Natural History Collections – curating our Northamptonshire legacy

Explore Northamptonshire’s Natural History Collections. The NNHS Curation Group is dedicated to caring for, documenting, and exploring all of the Society’s fascinating collections.

1st and 3rd Monday of each month · starts at 11:00 AM

Curation Section

For more than 150 years, generations of NNHS members have built and cared for an extraordinary collection documenting the natural history, geology and heritage of Northamptonshire and far beyond.

Our collections include butterflies and moths, fossils, minerals, shells, plants and microscope slides, alongside historic weather records, geological maps, archives and one of the world’s largest amateur collections of sand from around the globe. Together, they provide a fascinating record of the natural world and the people who have studied it.

But our collections aren’t simply here to be stored – they’re here to be explored. Our regular collection sessions offer the opportunity to get closer to the specimens, help with their care and cataloguing, uncover information from our archives and learn from other members along the way.

No previous experience is needed and you don’t need to be a member to come along and give it a try. Our volunteers will show you what to do, whether you already have a specialist interest or are simply curious to discover what’s inside our collections.

Visitors are welcome to attend up to three NNHS meetings before deciding whether to join. One NNHS membership then gives you access to activities and meetings across all of our Sections, so there’s always something new to explore.

Discover something new

There are many ways to enjoy and explore the NNHS natural history collections. You’re welcome to come along simply to look at and study the specimens, draw or paint them, or spend time appreciating the remarkable variety and beauty of the natural world up close.

If you’d like to get more involved, there are opportunities to help conserve, document, research and catalogue our natural history specimens, historic archives and collections relating to Northamptonshire and beyond. No specialist knowledge or previous experience is needed – we’ll give you all the guidance and practical help you need to get started.

Whether you want to contribute your own knowledge, learn new skills, discover more about Northamptonshire’s natural history or simply enjoy exploring the collections, you’ll be very welcome!

Preserve our heritage

Whether it’s cataloguing specimens, conserving historic material, identifying items, improving records, or simply discovering the stories behind objects collected by previous generations of naturalists, there is always something interesting to investigate. Our curation sessions are friendly, informal, and open to all. Whether you are an experienced naturalist or completely new to the Society’s collections, you will be warmly welcomed and encouraged to explore, learn, ask questions, and contribute to preserving our shared heritage.

Connect to the past, conserve for the future

The Curation Group meets on the first and third Monday of each month at 11:00 AM at The Humfrey Rooms. New members and visitors are always welcome to come along and see what we do.

Come along

Discover our fascinating collections where you’ll find treasures including the Walter Crick Jurassic Fossil Collection, the Seán Karley Herbarium and the Gordon Osborn Sand Collection, believed to be one of the world’s largest amateur collections of sand. Designed to be enjoyable and accessible to everyone, the Curation Group is a great way to learn and develop new skills, and contribute to the care and documentation of specimens, books and archives for future generations.

Collections