Scientific Literacy - Collections

Here are some teaching suggestions for writing labels for collections.

Why have a label?

Scientists rely heavily on information that accompanies each specimen or object within a collection. Without that information the specimen is of very little scientific value. The information that accompanies a specimen is often recorded on a label.

Discuss the following with the students to introduce the concept of a label:

• Name an everyday item that has a label.
• What sorts of things are written on labels?
• Why should things be labelled?
• Describe the following scenario to the students: Imagine coming home from school one day feeling very hungry. You were really looking forward to having baked beans for tea. What would you do if all the labels on the tins of food in the store cupboard had fallen off?
• Encourage the students to describe some other scenarios where labelling is important.

What to include on a label

Labels must include the following information:

1. The name of the specimen.
2. Where the specimen was found.
3. The date on which the specimen was found.
4. The name of the person who found the specimen.

An example of a label for a scientific specimen:

An example of a label for a cultural specimen:

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