In the area of conservation, restoration and taxidermy, scientific expertise and craftsmanship make unique cultural assets and natural history objects accessible and preserve them for the future. In the eight Leibniz research museums alone, more than 100 million objects from past epochs provide information about social or natural developments and represent a source of knowledge for research into biodiversity, the history of the Earth and of culture and technology. In order to preserve these objects in their authentic condition for as long as possible, we need to slow down aging processes and assess the factors that cause material changes. Natural science and cultural science methods for understanding materials and how objects were made, or the geological and biological processes that formed them, are important tools. An interdisciplinary approach helps make it possible to assess the information held in individual objects and to carry out conservation measures.

The Leibniz research network offers the opportunity to involve other research institutions, beyond the alliance of the eight research museums, to incorporate their knowledge and processes in the activities designed to conserve cultural heritage, and to discuss appropriate approaches at an early stage. This will generate new potential solutions for the specialist community on issues relating to objects and collections, and will help improve existing methods. The network sees itself as an advisory authority and competent partner in a connected research landscape.

Spokesperson
Dr Peter Giere
Museum für Naturkunde - Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science (MfN), Berlin
T +49 30 889140 8703
peter.giere@mfn.berlin
Spokesperson
Dr Elena Gómez Sánchez
Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum – Leibniz Research Museum for Geo-resources (DBM)
T +49 234 968 4048
elena.gomezsanchez@bergbaumuseum.de
Spokesperson
Oliver Mack
Germanisches Nationalmuseum (GNM), Nürnberg
T +49 911 1331 279
o.mack@gnm.de
Spokesperson
Dr Marisa Pamplona Bartsch
Deutsches Museum (DM), München
T +49 89 2179 512
m.pamplona@deutsches-museum.de
Coordinator
Nora Schlag
Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum (DBM) – Leibniz Research Museum for Geo-resources
Nora.Schlag@bergbaumuseum.de