During the session 2005/2006, the Natural History Museum has enjoyed tremendous local and international support. Four of our members of staff were given fellowships and grants by both local and international bodies.

Mr Olayiwola was given Nigerian Petroleum Association (NAPE) Grant in Aid to pursue an MPhil in Geology. He is at the tail end of his MPhil programme.

Mr Olayemi in March 2005 was the recipient of a grant to attend an individual and institutional capacity training course in rodent taxonomy and collection management at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS), Brussels, Belgium. Mr. Olayemi was also able to use this opportunity carry out molecular (DNA) analysis on some of the rodent specimens he collected as part of his doctorate post graduate programme. He is putting finishing touches to his PhD thesis which he expects to defend within this (2005/2006) session.

Mrs Taiwo is also putting finishing touches to her PhD thesis which she expects to defend within this (2005/2006) session

Mr Ayansola has reactivated his PhD programme and is making good progress. He received a grant from the International Orhtopterists’ Society to study the Grasshopper – Vegetation Associations in contrasting habitats in a rainforest zone of Southwestern Nigeria.

Mr Ogunfolakan  has continued research work with emphasis on the analysis of finds from archaeological excavations . He has submitted his MPhil thesis and he is gathering materials for his PhD thesis. His research focus is on the archaeology of North East Osun using analyses of material culture most especially ceramics in order determine inter and intra relationships between these localities and Ile-Ife using potsherd pavements as the main cultural elements. Mr Ogunfolakan was awarded two international fellowships. One at Harvard University, United State of America (fall 2005) and the other at Amherst College, Amherst, USA. Within the period of his fellowships, he attended two conferences and delivered paper in one.

Dr(Mrs) Adeyemi continues her research work on cytotaxonomy of fodder species complex of the genus Andropogon. She is involved in the cytological investigation of leukaemia patients from the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, in collaboration with colleagues from the Haematology Department. This investigation had revealed the various chromosomal aberrations responsible for individual patient’s condition and status. She also belongs to a project group in Faculty of Social Sciences charged with the investigation of the Impact of Climate Change and Variability on Food Security in Nigeria. This group has organized and attended several local workshops and also participated in some International workshops where papers were presented.

Dr Ige was awarded a Royal Society Fellowship to give lectures and conduct research on the technological advances and raw material sources for glass and bead making among the Yoruba. This fellowship was utilized at the British Museum and the University College London. He has been able to discover for the first time that the ancient Yoruba bead making technology was unique to West Africa and was not imported as has been formerly reported in the literature. This research finding is the subject of further extensive research by Dr Ige and his British and American collaborators. He has also collaborated extensively with researchers both local and international to determine trace element compositions of industrial minerals such as talc, topaz, and fluorites in order to evaluate their properties for some specific industries.

1. Archaeometry Research group: Archaeometry is an interdisciplinary group which employs scientific methods to prospect for and fingerprint the sources of cultural objects. This group comprises of staffs of Earth Sciences and Anthropology Units of the Natural History Museum, and colleagues from the University College London and the British Museum. Some colleagues from Energy Research Centre, Fine Arts and Geology Department have signified interest in this joint study. The initial research focus is on the evaluation of the technological skills of Yoruba in iron smelting and bead making. The research finding will be related to the teaching to the Museum-based Masters’ degree (MSc) in Conservation Studies. This group proposes to mount exhibitions and organize workshops to popularize the activities of the Museum in conservation studies. The group has forwarded and application to the British Academy for funding support. It hopes to approach the Federal ministry of Culture and tourism for funding support.
2. The Biosystematics Research Group.  This group comprises of staffs of Entomology, Zoology, Botany and the Geology Sections of the Natural History Museum. This group will conduct interdisciplinary research into the flora and fauna diversities in several designated locations in Nigeria.

• Find out the National plan and action on Biodiversity so the Museum can key in properly as the institute whose major objectives is conservation. The Museum will link up with the appropriate Ministry to carry out meaningful International collaboration on Biodiversity.

• Begin the computerisation of Museum data base which was abandoned ten years ago and make same available to National and International Biodiversity Groups.
• Upgrade the Audio visuals on public enlightenment. Get more tapes on wildlife, documentation on flora and fauna of important ecosystems and publicize same to be viewed by the public on specific days
• Create scientific and public awareness on the need for conservation. Special focus will be placed on the bats on the campus. Also a move to start discouraging the display of game (eran igbe) on campus. It’s a shame on our conservation drive.
• Upgrade scientific write ups on fish and other animals on display and Museum Stores