CSBR: Natural History: Compactorized Shelving for the Wet Collections of the Auburn University Museum of Natural History

生物研究馆藏是了解我们不断变化的地球的重要资源。 研究人员利用标本来描述新物种、了解类群之间的关系、探索环境、保护我们的自然资源以及培训下一代生物学家。 奥本大学自然历史博物馆的藏品涵盖植物和动物，尤其是来自墨西哥湾沿岸地区多样化的藏品，以及来自世界其他地区的重要藏品。 奥本大学于 2013 年为他们的藏品建成了一座最先进的新设施。自从搬到新设施以来，藏品有了显着的增长，不仅在标本数量方面，而且在博物馆能够为该州和地区人民提供的服务方面。 该博物馆吸收了其他大学单位的藏品和该地区其他机构的孤儿藏品，给可用空间带来了压力。 储存在酒精中的藏品（鱼类、两栖动物、爬行动物和无脊椎动物）以特别快的速度增长，并且由于适当储存易燃液体所需的安全措施，酒精储存区域有限。 该项目将提供紧凑的货架，这将大大增加酒类收藏的空间。 将无脊椎动物标本从目前未评级为乙醇储存的区域转移到压实机中也将允许干燥收藏品（特别是昆虫）的生长，这些收藏品也已接近容量。 该项目将展示管理藏品的复杂性，并为研究生和高年级本科生提供博物馆策展技术课程的机会，并进一步吸引学生协助该项目。 韦勒中心计划举办开放日活动，为该地区服务不足的儿童提供项目。 将利用社交媒体让公众了解该项目以及藏品所代表的资源。 藏品的数字化将完成，所有数据将在博物馆网站 (aumnh.org) 以及 iDigBio (idigbio.org) 等数据聚合器上提供。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Biological Research Collections are important resources for understanding our changing planet. Researchers use specimens to describe new species, understand the relationships between taxa, explore the environment, and conserve our natural resources as well as to train the next generations of biologists. Collections in the Auburn University Museum of Natural History span plants and animals, with particularly strong holdings from the very diverse Gulf of Mexico coast region, and important collections from the rest of the world. Auburn University completed a new, state-of-the-art facility for their collections in 2013. Since moving to the new facility, the collections have seen remarkable growth, not just in terms of the number of specimens, but in the outreach that the museum is able to perform for people in the state and region. The museum absorbed collections from other university units and orphaned collections from other institutions in the area, putting strain on the space available. The collections stored in alcohol (fishes, amphibians, reptiles, and invertebrates) have grown at a particularly fast rate, and the alcohol storage area is limited because of needed safety measures for the proper storage of flammable liquids. This project will provide compactorized shelving that will dramatically increase the amount of space within the alcohol collections. Moving invertebrate specimens from an area not currently rated for storage in ethanol into the compactors will also allow growth of the dry collections (particularly insects), which are also approaching capacity. This project will demonstrate the complexity of managing collections and as an opportunity to teach a class in museum curation techniques to graduate students and upper level undergraduate students, and to further engage students to assist in the project. Open house events at the Wehle Center are planned to provide programs to underserved children in the area. Social media will be utilized to keep the public apprised of the project and the resources that the collections represent. Digitization of the collections will be completed, and all data will be available on the museum site (aumnh.org) as well as data aggregators such as iDigBio (idigbio.org).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.