Unnatural history museums, Royal Institution

Since the Age of Enlightenment, science and art have been inextricably linked in public imagination through natural history museums. From preserved butterflies to exotic taxidermy, these spaces not only show the ways in which zoologists store knowledge, but they also allow people to contemplate the beauty of the natural world.

However, these places are for people, made by people. Jack Ashby will explore the implications of how museums talk about animals and how this can reflect politics as much as science.

Ashby studied Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge and is currently manager of the University Museum of Zoology. He is a trustee of the Natural Sciences Collections Association and a councillor of the Society for the History of Natural History. Join him for an evening discussion which addresses an underexplored question: to what extent do natural history museums realistically represent nature?