attitude toward museum work and practice the accuracy needed in collection management. Mastery of the material will be demonstated on tests administered during the semester. Students will also prepare a paper on an aspect of natural history collection management.
Topical Outline
I.Overview of Natural History Collection Mgmt. (2 weeks). The roles and functions of natural history museums History and theories in natural history Relationship to other institutions (e.g.zoos,botanical gardens,museums of art) Safety concerns: hazardous materials Ethical and legal considerations II. Collection Management; 1 week lecture/lab per collection Archaeology Arthropods Botany Herpetology Ichthyology Invertebrates Mammalogy Ornithology Pland Microfossils Plant Pathology III. Issues in managing a natural history museum Balancing Teaching. Research, Service Public education and Outreach IV. The Future and Career Opportunities