Discover the scientific collections of the National Museum of Ireland - Natural History and go behind the scenes of the Museum with talks from our Tales from the Decant Series.
In 2020, the NMI - Natural History embarked on a decant project which involved the removal and storage of thousands of bones, fossils, stuffed animals, dried insects, and wet collections (animals that have been stored in chemicals to prevent decay). This project was undertaken to clear the museum building for important refurbishments.
In these talks, two of the NMI - Natural History's curators offer insights into their roles and research of the natural history scientific collections.
Activity at a Glance
Level: Transition Year
Format: Two online videos, available below
Duration: Two videos, one 29 minutes long and the other 33 minutes long
Availability: Online
Curriculum Links:
- National Council for Curriculum and Assessment - Transition Unit 'Environmental Studies'.- National Council for Curriculum and Assessment - Transition Unit 'Introduction to Genetics and Biotechnology'
For similar content aimed at a Post Primary Audience, why not explore the NMI - Archeology's series of lectures on The Climate Crisis and Archaeology?
Learning Outcomes:
On completion of this activity pupils should be able to:
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Define and give examples of museum natural history scientific collections
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Explain the importance of natural history scientific collections to museums, science and society
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Recognise different roles of people working in science and museums
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Greater their understanding of environmental and scientific studies
Tales from the Decant: Getting into the Spirit of Things
Join Zoology Curator, Dr Amy Geraghty, as she discusses her role caring for the wet collections of the National Museum of Ireland. In this talk she breaks down what wet, or spirit, collections are and how the Museum stores and cares for over 30,000 of these objects. She discusses the science behind stopping decay and the importantance of these collections in scientific research, including a major citizen science run project, the Irish Whale and Dolphin Genetic Tissue Bank. At the end of the talk is a Q&A session with questions submitted by viewers when the talk was first streamed in 2021.
Video duration: 29 minutes, 8 seconds
Transcript: Tales from the Decant: Getting into the Spriti of Things
Tales from the Decant: The Weird World of Ireland's Stinging Wasps
In this talk by Dr Aidan O'Hanlon, Entomology Curator at the National Museum of Ireland - Natural History, the wonderful and weird world of stinging wasps is revealed. Many people do not like wasps but it is Dr Aidan's mission to help people understand how fascinating wasps really are and how important they are to the Ireland's ecosystem. His short talk covers the diversity of wasps in Ireland (over 220 species!) and discusses their important role as pollinators, biological indicators and pest controllers in agriculture. The talk finishes on a peek into the insect collections behind the scenes and highlights how the collections are essential for future conservation work. At the end of the talk is a Q&A session with questions submitted by viewers when the talk was first streamed in 2021.
Video duration: 33 minutes and 47 seconds
Transcript: Tales from the Decant: The Weird World of Stinging Wasps
3D Virtual Visit
Want to see more? Why not explore the museum in the classroom with your students using our 3D Virtual Visit?
3D Virtual Visit