Collections Web has officially joined the Coalition on the Public Understanding of Science (COPUS) as a thematic hub building bridges between the Natural History Collections community and the Coalitions local, regional, and national activities. COPUS is a grassroots effort whose goal is to engage sectors of the public in science to increase their understanding of the nature of science and its value to society. A key objective of COPUS is to create new forums for communication and to develop new opportunities for engaging the public with science. CollectionsWeb is an NSF-funded research coordination network focused on building community among natural history collections. The two endeavors are excited to partner together in facilitating communication and collaboration between their participating organizations, the aim of which is to encourage Natural History Collections to become active participants in regionally based collaborations, supporting informal science education and outreach during the Year of Science 2009 and beyond. CollectionsWeb joins other outstanding organizations as a thematic hub including the Association of Science and Technology Centers, Sigma Xi’s Chapter Network, the American Association of State Geologists, Science Café network, and the Society of Physics Students.
