Sophie Rowe

Conservator, University of Cambridge Museums


Sophie is an ICON Accredited conservator specialising in conservation of organic artefacts. She is especially interested in creative mounting methods for fragile objects – it is amazing what can be achieved with LEGO! She supports conservation and collections care across the University of Cambridge Museums consortium, and was previously Conservator at the Polar Museum, where her role involved caring for a diverse and fascinating collection, and occasional fieldwork on historic sites in Antarctica.

Facing Climate Change videos go live!

by | 10.07.23

  The carbon footprint of museums can be extremely high, so what can we do to reduce our impact on the planet?  With energy and material costs spiralling, environmental sustainability is not just a ‘nice to have’; it is essential for every cultural heritage institution facing financial pressure. This is the biggest challenge facing museums today, wherever they are in… Read full article

Plastics in Peril conference videos go live!

by | 18.05.21

What if a storage container could tell you when a museum object needed treatment? Why are so many toys sacrificed in the name of conservation? Should we clean plastics like we clean paintings? Is sustainable cold storage a pipe dream? How can we get the most from collections that are doomed from the start? These questions and many others were… Read full article

The Science of Art: object-focused research in our museums

by | 31.05.19

Can you hear when a pigment has been ground to the right particle size? How do we know which plastics in a museum are going to self-destruct? Why is conservation documentation like a pile of dirty laundry? Can you make a priceless book full of moving paper parts and almost 500 years old accessible to all? Did the Pacific island… Read full article