Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Liz Hide @themuseumofliz.bsky.social · Jun 13

📣New job @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social
Interested in a career in archives? We're looking for an Archive Assistant to document and care for our archives, and enable researchers to access them
Closing date 6 July
www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/50926/?f...

#archives #museumjobs

1 3

Liz Hide @themuseumofliz.bsky.social · May 8

I'm happy to chat to anyone interested in working with the collections @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social for this post doc opportunity - and open to a wide range of suggestions.

Closing date for applications is 26 May

#postdoc #naturalhistory

A museum display case containing many samples of rocks, with the title 'Specimens of Colonial &Foreign Building Stones', part of the John Watson economic geology collection at the Sedgwick Museum

1

Liz Hide @themuseumofliz.bsky.social · May 8

Are you a humanities researcher interested in exploring geological collections? The Natural History Humanities initiative has an exciting opportunity for a 2 Yr postdoc, ideally focuseed on geological and/or biological collecfions @cambridgeuni.bsky.social

www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/50729/#:....

A tray tray of mineral specimens from the C17 collection of John Woodward, in the Sedgwick Museum

1 6 8

Reposted by Liz Hide

Sedgwick Museum @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social · May 7

“Minerals are from the Earth and the Earth belongs to everyone. So everyone should be welcome in society.” – Y10 work experience student, 2022

Two pairs of hands holding a variety of minerals which are different colours. On the left, 5 minerals which are blue, pink and white are held in the same configuration as the transgender flag. On the right, 4 minerals which are yellow, white, purple and black are held in the same configuration as the non-binary flag. Underneath the hands is green foliage acting as a backdrop.

2 1 8

Reposted by Liz Hide

$profrachelgan.bsky.social$

Prof Rachel Oliver @profrachelgan.bsky.social · Apr 15

This article from Marina Hyde pretty much matches my feelings about the blue origin flight. It feels like the message behind the flight was actually Jeff Bezos and his cronies saying "Look, we've made space flight so easy even women can do it!"
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

What’s more vacuous than an endless vacuum? It’s Lauren Sánchez and Katy Perry’s party in space | Marina Hyde

The all-female Blue Origin flight on Monday broke boundaries and set records in the spouting of girlboss gibberish, says Guardian columnist Marina Hyde

www.theguardian.com

2 4 17

Liz Hide @themuseumofliz.bsky.social · Apr 10

...and sorry @natstephen.bsky.social that you weren't able to join us - perhaps we could catch up another time?

Liz Hide @themuseumofliz.bsky.social · Apr 10

Just seen this, @mirandastearn.bsky.social - do you think we might have come close?

Margaret Middleton @magmidd.bsky.social · Jan 1

omg I visited 79 museums and historic sites in 2024

Margaret, seated with legs crossed, chin on fist. Their black t shirt reads "Museum Nerd" in multicolor block letters

1 3

Liz Hide @themuseumofliz.bsky.social · Apr 10

Enjoyable & important conversations on gender, stereotyping, representation & 'queer possibility' in #geoscience & #museums this morning.

Thank you @magmidd.bsky.social @girlsingeosci.bsky.social & Gemma Laker @originalgcg.bsky.social for bringing us together

Pride progress flag , comprising images of coloured rocks and minerals

2 1 7

Liz Hide @themuseumofliz.bsky.social · Apr 9

Ooo sounds interesting!

1

Reposted by Liz Hide

Charlotte Connelly @curatorconnelly.bsky.social · Apr 9

I'm currently reading the excellent Camera Geologica by @siobhanangus.bsky.social - I'm asking similar questions about minerals in media tech. I'm half way through a chapter about silver, and the sheer quantity of silver mined and used historically by the photography industry is mind boggling!

1 4 14

Liz Hide @themuseumofliz.bsky.social · Apr 9

Also gets award 🏅for best last sentence

Jack Ashby @jackdashby.bsky.social · Apr 9

An interesting read for dog-owners - whatever their benefits, this study sets out the enormous impact pet dogs have on wildlife and the environment (the dry pet food industry produces more C02 than the vast majority of countries do, for example)
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

Pet dogs have ‘extensive and multifarious’ impact on environment, new research finds

Scale of environmental damage attributed to huge number of dogs globally as well as ‘lax or uninformed behaviour of dog owners’

www.theguardian.com

1 3

Reposted by Liz Hide

Auke-Florian 🪹 @aukeflorian.nl · Apr 9

NEW PAPER, JUST OUT! 👀

Insects from the '70s and '80s were already collecting microplastic, decades before the term microplastic even existed. 🤯

A thread on the surprising history of this pollutant and the incredible insect larvae that helped us uncover it. 🐛

Let's dive in! 🧵👇 1/x

Lead author Auke-Florian Hiemstra holds the oldest known caddisfly casing containing microplastic, dating to 1971. Photo: Liselotte Rambonnet.

A caddisfly casing with pieces of blue microplastic, dating 1986. Photo: Auke-Florian Hiemstra

33 700 1.5K

Liz Hide @themuseumofliz.bsky.social · Apr 9

What kind of labour gets recognised, when we think about minerals in museums?
Who do we involve in recovering and telling their stories?

