The global demand for copper is set to rise by 50%, from nearly 28 millions tons to 42 million metric tons per year. Electric cars require 5x as much copper as traditional petrol cars, plus the demand to scale up data centres. Right now, mining output is failing to keep up with the pace of demand.

Copper is one of the most in demand critical raw materials. It makes up our key electrical infrastructure and helps us power our digital devices. And copper can be recycled! To recycle your electrical waste in Oxford, you can place it in a clear plastic bag on top of your bin on collection day.

If you could peer through the drawers in any of our collections, which would you want to look through first?

Summertown dinosaurs - Did you know that the fossils of this Eustreptospondylus were discovered in Summertown in 1870? We have a new run of cases all about Oxfordshire's prehistoric past.

Manganese is essential to steelmaking and makes it less brittle. But humans have been using manganese since around 30,000 years ago. They made pigment from pyrolusite, a mineral that contains manganese, to paint cattle onto a cave wall.

Today's episode features botanist William Burchell. He turned to plants after losing his love. After he died, his sister Anna made sure his life's work found a home at @rbgkew.bsky.social and @morethanadodo.bsky.social. Some people remember the plants. Others make sure we remember the people. 🌿

The Museum of Natural History (@morethanadodo.bsky.social) has completed its redisplay project with installations showcasing Oxfordshire dinosaurs. 🦖 Marking the final phase of ‘Life, as we know it’ – transforming the presentation of the Museum’s collections to visitors. ⬇️ https://bit.ly/4b7qp9v

Hundred of millions of years ago, the world was a warm and humid swamp and Griffinflies flitted about. With a wingspan over 70cm, they were just a touch bigger than your average modern dragonfly (the largest has a wingspan of 16cm).

As part of our exhibition 34: Critical Raw Materials we commissioned art from Katie Surridge. She forged, textured and shaped these copper sheets using hand cast tooling. The copper sheets are actually e-waste copper.

Gallium has a melting point of 29.7C and can melt in your hand! There are only four non-radioactive metals that are liquid at, or near, normal room temperature. Gallium is the only of these four that is not highly reactive or highly toxic.

We are excited to announce the completion of a historic redisplay project! Including a permanent display for our Megalosaurus fossils. This encompasses the installation of 48 new displays in 24 state-of-the-art showcases themed around Biodiversity, Ecosystems, Evolution, and Earth.

Echinoderms have pentaradial (5-fold) symmetry but DNA tells us that echinoderms are part of the animal group Bilateria, animals with bilateral symmetry. Associate Doctoral Researcher @lej-palaeo.bsky.social is uncovering the evolutionary steps involved in this transformation body plans

What do Alice in Wonderland and our sunfish have in common? We only had one image of the specimen in peak condition, and that was taken by the author of Alice In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll. Our conservator worked from this image to get it repaired ready for display again.

A new major partnership between this Museum, @CamPlantSci and @ZoologyMuseum will see over 1 million specimens digitised. This project is part of DiSSCo UK, a national programme aimed at digitising and connecting the UK's natural science collections.

Vanadium is a lesser known metal, but no less important. It is malleable and corrosion-resistant and used in the manufacturing industry and to create steel alloys used in space vehicles, nuclear reactors and aircraft carriers.

Did you know we were the first purpose built natural history museum? This building was created to be a temple to science and nature, and house the University's science departments. Our main court has seen some changes since 1860, but some specimens out on display then can still be seen today.

Scuttling into the weekend ✨

A battery has four main components: cathode, anode, separator and electrolyte. The anode side of the battery is where the electrons or ions are stored during charge, and are moved to the cathode side during discharge.

As reported in the London Illustrated News, 30 June 1855: "Dr. Acland said, with reference to the new @morethanadodo.bsky.social, that Oxford was about to perform an experiment: it was about to try how Gothic art could deal with those railway materials -- iron and glass..."

Even in the blazing heat, Oxford showed up for nature 💪🦋🐾 Last Saturday, we attended Oxford's Nature Festival with our wildlife activity stall. Thank you to The Oxford Natural History Museum @morethanadodo.bsky.social and @naturerecovery.bsky.social for creating this opportunity!

What a lovely day at the Oxford Nature Festival last Saturday at @morethanadodo.bsky.social!🐝  A big thank you to everyone who made the Oxford Nature Festival such a great day. We loved chatting with many of you, the museum team and other stall holders, and sharing our passion for local wildlife. 🦋

Discarded; How Technofossils will be our Ultimate Future A blizzard of new objects has suddenly appeared on Earth: plastic bottles, ballpoint pens, enlarged chicken bones, and teabags, to name but a few. 9 July, 6PM https://go.glam.ox.ac.uk/fySKz8c53

Fertilisers for the agricultural industry require phosphorus. Synthetic phosphorus fertilisers are estimated to help feel about half of the world's population. Russia has some of the largest apatite mines, the ore from which phosphorus is extracted.

Conservation Optimism presents an opportunity to watch the Good Natured Short Film Festival - inspiring and empowering stories from across the natural world 🌱🐋 More info: thenaturefestival.org @conservoptimism.bsky.social @morethanadodo.bsky.social @bbowt.bsky.social @biodivoxford.bsky.social

Marginalia | song to the river 📽️ This film explores a stretch of the river Thames and its wildlife in a time of increasing land pressure and climate change 🐛💧 Find out more at thenaturefestival.org @morethanadodo.bsky.social @bbowt.bsky.social @biodivoxford.bsky.social @ecioxford.bsky.social

We are home to specimens great and small. This is the holotype of Mesodryinus brittanicus, now called Dryinus niger. A holotype is the specimen from which a new species is named. This is a small parasitoid wasp from the Palaearctic region and is native to England.

Cobalt is mined from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is is named after kobolds, mischievous underground spirits blamed by German miners for sabotaging what they thought was silver ore. Nearly 30% of cobalt comes from unregulated artisanal and small scale mining operations.

New exhibition on critical raw materials opens to the public Check out this article from @ox.ac.uk about the new 34 Exhibition at OUMNH (@morethanadodo.bsky.social) - and then come and see it for yourself! www.ox.ac.uk/news/2026-06...

34: Critical Raw Materials opens today! This temporary exhibition is free! At a time of rising geopolitical tensions and growing competition over the resources needed for clean energy, modern technology and defence, there has never been a more timely moment to shine a spotlight on them.

A recording of our most recent talk is up on YouTube from our excellent speaker George Candelin, Keeper of the Swifts at Oxford University Natural History Museum, on 30 Years in the Tower recording swifts. youtu.be/2n7p4s3LUSI?...

30 Years in the Tower: George Candelin, Keeper of the Swifts at Oxford University

YouTube video by British Ornithologists' Club

youtu.be