#NaturesMemory
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jackdashby.bsky.social
ON THURSDAY I'll be at @linneansociety.bsky.social to chat about whether natural history #museums really represent nature, how they talk about their own [sometimes troubling] histories, & how they help save the world: the 3 themes of my book #NaturesMemory. Come!
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/natures-me...
Nature’s Memory | Behind the Scenes at the World’s Natural History Museums
Get an insider guide to the secrets of natural history museums, as we consider how they shape our society and relationship with nature.
www.eventbrite.co.uk
November 10, 2025 at 12:30 PM
jackdashby.bsky.social
#OTD in 1858 a Malay teenager called Ali collected this bird-of-paradise for Alfred Russel Wallace & described its behavior. It led to the species' first scientific description. I wrote about how a far greater diversity of people deserve credit in the history of science in my new book #NaturesMemory
A black and white studio photograph of Ali, wearing a dark suit, waistcoat and light bow-tie, from 1862. A museum study skin of Wallace's standardwing bird-of-paradise. It is a thrush-size irridescent green bird specimen lying on its back, with two long white plumes alongside each wing. It is the "type specimen" (the specimen used to describe the species), at the University Museum of Zoology in Cambridge.
October 24, 2025 at 10:24 AM
jackdashby.bsky.social
Natural history #museums are magical, but do they really represent nature, or the people that actually built them? And how they can help save the world?
Can't wait to be chatting about my book #NaturesMemory at @linneansociety.bsky.social on 13th Nov. Come along!
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/natures-me...
Nature’s Memory | Behind the Scenes at the World’s Natural History Museums
Get an insider guide to the secrets of natural history museums, as we consider how they shape our society and relationship with nature.
www.eventbrite.co.uk
October 22, 2025 at 4:53 PM
jackdashby.bsky.social
There's a special buzz when you spot your book in a #bookshop window! 🤩
I spy #NaturesMemory in @grovebookshop.bsky.social (ahead of my talk at @ilkleylitfest.bsky.social later)
The window display of the Grove Bookshop in Ilkley A close-up of the display, with Nature’s Memory at the front
October 18, 2025 at 1:35 PM
jackdashby.bsky.social
Good people of #Yorkshire, I'm coming your way tomorrow to chat about the ways natural history #museums do and don't represent nature, some hard truths about how these collections came together, and the ways they help save the world. Come along to the @ilkleylitfest.bsky.social! #NaturesMemory
jackdashby.bsky.social Jack Ashby @jackdashby.bsky.social · 26d
NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM FANS (and skeptics), if you're around #Yorkshire this weekend, I'll be speaking at @ilkleylitfest.bsky.social about #NaturesMemory: Behind the Scenes at the World's Natural History #Museums.
Book here: ilkleyliteraturefestival-tickets.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/...
The cover of Nature's Memory by Jack Ashby on the left, with a list of upcoming talks on the right, reading: Yorkshire: Ilkley Literature Festival, 18 Oct London: Linnean Society: 13 Nov Cambridge: Sedgwick Museum: 20 Nov
October 17, 2025 at 12:40 PM
jackdashby.bsky.social
NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM FANS (and skeptics), if you're around #Yorkshire this weekend, I'll be speaking at @ilkleylitfest.bsky.social about #NaturesMemory: Behind the Scenes at the World's Natural History #Museums.
Book here: ilkleyliteraturefestival-tickets.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/...
The cover of Nature's Memory by Jack Ashby on the left, with a list of upcoming talks on the right, reading: Yorkshire: Ilkley Literature Festival, 18 Oct London: Linnean Society: 13 Nov Cambridge: Sedgwick Museum: 20 Nov
October 15, 2025 at 4:44 PM
jackdashby.bsky.social
On Friday I was "in-conversation" with the outstanding journalist, writer & science communicator @zoekeansci.bsky.social at the #Hobart Bookshop, chatting about #NaturesMemory.
Huge congrats to Zoe: her book Why Are We Like This was described as the century's top nonfiction book by The Science Show!
Jack Ashby and Zoe Kean talking at the event in the Hobart Bookshop Jack Ashby and Zoe Kean having dinner. Jack is holding Zoe's book "Why are we like this". Zoe is holding Jack's book "Nature's Memory: Behind the Scenes at the World's Natural History Museums
October 9, 2025 at 6:22 AM
jackdashby.bsky.social
I know it seems conceited to look for your own books in every bookstore you pass, but after all that goes into writing a book, there really is a sense of accomplishment when you spot them out in the world. Really thrilled to see #NaturesMemory, #PlatypusMatters & WILD all across #Tasmania & #Sydney.
