Precise measurement standards have revolutionized museum science, helping nail down where artifacts are from

Measurement standards underlie most fields of science – without them, researchers couldn’t compare the results of different studies.

Thomas Lam, Physical Scientist, Museum Conservation Institute, Smithsonian Institution • conversation
June 17, 2025 • ~11 min

Museums have tons of data, and AI could make it more accessible − but standardizing and organizing it across fields won’t be easy

Every field has its own standard for what data gets recorded for specimens archived in a museum collection, which can make research difficult.

Bradley Wade Bishop, Professor of Information Sciences, University of Tennessee • conversation
March 17, 2025 • ~7 min

‘Myrrh, conifer oil and … breakfast tea’: my sniffer team’s surprise findings on what mummified bodies smell like

Welcome to ‘sensory heritage’, the study of how we engage with objects from the past besides what they look like.

Cecilia Bembibre, Lecturer in Sustainable Heritage, UCL • conversation
Feb. 14, 2025 • ~8 min

Returning a 170-year-old preserved lizard to Jamaica is a step toward redressing colonial harms

Not all reparations involve money. Returning unique scientific resources is also a way of showing respect and righting past harms.

Thera Edwards, Lecturer in Geography and Map Curator, The University of the West Indies • conversation
June 3, 2024 • ~11 min

Fortnite’s new in-game Holocaust museum shows us a virtual future for education

It might seem odd but it’s not the first museum in a video game or metaverse.

Jennifer Challenor, Lecturer of Games Art, Staffordshire University • conversation
Oct. 12, 2023 • ~8 min

Colonialism has shaped scientific plant collections around the world – here's why that matters

The colonial era profoundly shaped natural history museums and collections. Herbaria, which are scientists’ main source of plant specimens from around the world, are no exception.

Daniel Park, Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences, Purdue University • conversation
June 12, 2023 • ~9 min

By fact-checking Thoreau's observations at Walden Pond, we showed how old diaries and specimens can inform modern research

Journals, museum collections and other historical sources can provide valuable data for modern ecological studies. But just because a source is old doesn’t make it useful.

Richard B. Primack, Professor of Biology, Boston University • conversation
Oct. 26, 2022 • ~10 min

Three arguments why Just Stop Oil was right to target Van Gogh’s Sunflowers

It might be provocative but this sort of direct action is important.

Oli Mould, Lecturer in Human Geography, Royal Holloway University of London • conversation
Oct. 17, 2022 • ~7 min

US museums hold the remains of thousands of Black people

Proposed legislation would identify and protect African American cemeteries. But it wouldn't cover the remains of thousands of Black people in museum collections.

Chip Colwell, Associate Research Professor of Anthropology, University of Colorado Denver • conversation
March 24, 2021 • ~9 min

Polar bears have captivated artists' imaginations for centuries, but what they've symbolized has changed over time

Do you see a fearsome predator? A fragile icon of impending extinction? What these arctic giants have stood for in art has continually evolved.

Anne Collins Goodyear, Co-Director of the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Bowdoin College • conversation
Feb. 26, 2021 • ~10 min

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