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Having closed its doors in March 2023, the redeveloped Museum tells a story of the human impact on the diversity of life on Earth and showcases how 麻豆传媒视频网站 research is responding to the planetary crisis.Established in 1828 as a teaching collection in comparative anatomy, the Grant Museum of Zoology is now home to around 68,000 zoological specimens, including extinct and extant animal species, fluid preserved specimens, taxidermy, glass and wax animal models, fossils and pinned entomology. The Museum is visited by around 40,000 people each year.Visitors returning this year will find the beautifully unique floor-to-ceiling displays and atmospheric charm intact, but significant work has been undertaken on the presentation and conservation of specimens.New interpretation explores the human impact on biodiversity and how the collections can inspire and challenge us to rebalance our relationship with nature.The new exhibits highlight the use of the collections in cutting-edge research, including tiny Seychelles鈥� frogs monitored by 麻豆传媒视频网站 researchers who use sound recordings to track their response to climate change.Another display shows sawfish rostra (long, flat snouts edged with teeth) used in an international project that sampled the specimens鈥� DNA to analyse the genetic health of living sawfish species. The project in numbers:鈥�    Six new showcases鈥�    7,000 specimen moves鈥�    200 conservation treatments鈥�    350 new labels鈥�    Many, many litres of paint!External funding for the improvement work was awarded jointly by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) and the Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Foundation through the DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund and was announced at the Grant Museum in December 2022.Tannis Davidson, Head of Zoology and Science Collections at 麻豆传媒视频网站, said:鈥淲e are delighted to be re-opening our doors and celebrating how the Grant Museum collection continues to have an enormous impact on how we understand and learn from the natural world. We look forward to welcoming visitors old and new to enjoy the beautiful new displays and connect with the challenges facing biodiversity to inspire positive action.鈥漃aul Ayris, 麻豆传媒视频网站 Pro-Vice-Provost (LCCOS - Library, Culture, Collections & Open Science), said:鈥淲e are hugely grateful to DCMS Wolfson for making this redevelopment possible. The Grant Museum team have worked tirelessly behind the scenes, improving the care we can give these invaluable collections and creating exciting displays that will immerse visitors in current 麻豆传媒视频网站 research鈥�.Grant Museum of Zoology website

Have you ever heard the expression 鈥淪ocial Prescribing鈥�? It鈥檚 the idea that our health and wellbeing can be improved by regular interaction with a community. Perhaps we feel we know this instinctively 鈥� who doesn鈥檛 feel better after seeing friends? - but when health factors render a patient house-bound, the potential for social isolation can increase, and both physical and mental health can deteriorate.Helen Chatterjee, Professor of Biology at 麻豆传媒视频网站 Biosciences and Head of Research and Teaching at 麻豆传媒视频网站 Culture, has been working on a project that explores ways to remedy this decline using arts and cultural engagement, and now her work is up for a prestigious Royal Society for Public Health award.Museums on Prescription is the three-year project led by Helen and run with academics from Canterbury Christ Church University. Together they have connected lonely older adults at risk of social isolation to partner museums in Central London and Kent. The project looked at ways in which arts and cultural activities, particularly in museums and galleries, could positively impact the lives of the participants. Referred by health, social care and third sector organisations, these participants took part in 10-week programmes of museum-based sessions consisting of tours, talks and creative activities inspired by the collections.[[{"fid":"4999","view_mode":"large","fields":{"format":"large","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Museums on Prescription","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_caption[und][0][format]":"limited_html","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"large","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Museums on Prescription","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_caption[und][0][format]":"limited_html","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"}},"link_text":null,"attributes":{"height":"338","width":"1001","class":"media-element file-large"}}]]This project is reflective of a wider trend for using arts as therapy. The UK was in fact one of the first countries to support the value of arts in health and wellbeing, alongside Australia and Finland, publishing a major report that highlighted the importance of these schemes in 2014. This research found that creative activity has a positive effect on mental health. It increases self-esteem and improves quality of life. A range of conditions including anxiety, depression, phobia and eating disorders are positively influenced by creative engagement. Furthermore, the NHS and Social Care have been working to reduce the use of antipsychotic drugs for dementia by two-thirds using community-centred approaches, though it admits there is still much to do.We hope that with more creatively engaging projects like Helen鈥檚, that celebrate our wealth of museum treasures and the positive influence they can have, we鈥檒l begin to see a changing landscape in the treatment of mental health and wellbeing.Reference:Chatterjee, H.J. and L. Thomson (2015) Museums and Social Prescribing, in H. L. Robertson (ed.) The Caring Museum: New Models of Engagement with Ageing, pp. 304-341. MuseumsEtc, Edinburgh and Boston.The Museums on Prescription project was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.You can download a full press release of the project鈥檚 nomination for award here.Read the full Arts & Health Journal post by Helen Chatterjee.Further reading on museums and wellbeing can be found here. [[{"fid":"4995","view_mode":"large","fields":{"format":"large","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Museums on prescription logos","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_caption[und][0][format]":"limited_html","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"large","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Museums on prescription logos","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_caption[und][0][format]":"limited_html","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"}},"link_text":null,"attributes":{"height":"295","width":"1417","class":"media-element file-large"}}]]