The MAKING CONNECTIONS project is a collaboration between the Beaty Biodiversity Museum (BBM) and faculty from Forestry, Botany, Zoology, and Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences. Based at the BBM and working in collaboration with students, researchers, and museum professionals, MAKING CONNECTIONS is a cross-departmental team working on developing educational units for a new biodiversity science course focused on natural history collections and science communication.
The MAKING CONNECTIONS team is excited to be working on a brand new UBC undergraduate course that will appeal to a diverse group of UBC students and will be open to upper-year students from any faculty, with no required prerequisites. We gratefully acknowledge the financial support for this project provided by UBC Vancouver students via the Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund #UBCTLEF.
Gathering ideas and feedback at the MAKING CONNECTIONS Project Kickoff event in June 2023. Photo: Derek Tan
How will this course differ from others?
As UBC’s first course with a specific focus on natural history collections, the goal is to expose students to the world of natural history museums and all the work that happens behind the scenes within them. The course will highlight the value of natural history museums and their collections to science communication, community outreach, biodiversity research, and conservation. Students will have the opportunity to interact with the Beaty Biodiversity Museum’s research collections and learn valuable career skills from curators, researchers, and guest lecturers.
The new course development process is also quite unique; its development is student-driven, and the course has been allotted two full years to be developed! This extended development period provides the development team the opportunity to thoroughly consider a wide range of perspectives and build the course from the ground up with the express intent of highlighting diverse perspectives and Indigenous knowledge. This new course will reflect the voices of a variety of groups interested in topics related to both natural history museums and biodiversity science through partnership, consultation, and outreach with student groups, Indigenous leaders, museum staff, industry professionals, and biodiversity researchers.
Stay tuned for more highlights as the course develops!
Conversation and connection are important to the course development process. Image from the MAKING CONNECTIONS Project Kickoff event in June 2023. Photo: Riley Plunkett