Conversazione Our big event each year is the annual exhibition or Conversazione or NatHistFest.
The word Conversazione comes from the Italian and is roughly translated as ‘a conversation’ or ‘a talking place’. It has been widely used by scientific societies to describe their annual social exhibitions.
For many years the Conversazione was held in June after exams had finished, however in 2018 it was moved to the Easter holidays. This proved very popular with families with children and attendance increased. The 2019 event was the 100th one, and we made it special by having over 100 exhibits.
We are delighted to announce that Cambridge Natural History Society’s 105th CONVERSAZIONE will be in-person on Friday 19th and Saturday 20th April 2024.
Anyone can exhibit. Click here for details and booking forms.
There is an album of photos from the 104th Conversazione, held in April 2023, on our Facebook page.
A Student Prize was awarded for the first time in 2017. For details of the competition and of winners see the Student Prize page.
Follow the event on Twitter @CNHS_Exhibition.
Past programmes Lists of exhibitors from previous exhibitions can be found here.
Exhibits about the wildlife of our area and further afield, are displayed on laboratory benches in the Cambridge University Department of Zoology. Items on display have included slime, fungi, cacti, cow-pats, birds & bees, snails, skulls, flowers, local reserves, historical documents and much more. The exhibition in particular gives children the opportunity to gain knowledge of the natural world. An innovation for 2019 was to have a series of short talks running throughout the event.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic the 2020 Conversazione was unable to take place in April. However, a seasonal NatHistFest was launched online on 10th December 2020 and the exhibits are still on view here.
2021 & 2022 Conversazione and NatHistFest
The 2021 NatHistFest and 2022 NatHist Fest were launched online. Exhibits can be viewed here and here.