02145nas a2200205   4500008004100000245007800041210006900119490000600188520150000194100001801694700002501712700002001737700002501757700002801782700002201810700002201832700002201854700002001876856004301896       2013                        eng d00aV Factor: Volunteers as a bridge between museum scientists and the public0 aV Factor Volunteers as a bridge between museum scientists and th0 v13 a<p>V Factor is a new programme at the Natural History Museum in London. It offers volunteers&nbsp;the chance to work in public view alongside Museum scientists on collection-based research&nbsp;and curation projects, taking them from visitor to proactive volunteer. It aims to involve a volunteers&nbsp;project manager, scientists, curators, volunteers and the public in the museum&rsquo;s research.&nbsp;Volunteers work alongside scientists on a research project whilst benefiting from a unique, informal and fun learning experience. Visitors are able to observe the processing of&nbsp;samples and interact with those involved. The management of this volunteer programme is&nbsp;described in this paper. The pilot project was &lsquo;Throughflow&rsquo;; an international study of Southeast&nbsp;Asian fossil corals as a means to describe the high biodiversity of their ecosystem and the&nbsp;effects of environmental change. Volunteers have successfully assisted with the cleaning of&nbsp;specimens so that they may be curated. At the same time, they have been discussing with experts project-related information, collections care, and the role of museums today. The programme&nbsp;has been continuously evaluated and changed as felt necessary. By March 2013, 45&nbsp;volunteers were involved. Outcomes have included improved volunteer talent and education&nbsp;management, excellent assistance with scientific work and novel means of attracting the public&nbsp;to the museum&rsquo;s work.</p>
1 aMiller, Renee1 aJohnson, Kenneth, G.1 aThomas, Ali, L.1 aDouglas, Lyndsey, G.1 aSantodomingo, Nadiezhda1 aBroom, Yoke, Shum1 aAvedillo, Therese1 aMurray, Cassandra1 aSadler, Theresa  uhttps://ipaeg.myspecies.info/node/2049