Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections September 2019 - 19

Annual Meeting 2020
is very busy during the summer months so it is advisable not
to leave registration and hotel bookings to the last minute!
The following link gives an idea of what else will be happening in Edinburgh in June 2020.
https://edinburghtourist.co.uk/whats-on-june/

Your Hosts

National Museums Scotland - A Centre of Global
Excellence

and Earth Systems Science. Scientifically unique collections
housed by the museum include the assemblages of Palaeozoic
fish and extant North Atlantic whales alongside numerous
historic collections such as those of Dufresne (incorporating many insects, molluscs and birds), the fossils of Hugh
Miller, and collections from H.M.S. Challenger and Scottish
National Antarctic expedition. Iconic items include Dolly the
Sheep and "Lizzie," the world's oldest reptile at 345 million
years old.
Our diverse collections will take you on a journey of discovery through the history of Scotland and around the world,
taking in the wonders of nature, art, design and fashion and
science and technology-all under one roof.
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

The vision of George Wilson, the first director of what is now
the National Museum of Scotland, was for "a museum of the
world in relation to Scotland." This statement, delivered two
years after the museum was founded in 1854 is as true today
as it was then. The roots of the collections held today include
the earliest collections originally held by the University of
Edinburgh's Museum of Natural History, the Royal Society of
Edinburgh, and the former National Museum of Antiquities
of Scotland and pre-date Wilson's museum by more than 100
years. Today, National Museums Scotland also includes the
National Museum of Flight, the National War Museum and
the National Museum of Rural Life.
The National Museums Scotland collections are one of the
most diverse in the world with 12 million items, spanning
Scottish History and Archaeology; Art, Design and Fashion,
Science and Technology; World Cultures and Natural Sciences, and employ the largest body of curatorial and conservation expertise in Scotland. The Natural Science collections
are particularly extensive with over 10 million specimens
covering vertebrate biology, invertebrates, palaeobiology

RBGE's extensive Herbarium numbers nearly three million
specimens representing half to two-thirds of the world's flora.
These specimens have been collected during a period of over
300 years, from nearly every country in the world. In addition
to dried plants, the Herbarium houses a spirit collection of
more than 7,000 specimens. It is considered a leading botanical collection, and every year many researchers from around
the world visit to study our specimens.
Although the Garden was founded in 1670, the starting point
for the Herbarium came with the fusion of the collections
of the University of Edinburgh and the Botanical Society of
Edinburgh in 1839-1840. Over the years, a large number of
collections have been added, belonging to individuals and
institutions including the Universities of Glasgow, St Andrews and Hull. The Herbarium had by 1960 expanded to
include more than one and a half million specimens and had
outgrown the original space, overflowing into four additional
huts and other unsuitable buildings.
The new purpose-built Herbarium and Library building was
was completed in 1964. In 2005-2006, the building was
renovated and expanded to house an even greater number of
September 2019 * 19

https://edinburghtourist.co.uk/whats-on-june/

Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections September 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections September 2019