It is that time of year again – time for us to celebrate our Zoology Live! festival at the Museum of Zoology. We have an exciting line up of livestreams and activities, culminating in the BioBlitz at the Cambridge University Botanic Garden, where you can put what you have learnt about local wildlife to the test. Our Zoology Live! YouTube livestreams are taking place on … Continue reading Zoology Live! 2022
Look out of your window and you may be looking on trees bare of leaves, and missing the comforting buzz of summer insects or dazzling colour of a butterfly wing. But not all wildlife is dormant over the winter. Although you may think it is cold in the UK, our islands provide a balmy respite for many birds that breed further north in the Arctic. … Continue reading Winter Waterbirds
For Winter Wildlife 2021, members of the Zoology Club (13-18 year olds) met to discover and write about bird migration and the threats of climate change to migratory species. See the stories they created at the bottom of this post, or continue below to create your own story. Why migratory bird species? Scientists have calculated that climate change has affected around ⅓ of all UK … Continue reading Winter Wildlife: conservation storytelling
How are animals adapted to the cold of winter? Why do some escape it, and are their migrations being affected by climate change? And as for the most important winter journey of all – are reindeer really the best animals to pull Santa’s sleigh? These are all questions we will be looking into in our Winter Wildlife: ZoologiCOOL livestream on Wednesday 1 December. Join us … Continue reading Winter Wildlife: ZoologiCOOL
We have a special treat for you as part of the Open Cambridge Festival 2021: not one but three virtual tours of the Museum. Go behind the scenes for a tour of the Bird Room with Curator of Ornithology Dr Daniel Field and a tour of the Insect Room by Research Assistant Matt Hayes. Then follow Assistant Director Jack Ashby as he guides you around … Continue reading Behind the Scenes at the Museum for Open Cambridge 2021
In this blog series for National Marine Week, Geography PhD Student Anna Guasco describes the many ways Cambridge postgraduate researchers study life in the ocean. Here she interviews: Lily Bentley: Seabird Movement Ecology Lily Bentley is PhD Student in the Department of Zoology. She is from Australia. “We can’t hope to conserve or manage populations of animals that travel vast distances unless we know where … Continue reading How to Study: Seabirds
In this blog series for National Marine Week, Geography PhD Student Anna Guasco describes the many ways Cambridge postgraduate researchers study life in the ocean. Here she interviews: Frédérique Fardin: Mangroves, Fisheries, and Conservation Frédérique is a PhD student with the Department of Geography and the UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre. She is an affiliated researcher with the Nippon Foundation Nereus Program and a … Continue reading How to Study: Coastal Ecosystems and Conservation
In this blog series for National Marine Week, Geography PhD Student Anna Guasco describes the many ways Cambridge postgraduate researchers study life in the ocean: Cambridge isn’t exactly known for marine life. Instead, when thinking of Cambridge, you might picture cows grazing in Midsummer Common or along the River Cam. Pathways winding along the Backs of the old Colleges. Weeping willows and wildflowers. Swans and … Continue reading How to Study Marine Life in the World’s Changing Seas
Conserving an endangered butterfly into the future: long term requirements of the Duke of Burgundy. Research Assistant at the Museum of Zoology Matt Hayes writes: Seeing butterflies on the wing is usually a sure-fire sign that warmer weather has arrived and for most of us, I hope they are a common sight on sunny days in spring and summer. In fact, one of my favourite … Continue reading The Duke of Burgundy Butterfly
For the Earth Optimism Festival organised by the Cambridge Conservation Initiative this year, the Museum created a film of Conservation Success Stories based on specimens in our collections. It was fascinating and uplifting to hear these stories of actions people have taken that have benefited wildlife the world over from researchers and conservation practitioners involved with these projects. To celebrate International Day for Biological Diversity … Continue reading Conservation Success Stories
To mark Endangered Species Day on Friday 21 May 2021, staff and volunteers at the Museum of Zoology have been writing about the endangered species on display in the galleries that hold stories important to them. Come and explore these amazing animals with us. Orangutan, Pongo pygmaeus Dr Ed Turner, Curator of Insects As Curator of Insects, selecting orangutans to write about might seem an … Continue reading Endangered Species Day
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The natural world is full of stories to discover. Use the Museum of Zoology collection to explore habitats, complete puzzles and build a team of the animals you meet along the way. Before you begin: Grab a pencil and piece of paper so that you can record your favourite stories or animals while you play. Draw a picture of your ultimate animal team to share … Continue reading Animal Adventurers: the game
How can people live in harmony with nature? See the ideas and solutions from participants in an artist-led workshop that took place earlier this year, and have a go at creating your own world of tomorrow at home today. Continue reading Saving Our World: Butterfly
The past twelve months have changed the world, but there are reasons for optimism in nature. On Monday 8 March 2021, the Museum in collaboration with the CCF Women in Conservation Leadership network hosted an online event celebrating inspiring work by women in conservation. A panel of amazing women talked of their experiences engaging with young people and communities in conservation projects around the world:Abhisheka … Continue reading Inspiring Conservation for International Women’s Day 2021
Alec Christie, PhD student in the Conservation Evidence group of the Department of Zoology writes: Go to your doctor and they’ll give you the best treatment based on the scientific evidence. So why can’t we do the same for biodiversity? Recently we’ve seen a flurry of important work highlighting the continuing decline of biodiversity, including David Attenborough’s documentary Extinction: the facts. It’s also very encouraging … Continue reading We know conservation is working, but do we really know what works?
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