easily distracted by shiny things…
Posted in inspiration, museums, nature, photos, volunteering on Oct 13th, 2011
Four corvid skulls, waiting to be put away in a little box. The skulls had been part of a temporary exhibition to illustrate the functionality of differing beak shapes in various species of bird. It was an absolute joy to get out the boxes of bird skulls again, and to have another little look through [...]
Posted in museums, volunteering on Oct 8th, 2011
You might have noticed that there are a lot of photos from the Cole Museum turning up lately. I’m posting them now in a bunch because I wasn’t sure whether or not to talk about them on what was supposed to be a blog about sewing and other crafty pursuits. But, I’m volunteering at the [...]
Posted in museums, volunteering on Oct 6th, 2011
Another treasure from the cupboards of the Cole Museum – this time in the form of a pair of rat skeletons, and an accompanying photo of the rats themselves. There was also a hand-painted sign: These rats were brothers. This little rat [on top] had fresh milk. This little rat [below] had none. The only [...]
Posted in museums, volunteering on Oct 4th, 2011
That mark on my middle finger? That’s a bruise. A couple of weeks ago (yes, I am very behind with the blog!) I was helping out at the Cole Museum again. We’ve sorted out most of the smaller specimens, but a few of the larger ones needed moving, so we moved them. The last thing [...]
Posted in museums, volunteering on Sep 30th, 2011
Over the summer I’ve been helping out behind the scenes at the Cole Museum. We’ve been taking an inventory of some of the storage cupboards, and doing a little bit of conservation and cleaning along the way. This display had been stored unwrapped, and had become rather damaged and dusty. The label says ”Canis Familiaris – [...]
Posted in museums, volunteering on Aug 23rd, 2011
Once a week I’ve been helping out at the Cole Museum of Zoology as a volunteer. A couple of us have been checking the inventory of some of the store cupboards, and we’ve started to do a bit of conservation work as we go along. This little bat was wrapped up in a plastic bag, [...]
Posted in exhibitions, museums, volunteering on Aug 11th, 2011
These seashells, part of an original Victorian collection, are now on display in the Cole Museum of Zoology. The Museum had recently acquired four new display cases, and the volunteers were asked to fill them! The new cases now contain examples of fossil fish, specialisation in bird skulls, variation in beetles and my Victorian seashells. [...]
Posted in exhibitions, inspiration, museums, nature, photos on Sep 25th, 2009
This skinny little fellow is the skeleton of a Slender Loris. One of the projects I’m currently working on as a volunteer is rebuilding the website for the Cole Museum of Zoology, so I thought it would be useful to go and have a look around. I’m so glad I did! If you’re freaked out [...]