Museum of Zoology Blog

For Zoology Live! 2026, we are exploring the incredible world of insects. Insects are the little things that rule the world. We can’t survive without them. Insects pollinate our crops, control pests and process poo, amongst other important roles within habitats the world over. Join us live on YouTube at 7pm on Thursday 2nd July, and ask any burning questions you have about ladybirds to &#82…

Join us as we step back in time to see the changing climate of East Anglia over the years, in fact, over the millenia. That’s right, we are going back into the Pleistocene, sometimes referred to as the Ice Age (but I’m sure you all know that 1. the temperatures went up and down during this time, it wasn’t always cold; and 2. there have been other times in Earth’s history when it was blanketed in …

It’s that time of year again – time for our Zoology Live! festival. This year we are working in partnership with the Amateur Entomologist’s Society to bring you a livestream and family event all on a theme of insects! Scroll down to catch up on our live interview with Dr Erica McAlister, all about the amazing world of flies, to find out about techniques to study insects in the field, and to see a…

Earlier this year, we had on display a small exhibition of zines on a theme of pollinators in the Museum. To celebrate World Bee Day on May 20th, we wanted to share these inspiring pieces more widely. Follow the Zines for Pollinators below, and learn how to make your own. This exhibition was curated by Nynke Blömer, PhD student in the Museum of Zoology, and featured work by early career female sc…

Dr Olivia Plateau, Department of Earth Sciences, writes: Birds, the only surviving branch of the theropod dinosaurs, are one of the most species-rich extant vertebrate groups with more than 11,000 species. They show great diversity in terms of size, colour, shape and ecology, occupying almost all habitats on the surface of the Earth. I am an evolutionary biologist, and I am particularly intereste…

Rosalind Mackay, Museum of Zoology, writes: I am currently studying for a master’s in the Department of Zoology here at the University of Cambridge. My project is about insect conservation and public engagement. These two seemingly disparate aspects are connected by the intervention we’re trialling. Prof Ed Turner, my supervisor, has been collaborating with the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Ca…

Annabel Hunt, Department of Earth Sciences, writes: I study dinosaur skull anatomy for my PhD research at the University of Cambridge. I am a member of the Field Palaeobiology Research Group and I am supervised by Professor Daniel Field and co-supervised by Professor Steve Brusatte. Prior to starting my PhD here in Cambridge, I studied a four-year Integrated Master’s degree in Earth Sciences at t…

Antonia Netzl, Department of Zoology, writes: I research vaccination strategies against SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2 is a virus that evolves, which means that it changes over time. These changes lead to its escape from immunity that was generated against a previous strain – the evolved strain is too different to be recognized by our immune system. To keep up with virus …

Dr Rebecca Smith, Conservation Evidence Manager, writes: Does helping toads across roads actually help increase their populations, or using different coloured tree guards improve the survival of newly planted trees? Conservation actions are often not as good as they need to be to protect and restore species and habitats because information about which actions work (or don’t) is not used by those …

Sacchi Shin-Clayton, Museum of Zoology, writes: When we think about conservation, our minds often go to preserving untouched natural forests. While this is undeniably important, we sometimes overlook the pressing need to restore the landscapes we’ve already transformed through human activity. Agriculture, for instance, is one of the biggest drivers of landscape change worldwide, and with the ever…

Dr Becky Heath, Museum of Zoology, writes: In my research, I explore how tropical agriculture can benefit both people and the environment. I focus on oil palm plantations—one of the most important crops in Southeast Asia and a vital source of income for millions of people. My work is all about finding ways to make these landscapes more sustainable without compromising the livelihoods of the …

Emilia Santos NERC Independent Research Fellow and Assistant Professor: As an evolutionary biologist, I study the origins and maintenance of Earth’s remarkable organismal diversity. My research focuses on understanding how organisms function and diversify into different species. I use Lake Malawi cichlid fishes as a model system –an extraordinary example of recent adaptive radiation, with over 70…

Mairenn Attwood, Department of Zoology An hour after sunrise, an African cuckoo chick has just hatched. But it hasn’t hatched in an African cuckoo nest: instead of building their own nests, cuckoo parents lay their eggs in the nests of other birds. This chick has hatched in the nest of a fork-tailed drongo, and is sharing the space with a couple of fork-tailed drongo eggs. …

Aramish Fatima, PhD student in the Department of Zoology, writes: When you think of crocodiles, you might imagine powerful, fearsome predators lurking in murky waters. But not all crocodylians fit that image. The Indian gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) is a unique and fascinating species—distinguished by its long, slender snout adapted for catching fish and a more peaceful nature compared to its rel…

Sofia Dartnell, PhD student in the Department of Zoology, writes: You’ve heard of honeybees, but who are those big, fluffy bees taking flight as it gets warmer each spring? These are bumblebees, a group of about 260 species that are the larger cousins of honeybees. Bumblebees are known for their ‘buzz pollination’ abilities, physically buzzing flowers at a different frequency than other bee speci…

Dr. Elizabeth Marin, Department of Zoology, writes: I have always been fascinated by insects and raised silkworms and praying mantids as a child. At university, I learned to use the fly Drosophila melanogaster to identify genes used to build animal bodies, including those of humans. Scientists have been working with this insect for over a century, describing gene mutations that change its appeara…

The Cambridge Festival runs from March 19th to April 4th 2025, and you can find a whole host of events from evening talks to hands on family activities. Here at the Museum of Zoology we have a number of events taking place. Read on to find out more. Honest Histories? Uncovering where Our Tasmanian tigers came from 6:45pm-8:30pm on Wednesday 19 March Today, natural history …

Back in November 2024, we ran an event called Make Zoo and Mend, exploring ways to have a more sustainable wardrobe. During this event, we launched a project with textiles artist Stephanie Norwood – to create a new piece of collaborative textile art for the Museum’s learning lab, while at the same time learning techniques such as applique, embroidery and embellishment that can be used…

International Women’s Day Exhibition: Meet the Scientists Opening on March 8th will be a special exhibition in the Museum galleries. Explore the Museum and find new labels written by some of the fantastic female scientists in and around the Department of Zoology. Find out about what they study and how, and be inspired by their work. This exhibition will run until the summer. Upper Gallery …

This year we explore the winter wildlife that lives in and around trees, with wildlife films, sustainable crafts and more. We look at the trees around us in the city, trees across the collections in the University of Cambridge, and some of the animals that rely on trees through the winter months. For our livestream on November 27 we were joined by Kenny McGregor, Arboricultural …