A bookshop shelf display, showing Nature's Memory, with its cover facing out A bookshop shelf, including Platypus Matters A bookshop shelf, including Nature's Memory A bookshop shelf, including Wild: A Family Guide to the Animal Kingdom
October 5, 2025 at 6:36 AM
jackdashby.bsky.social
I spoke to ABC Radio #Hobart about #NaturesMemory & life behind the scenes at natural history #museums, inc. what gets left off display, trends in taxidermy #thylacines & links between colonial violence in #Tasmania & museum collecting. From 2.10 (24mins from the end):
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
Jack Ashby outside a sandstone building with the ABC logo on it
September 30, 2025 at 11:28 AM
jackdashby.bsky.social
TASMANIANS!
This time next week I'll be at The #Hobart Bookshop talking about #NaturesMemory: Behind the Scenes at the World’s Natural History Museums, in conversation with local author @zoekeansci.bsky.social.
It's free - come along. Book here:
www.trybooking.com/events/landi... #Tasmania
Author Event: Nature's Memory (Jack Ashby)
We are delighted to be hosting an in-conversation event to celebrate the release of Nature’s Memory by zoologist and writer Jack Ashby, joined by...
www.trybooking.com
September 26, 2025 at 8:03 AM
jackdashby.bsky.social
Australia did a pretty good job of recreating the Oxbridge vibe with the University of Sydney (but with extra sunshine). Looking forward to chatting about #NaturesMemory at the Chau Chak Wing Museum later, and for some meetings about potential #platypus collaborations! 😀
Jack Ashby stood in front of University of Sydney quadrangle - a nineteenth-century red-brick building
September 19, 2025 at 12:22 AM
jackdashby.bsky.social
Folks in #Sydney & #Tasmania, here's some events with surprising, funny, troubling and planet-saving stories from behind the scenes at the world's natural history #museums, from my book #NaturesMemory:
@sydney.edu.au: www.sydney.edu.au/museum/whats...

#Hobart: www.hobartbookshop.com.au/page/Events
On the left is the cover of Jack Ashby's book, Nature's Memory, including a bright green snail shell on a black background. On the right, the text reads: Upcoming talks Sydney: Chau Chok Wing Museum, University of Sydney, 19 Sept Tasmania: The Hobart Bookshop, 3 Oct Yorkshire: Ilkley Literature Festival, 18 Oct London: Linnean Society: 13 Nov
September 5, 2025 at 8:15 AM
jackdashby.bsky.social
Are there any other authors out there who find it impossible to walk past a bookshop without going in to check if they have your latest in stock? 😅
Anyway, there are now piles of signed copies of #NaturesMemory at Waterstones Trafalgar Square and the flagship Foyles on Charing Cross Road. 📖✍️
An endcap display of books, with a "Highlights" sign. Nature's Memory: Behind the Scenes at the World’s Natural History Museums is on the right of the second shelf
August 17, 2025 at 4:46 PM
jackdashby.bsky.social
Happy re-birthday to @suethetrex.bsky.social - the most complete #Trex specimen ever found - uneartherd 35 years ago today. In my book #NaturesMemory: Behind the Scenes at the World's Natural History #Museums, I describe SUE as one of the most effective natural history exhibits I’ve ever seen ⛏️🦖🏆
A page from Nature's Memory, including a picture of SUE the T rex at the Field Museum. The text reads: After Dippy, the other contestant for the title of ‘world’s most famous dinosaur fossil’ is SUE the Tyrannosaurus rex. Named after Sue Hendrickson, who discovered the specimen in 1990 in South Dakota, with over 90 per cent of the skeleton present, SUE is the most complete fossil yet found of one of Earth’s biggest-ever land-living carnivores. Preparators at the Field Museum in Chicago were able to skilfully mount the real skeleton in such a dynamic, imposing way that it is as lifelike as a skeleton can be, augmented by dramatic light projections to help you understand what you are seeing and engage with it more deeply. It is one of the most effective natural history exhibits I’ve ever seen. However, the preparators determined that SUE’s real skull was too heavy to be attached to the end of its neck. As a solution, they attached a lighter replica of SUE’s skull onto the mounted skeleton, and displayed the real fossil skull in a case alongside. This has the added benefit of allowing easy access to the skull for the very many research scientists who want to study it.
August 13, 2025 at 5:12 PM
jackdashby.bsky.social
Based on stories I came across when researching my book #NaturesMemory, @museumsassociation.org have published a piece I wrote on how natural history #museums can help save the planet, in more ways than one: www.museumsassociation.org/museums-jour...
Natural history museums can help save the planet - Museums Association
They can tackle social justice and environmental issues, says Jack Ashby
www.museumsassociation.org
August 5, 2025 at 8:19 AM
jackdashby.bsky.social
HELLO AUSTRALIA! 🇦🇺 #NaturesMemory: Behind the Scenes at the World's Natural History #Museums is published in Oz today! There are loads of Australian stories in the book (particularly in the sections on the colonial legacies of natural history collecting), and here's a rundown of the whole book! 👇
jackdashby.bsky.social Jack Ashby @jackdashby.bsky.social · Apr 24
Big day... My book #NaturesMemory: Behind the Scenes at the World's Natural History #Museums is published TODAY.🤩
Over the last 20+ years of working in these incredible institutions, I've noticed some surprising things about them, and this book shares some of these "secrets", as an insider's guide.🧵
The cover of Nature’s Memory – a green snail shell on a black background
July 22, 2025 at 11:21 AM
jackdashby.bsky.social
"Compelling, arresting... Reality bites, as Ashby deftly shows in this engaging book, which persuasively casts a critical eye over the imperfections of #museums & how they aren't what we have often thought them to be": @stokel.bsky.social reviews #NaturesMemory:
www.newscientist.com/article/mg26...
