Recently, researcher Tim Worth requested access to the cariole, a toboggan-like sled, on exhibit in the Hudson’s Bay Company Gallery. Curator Katherine Pettipas agreed it would be a good opportunity to clean the cariole and assess its current condition. The work was scheduled for a Monday, a closed day, to minimize disruption for any visitors. Conservators Ellen Robinson and Lisa May, with assistance from Tim Worth and myself, took the…
Monthly Archives: March 2011
Research Request Leads to Vacuuming
Posted in Collections & Conservation, Conservation Comments closed
Fairly Scientific community science fair
If you’re like me, we probably look back on your elementary school days with a mixture of nostalgia and dread. Yes, yourhair really was that bad back then! However, there were likely some standout moments as well. For me, it was the annual science fair – the time of the year it was OK to be a science geek. I remember the brainstorming for topics, the hand-lettered backboards with pencil…
Posted in Science Gallery & Planetarium Comments closed
Century Eggs of a different flavour
Century eggs are a Chinese traditon where eggs are placed in an exotic recipe of alkaline clay and brine solution over several months. This preserves them for later consumption, and the chemical changes in the egg proteins makes for an interesting flavour. Of course, these “century” eggs are not, in truth, one hundred years old. The Museum, however, does have actual century eggs that have been carefully prepared and preserved for…
Posted in Zoology Comments closed
Pest Monitoring is Another Important Task
Individual traps are place in corners and along walls, and checked monthly. As well as temperature and RH, the Conservator also conducts pest monitoring. At The Manitoba Museum, we mostly check for insects. Sticky traps in storage and laboratory areas are checked; if a large number of insects are seen, we investigate, looking in the surrounding area more thoroughly. We often find one or two insects on the trap; one…
Posted in Collections & Conservation, Conservation Comments closed
Jupiter and Mercury visible after sunset this week
Mercury and Jupiter are visible close together in the evening sky this week.
Posted in Astronomy, Planetarium, Science Gallery & Planetarium Comments closed
The Birch Bark Canoe: Step 1
The best way to understand any skill or expertise is by trying it out. Experimental archaeology attempts to replicate past activities to improve our understanding and interpretation of archaeological material. My interest in experimental archaeology is broad since I am interested in all aspects of past technology, working stone, clay, bone, antler, wood, bark and hides. In some cases I am replicating tools that I have recovered or items from…
Posted in Archaeology, News Comments closed
An Exhibit with Teeth
We loved doing this exhibit. To us, it was an opportunity to explore some of the best aspects of the traditional Natural History museum. And the public seemed to thoroughly enjoy it; we would always see family groups in the exhibit, animatedly discussing the various skulls and comparing their similarities. It really showed us that traditional exhibits can still fulfil an important function in the modern museum!
Posted in Collections & Research, Exhibit, Geology & Paleontology Tagged fossils, paleontology, skeleton Comments closed
A real time machine: Museum collections
I’m sure you are familiar with this scenario: getting on the internet for a specific nugget of information and then finding yourself some significant time later on some odd, but interesting tangent, and wondering, “How did I end up here?!” Browsing the Museum collections can be a bit like a 3-dimensional internet search, where examining one specimen can bring you on a voyage across space and time to a fascinating and…
Posted in Zoology Comments closed
