Project: Scope n’ Slide III: All The Small Things; Curating Biological Microscope Slide Collections

16 June – 25 July (six weeks), supervised by Amo Spooner and Mark Carnall

Project summary

To re-arrange, organise and list contents of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History’s microscope slide collections and produce inventories and box lists for collections in preparation for offsite storage and use.

Project details

There are tens of thousands of microscope slides in the entomological and zoological collection of the Museum, including scientifically important specimens, genitalia dissections, histological slides and whole specimen mounts.

In order to accomplish this, the student will:

assess and plan the best method of approaching the project with supervisor
re-arrange and organise slides within slide cabinets available
create lists of contents for each slide cabinet
create and complete an Excel spreadsheet for the type slide collection
create social media content on the project for the Museum blog, website and other social media accounts

Selection criteria

Essential

Good dexterity to handle specimens
Attention to detail
Organised and methodical approach to work
Word processing skills on Microsoft platforms and internet search engines

Desirable

Interest in Natural History collections
Interest in histology, dissection, anatomy and cell biology

Outcomes for students

Have the opportunity to gain an insight into the workings of a museum and collection
Understand the importance of natural history collections and the methods used to preserve them
Produce a searchable spreadsheet containing information on the slide collection
Create comprehensive list of contacts to make the slide collections more accessible
Have training in curatorial techniques for slide preserved specimens.

Reasonable adjustments

The museum is committed to making reasonable adjustments to its summer placements to make sure that students with disabilities or health conditions are not substantially disadvantaged. If you are concerned about meeting the selection criteria for a project of interest, or completing relevant tasks, please get in touch with Hannah Betts before submitting your application to discuss possible adjustments to the project: summerplacements@oum.ox.ac.uk.