Curator

• Title

  Curator

• Definition

  A scientist that takes care of specimens in a museum. In the case of botany, the museum is a collection of dried specimens and labels glued to special paper which are archived in special cabinets.

• Notes

  There are curators of art, plant specimens, animal specimens, fossils, libraries, etc. Curators of herbaria usually have Ph.D.s in botany. In most large herbaria curators take care of the collections of their speciality. For example, NYBG specialist Andrew Henderson identifies collections of palms, makes sure that that specimens of palms are properly arranged in herbarium cabinets, carries out scientific studies, publishes scientific journals and books, and publishes articles and books designed to teach the lay public about palms. In addition, curators teach at all levels, answer questions from the lay public, work toward the conservation of natural areas, and identifies species that other botanists sends to them for identification..

• Related Terms

  Herbarium (plural = herbaria)

• *For more educational content, please visit The Hand Lens and explore our herbarium collections and the stories they tell.