The Plant Press

From The Plant Press, Vol. 29, No. 1, January 2026.

Herbarium specimen preparation for all!

By Erika M. Gardner & Gary A. Krupnick

Thursday, July 17, 2025, was an extremely hot and humid evening, with a heat index of 105 degrees, yet despite the oppressive heat, attendees patiently lined up for the first 2025 Q?rius After Hours program for adults at the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), in the Coralyn W. Whitney Q?rius Science Education Center. The doors promptly opened at 6:30 pm. The public checked-in at the registration table and were given two hours to explore the Q?rius collection and various activities at their leisure. Attendees could play board games, solve puzzles, or interact with participating scientists from the museum and affiliated organizations. The event provided space for adults to explore science with “childlike wonder, to reduce stress, sustain optimism, and safely take risks at something new,” per the online event announcement.

At this event, the Department of Botany showcased for the first time a hands-on specimen preparation activity for the public. Participants were offered an opportunity to archivally prepare a plant specimen for the herbarium. For the past few decades specimens have been prepared by dedicated museum volunteers. These volunteers work on weekdays, Monday through Thursday, during museum business hours.

At the After-Hours event, Botany volunteers trained attendees and oversaw the quality of each specimen as it was being prepared. After a participant completed a specimen, the specimen sheet number was recorded and matched to the participant’s email address. In total, 65 people attended the program, 35 participated in the herbarium specimen activity and in two hours, 38 specimens were prepared. In about six months, these specimens would be digitized and viewable online. To commemorate each participants’ contribution to the permanent collection, participants receive an email with a link to a high-resolution image of their specimen that can be downloaded as a keepsake and shared with family and friends.

Earlier this year, Erika Gardner, Museum Specialist, mentioned to Agustin Baldioli, Lead Volunteer Coordinator at NMNH, about wanting to engage with the public via outreach utilizing botany specimens and volunteers. Baldioli put Gardner in contact with Amanda Sciandra, Adult Programming Manager in the NMNH Office of Education, Outreach, and Visitor Experience (EOVE). Fortuitously, Sciandra had an after-hours program series for adults scheduled for the summer and agreed to provide space at the event for the Department of Botany to host a specimen preparation activity. If all went well, Sciandra would decide if botanical specimen preparation would be included in future after-hour programs. Fortunately, Gardner’s vision proved successful. Shortly after the first event, a survey was sent to participants. The responses were overwhelmingly positive, and the feedback provided concrete support to continue this program and herbarium activity.

The idea to bring herbarium specimens to the public to prepare entered Gardner’s mind back in March. While reviewing applications for new Botany specimen preparation volunteers, Gardner noticed a glaring trend—many of the applicants were currently enrolled at a university, recent college graduates, or recently furloughed/fired from government or non-profit jobs.

Gardner received over 40 volunteer applications, interviewed 25, and by April, accepted 23. It took over three months to complete the onboarding process and by June, 21 volunteers were trained to prepare herbarium specimens. After this training process, Gardner had an idea; in addition to in-house plant mounting volunteers, the museum could host large scale specimen preparation workshops too. These museum events would chip away at the backlog of unmounted specimens, increase data visibility online for researchers, and most importantly, these workshops would build community and connect the public to the collection.

Question: Why does the Department of Botany need so many preparation volunteers and specimens? The answer: Because the US National Herbarium (US) has an estimated 500,000 unmounted specimens in the backlog. According to the NMNH Office of the Associate Director of Science and Chief Scientist (ADCS), one of the 2025 fiscal year goals include, “making significant progress on Departmental collections priorities, specifically backlogged collections and collections data (especially georeferenced and dark data in collections- i.e. collections that are not digitally discoverable rather than dark taxa).” On average, the Department mounts about 11,000 specimens a year. The number of acquired specimens exceeds processed specimens: 12,000 to 15,000 unmounted specimens are acquired annually, either via donations from various herbaria (gifts and exchanges) or departmental staff collections. As a result, the backlog continues to expand.

The backlog has been growing for decades. In a 2003 article, “The Importance of Herbaria” (Plant Scientist Bulletin 49(3): 94-95), Vicki Funk states, “At the US National Herbarium, in order to make maximum use of our substantial resources, we have the following goals: …processing of the backlog of unmounted specimens so all material is available…” As of 2025, the US National Herbarium is in an excellent position to process the gargantuan backlog: digitization advancements and efficient workflows are now a seamless part of the herbarium’s daily operations. After specimens are mounted, they are given to the digitization team for imaging and cataloging. Within a few months, the specimen data are available online via the Department of Botany’s Collections Catalog (https://collections.nmnh.si.edu/search/botany/). The US National Herbarium completely digitized its mounted plant collection as of May 2022. A seven-year effort to digitize the herbarium resulted in 3.8 million new images, 2.8 million new label transcriptions and over 80,000 new taxonomic names added to the data catalog. Full digitization improves collections management and enhances the preservation of the collections. As of September 2025, the Department of Botany’s collections online catalog has over 4.56 million records.

