Ann Van Baelen

One of my favorite anecdotes from THE PREHISTORY OF THE FAR SIDE: "That doesn't sound like the Jane Goodall we know."

Van kikker tot kennisbank: waarom we onze natuurwetenschappelijke collecties digitaliseren Hoewel natuurwetenschappelijke collecties in het verleden vaak een ietwat stoffig imago hadden, vormen ze een onschatbare bron van kennis. Digitalisering en ...

Sinds enkele jaren zet onze dienst in het kader van @disscoflanders.bsky.social sterk in op de digitalisatie van de natuurwetenschappelijke collecties van @kuleuven.bsky.social.
Maar waarom digitaliseren we al die opgezette vogels, mineralen, bodemmonolieten en fossielen eigenlijk? 👇🏻

We’re deeply concerned about the disappearance of our colleague Pierre Noiret. Please share and help us spread the word.
For more information please check: www.police.be/avis-de-rech...

Zeker! 😁 ik denk er alvast wat over na.

Excellent idee! Ik ben alvast fan!

Interessante bijdrage, Marcel! De situatie hier in Vlaanderen is in vele opzichten gelijkaardig, vrees ik. Ook hier weinig nieuw middenpaleo onderzoek...

A venn diagram. The three circles are labelled: The Archaeologist The Pirate The Dog The area where all threel overlap is labelled: Loves digging things up Dog/Archaeologist overlap is labelled: Gets excited by bones Pirate/Archaeologist overlap is labelled: Good with maps Dog/Pirate overlap is labelled: Buries things for later

My latest cartoon for @newscientist.bsky.social

With its small bifaces also a very interesting parallel for the nearby 🇧🇪 Middle #Palaeolitic site of Oosthoven-Heieinde

👉The concept of this series was inspired by
www.personalhistories.arch.cam.ac.uk
👍We plan to add more interviews focusing on other collections ... so to be continued! For more information, please visit blendeff.be/s/en/page/home
Enjoy!

YouTube video by KU Leuven Wetenschappelijke Collecties en Erfgoed KU Leuven - interview em. prof. Pierre M. Vermeersch

Lastly, prehistoric archaeologist & em. prof. Pierre M. Vermeersch describes the contribution of canon Henry de Dorlodot (1855-1929) to the #prehistory collection and the importance of assemblages resulting from more recent #fieldwork to Belgian #archaeology.
youtu.be/PxjHYiX92AM?...

They have created a new, easier & more environmental friendly technique to make soil monoliths. How cool is that! 😎

YouTube video by KU Leuven Wetenschappelijke Collecties en Erfgoed KU Leuven - interview em. prof. Seppe Deckers en prof. Karen Vancampenhout

Secondly, soil scientist & em. prof. Seppe Deckers (joined by current curator @k-oron.bsky.social) talks about the soil monolith & lacquer profile collection & its connection to the Belgian soil map.
youtu.be/RnObMUMGSB0?...

He also describes how the collection of the #museum was divided following the split of the university in the late 60s-early 70s into a Dutch and a French speaking uni (KU Leuven & UCLouvain). Yes, you read that correctly!

YouTube video by KU Leuven Wetenschappelijke Collecties en Erfgoed KU Leuven - interview em. prof. Dirk Thys van den Audenaerde

In a 1st interview, ichthyologist🐟 & em. prof. Dirk Thys van den Audenaerde discusses how the Coelacanth ended up in the Zoology Museum.
youtu.be/P88cUCFLQFI?...

Academic staff involved as curators / collection managers have contributed in many ways, but their knowledge abt the collections is in danger of being lost once they retire. With these interviews, we hope to document their knowledge & create awareness abt the importance of the collections.

Besides their scientific contribution, these objects/specimens also document the history of the university & reflect the evolution of scientific disciplines through time.

From a bowhead whale🐳 over prehistoric stone tools to podzol lacquer profiles… throughout its history KU Leuven has amassed a vast patrimony of valuable objects and collections. Many of these objects and specimens have been used in #university teaching or in research.

To document the KU Leuven scientific #collections, our unit (Scientific Collections & Heritage) teamed up w/ Storyrunner to create a series of interviews in which former curators & collection managers talk abt the history of the collections and their own role & contribution. A 🧵:

Great! Could you add me too please?

Hi Matt, would you mind adding me to the list? Many thanks!