Heritage, culture and society

'Heritage, culture and society' is an important and growing theme of research within the Museum, and is undertaken with a wide range of UK and international partners, including the University of Birmingham, the University of Leeds, the University of Warwick, University College London, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Mount Allison University, New Brunswick.

Our current research interests include the history of the architecture and decorative interior history of the museum, the origins of object-led geology teaching in 19th-century universities, the historical and modern significance of natural history cast collections, and the use of 3D models and replicas to enhance the visitor experience within museums.

Work is also undertaken on geoheritage and geoconservation, where the pairing of modern LiDAR 3D scanning with classical geological fieldwork techniques has helped improve the understanding of the risks to internationally significant palaeontological sites, informing policy for the management and conservation of geoheritage sites.

This work is enabled by research funding from AHRC, including the Collaborative Doctoral Partnership scheme, the SSHRC and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.