Evolving Together: ASTC’s New Natural History Network

The Osher Rainforest inspires awe at the California Academy of Sciences “The work taking place in natural history museums has never been more important, and the role that they play in safeguarding humanity’s future is only just starting to be realized.” (Jack Ashby, in Nature’s Memory, 2025) With the launch of ASTC’s Natural History Network at the 2025 Annual Conference in San Francisco, ASTC is excited to support a growing community of professionals and institutions working in and alongside natural history settings.The Network aims to strengthen practice, research, and policy across the many communities of practice that make up natural history organizations—collections staff, researchers, exhibit developers, educators, evaluators, community engagement teams, and more.Our intention is to provide a platform for dialogue, resource-sharing, and inspiration that advances the role of natural history in science engagement.  A [Very] Brief History of an Evolving Field If you work in science centers or museums, you are familiar with the long arc from the 16th- and 17th-century “cabinets of curiosity” to modern institutions centered on public exhibition and scientific inquiry.