Insect Museum Curation
Peter Oboyski, Sr. Museum Scientist
Essig Museum of Entomology
Applications for Spring 2025 are closed for this project.
Natural History Museums are repositories for biodiversity research, documentation of the impacts of global change, and a resource for new and innovative science. Managing these collections requires expertise in many disparate disciplines such as library science, anatomy & morphology, taxonomy, and data management. The Essig Museum houses over 5 million specimens representing > 40,000 species. We are in the processes of cataloging the entire collection, which includes updating taxonomy, specimen imaging, data capture, and long-term specimen preservation.
Role: The curatorial apprentice will learn many aspects of natural history museum management, but specialize in one or a few specific areas of museum work. Possible projects include: curating a section of the collection (updating names, updating drawer labels, arranging specimens, etc.), collections assessment (statistics relating to species counts, distribution, number of specimens, etc.), mounting and/or labeling specimens, preparing loans, etc.
Qualifications: Students who have taken classes in insect taxonomy and/or natural history museums (eg. ESPM 140, and/or IB/ESPM C105), or comparable experience preferred.
Hours: 6-8 hrs
Related website: https://essig.berkeley.edu
Biological & Health Sciences Engineering, Design & Technologies