Gardner recently described how two professional conferences presented similar messages about the future of botanical collections (The Plant Press 28(3): 9): digitization and collaboration are keys to unlocking new discoveries by means of interacting with new audiences. With the herbarium’s robust digitization capabilities to keep pace with newly mounted specimens, Gardner realized it was the perfect time to engage broader audiences with the US National Herbarium through outreach. Instead of keeping to tradition and only allowing specimen preparation to happen by a small handful of volunteers, now was the perfect time to engage new audiences to prepare herbarium specimens.

After the first specimen preparation activity on July 17, Sciandra reached out to Gardner to see if the Department of Botany wanted to participate in the next After-Hours program on August 13. Fortunately, Botany’s volunteers were enthusiastic to participate again. One volunteer said, “I feel so special, when they [attendees] ask me if I am a volunteer here; I am proud to say I am.” The After-Hours program provides volunteers with an opportunity to interact with visitors and to be a part of something bigger by contributing not just to the Department of Botany, but with the wider museum community. 

Sciandra provided a larger space for the plant mounting activity at the second after-hours event. The activity was moved to the more spacious Q?rius Theater. As the Q?rius doors opened, participants headed straight to the Theater. Seats filled up almost immediately, and the volunteers jumped into action. The botanical theme for the evening was ferns. Eric Schuettpelz, Research Curator of Ferns, volunteered too. Schuettpelz walked around the room interacting with participants by providing facts about ferns. It was an extra special evening having Schuettpelz in attendance. Other staff members from the Department of Botany also volunteered. Gary Krupnick, of the Plant Conservation Unit, checked in participants, and Rose Gulledge, from Research and Collections, delivered specimens to participants at their tables. Alice Tangerini, NMNH Botany Illustrator for over 51 years, participated by preparing her first specimen ever, a shoe-string fern! It was an energizing night for volunteers, museum staff, and participants. 

During the larger August event, about 70 people attended, of which 58 specimens were prepared by 51 participants in two hours. The success of the event was proven by the post-program survey responses. In one survey question, “thinking about the number one highlight of the program for you, tell us in your own words what aspect was most significant,” an anonymous response was, “Being able to help preserve specimens! Everything was fantastic but this was a highlight to be able to help support the museum.” In fact, many attendees were excited that their work that evening would become a permanent record in the museum. Most arts-and-crafts activities result in throwaway pieces, but this activity results in objects that will be used by scientists for decades.

After the second program, Sciandra asked Gardner to participate in the next two after-hours program on September 24 and December 16, in which the Botany volunteers were eager to participate again. The September event had the theme of National Public Lands Day. Specimens selected to be mounted were from the Seeds of Success (SOS) program, voucher specimens collected from public lands managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The December event had the theme of “National Chocolate-Covered Anything Day”, with participants mounting specimens from the plant family Malvaceae. In addition to volunteers and Department of Botany staff, post-doctoral fellows attended both events. 

When the Q?rius doors opened in September, a participant bee-lined to the theater. When they got to the specimen preparation station, they expressed how excited they were to be the first person through the door. They mentioned that this was their third time participating in the specimen preparation activity and they had been anxiously waiting a whole month to do it again. It was beyond heartwarming for the volunteers and Botany staff to hear this participant express their love for preparing herbarium specimens. Several other attendees were return guests, some bringing their friends to join in the fun. In September, 75 people attended and 58 specimens were prepared by 58 participants. In December, 35 people attended and 33 specimens were prepared by 32 participants.

Word-of-mouth is spreading about the After-Hours plant-mounting event, and attendees are wanting to mark their calendars for the next scheduled occasion. The attendees get to sharpen their creative skills, learn about the importance of botanical collections, enjoy time with friends, be a part of a community, and contribute to science. 

After four successful after-hours programs, and with a never-ending backlog of specimens, the Department of Botany is preparing to host a special specimen preparation event for the 250^th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The event will focus on reaching a goal of 250 mounted specimens in one night. The date is yet to be determined, but with plenty of time to prepare, the Department of Botany will be ready to host this extra special event.