A new book reveals the deep flaws in our natural history museums
Natural history museums teach us about our world, but they aren’t telling us the whole story, writes curator Jack Ashby in Nature's Memory
www.newscientist.com
July 12, 2025 at 12:42 PM
learnfromnature.bsky.social
The lovely new book 📕 #NaturesMemory by @jackdashby.bsky.social is a great behind the scenes read about #Nature
neacarter.bsky.social Nicholas Carter @neacarter.bsky.social · May 23
Natural history museums are our most complete records of life on Earth and environmental change. Great talk by @jackdashby.bsky.social at @morethanadodo.bsky.social this evening. And what a lovely book cover 🐚💚
July 6, 2025 at 12:58 AM
jackdashby.bsky.social
Another review for #NaturesMemory, now in @newscientist.com.
It highlights the biases I mention in museums, but concludes:
"This book was written before the wilful destruction of scientific institutions in the US... It is for this reason that it ought to be read"
www.newscientist.com/article/mg26...
A new book reveals the deep flaws in our natural history museums
Natural history museums teach us about our world, but they aren’t telling us the whole story, writes curator Jack Ashby in Nature's Memory
www.newscientist.com
June 26, 2025 at 12:43 PM
jackdashby.bsky.social
I was interviewed for @nature.com by Davide about #NaturesMemory: We explore the importance of #museums for conservation today, why they can't pretend to be neutral or apolitical, and the sometimes troubling ways their collections were built.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
June 25, 2025 at 11:47 AM
emmacaton.bsky.social
Great to have @jackdashby.bsky.social visit us at London’s Natural History Museum to talk about his fascinating new book #NaturesMemory! 📖

I’m only a couple of chapters in and have already learned lots of new stuff about the place I work. Well worth a read! 👏
Jack giving a talk about his new book at the Natural History Museum in London. The front cover of the book by Jack Ashby, titled ‘Nature’s Memory: Behind the scenes at the word’s natural history museums’. On the front cover is a green shell.
June 24, 2025 at 7:16 PM
jackdashby.bsky.social
I realised I might have to give a slightly different version of my talk today on #NaturesMemory: Behind the Scenes at the World’s Natural History #Museums, when I remembered that everyone in the audience works behind the scenes at @nhm-london.bsky.social 😅
A poster advertising a talk about Nature's Memory. The blurb reads: Despite the extraordinary diversity of their collections, natural history museums tend to display similar species in similar ways. Jack Ashby’s new book provides a universal tour of these collections, exploring how they go about displaying nature, how their collections came together, and how crucial are to saving life on earth. What is the science is being done behind the scenes? What is chosen for display and why? Who collected it? What has been left out? Can they tell us new stories for the 21st century?
June 24, 2025 at 4:23 PM
jackdashby.bsky.social
"‘Natural history #museums can save the world’: anti-colonialism, conservation and climate change" - @castelvecchi.bsky.social interviewed me for @nature.com about #NaturesMemory and the vital role our museums are playing in both science and society:
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
‘Natural history museums can save the world’: anti-colonialism, conservation and climate change
Zoologist Jack Ashby explains why it’s vital to invest in protecting specimens stored in scientific collections.
www.nature.com
June 24, 2025 at 7:14 AM
jackdashby.bsky.social
Well this is exciting! Here's an interview I did for @nature.com about #NaturesMemory - talking about how natural history #museums can help save the world, as the best evidence we have for understanding environmental change, plus colonial legacies, male bias, and more:
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
‘Natural history museums can save the world’: anti-colonialism, conservation and climate change
Zoologist Jack Ashby explains why it’s vital to invest in protecting specimens stored in scientific collections.
www.nature.com
June 23, 2025 at 6:28 PM
jackdashby.bsky.social
Habitat loss and over-collecting are putting populations of green tree #snails at risk on their home of Manus island in Papua New Guinea. 🐌
One is on the cover of my book #NaturesMemory, so it's nice to see some at Kelvingrove in Glasgow.
Two green tree snail with a museum label that reads: Tourists often buy and collect shells. The Queen conch and the green tree snail are now endangered because collectors kill the animals to get their shells. Queen conch Strombus gigas Green tree snail Papustyla pulcherrima The cover of Nature's Memory: Behind the Scenes at the World’s Natural History Museums, by Jack Ashby
June 21, 2025 at 7:00 AM