Helpful prompts from @ellietheelement.bsky.social in @originalgcg.bsky.social EDI symposium this morning, relevant to our thinking @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social

5 10

Liz Hide @themuseumofliz.bsky.social · Apr 8

Super PhD studentship opportunity rummaging in some fantastic collections @theul.bsky.social exploring the role of women in curating scientific heritage
And we're very happy that the @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social is a partner in this project

#PhD #HistoryofScience
#WomensHistory

Cambridge University Library @theul.bsky.social · Apr 8

🔬 Applications are open for the UL and @universityofleeds.bsky.social collaborative doctoral studentship:
The Hidden Gender of Collections: Women and the Curation of Scientific Heritage
Deadline: 30 April 2025
Apply here: loom.ly/hXILBEo
@camglamresearch.bsky.social

Cambridge University Library and University of Leeds - Collections Connections Communities

loom.ly

2 1

Reposted by Liz Hide

History of Geology @historyofgeology.bsky.social · Mar 23

March 23, 1884, birthday of Lady Rachel Workman MacRobert. Political activist and first female Fellow of the Geological Society (after various attempts to deny her membership), she studied glacial erosion & igneous petrology 🪨🔬
trowelblazers.com/2016/05/06/r...

8 26

Reposted by Liz Hide

Andy Farke @andyfarke.bsky.social · Mar 24

"I'm going to go touch fossil" is the equivalent I use in the office, when it has been a day of way too many emails and meetings, and not enough time with dead things.

franz @franzanth.bsky.social · Mar 24

go touch grass:
- overused
- often requires bowing, difficult for people with bad back
- feels like taking a stroll around the busy neighborhood

go touch fern:
- edgy, exciting
- more elevation options for people with limited mobility
- feels like taking a stroll among big bugs in the Carboniferous

2 7 54

Liz Hide @themuseumofliz.bsky.social · Mar 24

Weve been fighting for a new lift and decent respectful access to the Sedgwick Museum @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social for more than 5 years, so it's a small but satisfying step to see the planning notices go up on the street today 👩‍🦽
#access #museum

2 4 18

Liz Hide @themuseumofliz.bsky.social · Mar 10

'boys reported being very confident [in] maths & science while a large percentage of girls said they were not confident.'

..and...

'there were significant gaps between pupils who had access to a large number of books at home & those who did not'

www.theguardian.com/education/20...

Boys widen gap over girls in maths and science in England, study reveals

Analysis of post-Covid performance overturns recent claims that boys are falling behind girls at school

www.theguardian.com

Liz Hide @themuseumofliz.bsky.social · Mar 7

So sorry to hear this. Thank you @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social for sharing the sad news

Paul Barrett @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social · Mar 7

Really sad to report that our friend and colleague Richard Fortey passed away this morning after a short battle with cancer. We’ll all miss his wit and wisdom. Here he is checking out a dino footprint we found while filming together on the Isle of Wight

1

Reposted by Liz Hide

Cambridge Earth Sciences @cambridge-earthsci.bsky.social · Jan 21

Professor Sanne Cottaar uses #earthquake waves to gaze deep into Earth’s interior, “It sometimes feels like the Earth is throwing clues at me. It’s my job to put it all together and solve the mystery."

Read on to find out what it means to be a Deep Earth Explorer ➡️ www.cam.ac.uk/stories/sann...

Into the underworld

Sanne Cottaar is Professor of Global Seismology in Earth Sciences. She wants to understand Earth’s inner structure: how it shaped the surface and allowed life to form. At the core of these questions i...

www.cam.ac.uk

2 6

Liz Hide @themuseumofliz.bsky.social · Mar 6

EDI in #geoscience and #museums - sign up for these free online symposia organised by the Geological Collections Group @originalgcg.bsky.social
Focusing on colonial legacies, gender & queer representation, and inclusion & neurodiversity in the workplace
www.geocurator.org/events/182-e...

3 5

Reposted by Liz Hide

Amelia Smith @nturavrgcistory.bsky.social · Feb 27

I was interviewed for this piece! It is a very important topic so do give it a read. hyperallergic.com/992452/its-t...

It’s Time for Museums to Step Up for Queer and Trans People

Amid ceaseless attacks on LGBTQ+ rights, art institutions have a responsibility to center and support their queer and trans staff and visitors.

hyperallergic.com

14 23

Reposted by Liz Hide

Matt Friedman @friedmanlab.bsky.social · Feb 28

For #FossilFriday, fish tiles from the old fossil fish gallery at NHM, now the main gift shop: Pterichthyodes (Devonian placoderm), Holoptychius (Devonian sarcopterygian), Exellia (Eocene percomorph), and Polypterus (Recent).

Bas relief tile depicting antiarch placoderm.

Bas relief tile depicting perch-like fish with high dorsal fin and long pelvics.

8 24

Reposted by Liz Hide

Tom Sharpe @tomsharperocks.bsky.social · Feb 28

#FossilFriday: The famous ichthyosaur skull discovered by #MaryAnning 's brother in 1811 was probably first seen by the pubic in an exhibition by William Bullock from late February 1814, not in London but at Corri’s Concert Halls in Edinburgh. More here:
www.researchgate.net/publication/...

Portrait of Mary Anning wearing a green cloak and straw bonnet tied with a red ribbon.

Drawing of the ichthyosaur skull found by Joseph Anning in 1811, and thought at first to be a crocodile. It has a large eye with bony plates, and a long snout with many small teeth.

Drawing of Corri's Concert Halls which stood at the top of Leith Walk, Edinburgh, and where the Anning skull was exhibited from late February 1814.

Part of a newspaper report about the exhibition in Edinburgh: 'This department [natural history] also contains the head of an enormous Crocodile lately found entire in the cliff near Lyme, in Dorsetshire' - the Anning ichthyosaur skull.

7 22

Reposted by Liz Hide

Ferwen @ferwen.bsky.social · Feb 28

#FossilFriday On February 28, 1878, several dozen Iguanodon fossils were discovered at Bernissart, Belgium. Louis Dollo devoted himself to the study of the Iguanodons. ⚒️🧪
wp.me/p3ihHu-10W #OTD #histsci #sciart

9 42