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Archive for July, 2017

Underwhelming Fossil Fish of the Month July 2017

By Mark Carnall, on 31 July 2017

Another month has come and gone, so like the perpetual progress of time this means another underwhelming fossil fish of the month is upon us. For the happy ignorant just joining us for the first time, this blog series examines an underwhelming fossil fish from the Grant Museum of Zoology collection on a monthly basis. CAUTION Reading #UFFotM has been known to cause; accidie, apathy, boredom, desolation, ennui, lack of enthusiasm, languor, malaise, melancholy, uninterestedness, unconcern and weariness. Cases of inspiration are extremely rare but please seek professional medical attention in these instances.

Following on from last week’s Specimen of the Week with a rockstar* connection, this month’s underwhelming fossil fish also has a famous connection, albeit in name only. Can you wait to find out what it is? I know I can. (more…)

Specimen of the Week 302: Gideon Mantell’s Iguanodon bones

By ucwehlc, on 28 July 2017

The specimen this week might be small, but it’s pretty important in the history of natural history. These two little pieces of fossil bone are from the collection of the early 19th century surgeon and palaeontologist Gideon Mantell. Specimen of the week is…

Iguanodon Bones from Gideon Mantell's collection LDUCG-X1606

Iguanodon Bones from Gideon Mantell’s collection LDUCG-X1606

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Curating the Petrie Museum: Three Object Stories

By Anna E Garnett, on 26 July 2017

I’ve just come to the end of my first month as Curator of the Petrie Museum. While my feet are getting closer to the ground with every day that passes, I am truly struck by this incredible collection every time I walk into the galleries and I’m sure this will continue to be the case for a long time to come!

For my first blog post as Curator, I wanted to present my ‘favourite object’ from the Petrie Museum collection. However, it’s such a challenge to pinpoint only one object so I’ve chosen three! Each of these objects looks somewhat unassuming amongst the vast collection, but have their own unique stories to tell about how ancient Egyptians and Sudanese people made, used and re-used objects.

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Specimen of the Week 301: The formerly googly-eyed owl

By Jack Ashby, on 21 July 2017

The long-eared owl: BEFORE. LDUCZ-Y1604

The long-eared owl: BEFORE. LDUCZ-Y1604

In a move unprecedented in Specimen of the Week history, I have chosen to blogify the same specimen as I selected in my last Specimen of the Week. The reason is that in many ways it is not the same specimen as it was six weeks ago: it has undergone a profound transformation. We used to call this specimen “the googly-eyed owl”, due to its comedy wonky eyes, but it is googly-eyed no longer. This week’s Specimen of the Week is… (more…)

Specimen of the Week 300 : Dugong skeleton

By Dean W Veall, on 14 July 2017

LDUCZ Z33 Dugong skeleton (Dugong dugon)

LDUCZ Z33 Dugong skeleton (Dugong dugon)

Hello Specimen of the Week fans, Dean Veall here. Over the last month here at the Grant Museum we have been interested in one particular group of marine mammals, cetaceans, in the run up to our Whale Weekender event where we invited members of the public to help us rebuild and clean our 8 metre long northern bottle-nose whale skeleton. This week I’ve chosen another marine mammal, a medium sized one though. Today it is the…

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Specimen of the Week 299 : The Cephalaspis Model and Mould

By Tannis Davidson, on 7 July 2017

LDUCZ-V730 Cephalaspis salweyi model on mould

LDUCZ-V730 Cephalaspis salweyi model and mould

This week’s Specimen of the Week pays tribute to one of the most influential natural history model makers of the 20th century, Vernon Edwards. A retired Navy commander, Edwards collaborated with scientists at the British Museum (Natural History) throughout the 1920’s – 1950’s creating reconstructions of extinct animals and geological dioramas.

His work was based on the latest palaeontological evidence and the combination of accuracy and high artistic quality ensured the popularity of the models which can found in museums, universities and collections around the world.

The Grant Museum is fortunate to have several painted plaster models made by Vernon Edwards – all of them models of extinct Devonian fish –  as well as one of the original moulds. This blog previously highlighted Edwards’ Pteraspis models but this week’s model specimen is… (more…)

Whales on the Road

By Ruth Siddall, on 6 July 2017

This weekend, 8th and 9th July, the Grant Museum is running an event of massive proportions – the Whale Weekender – when the public is invited to come and rebuild and clean their whale skeleton. Long before it came to the Grant Musuem, the whale in question begun life-after-death, in 1860, when it was sold to be toured around the country as a whole carcass. That particular venture did not go very well for anyone involved.

This post is about dead whales touring the country on the back of lorries. There are not many things these days that provide pretty much no hits when Googled, but this subject seems to be one of them. You may well be asking why I would be Googling ‘Whales’ ‘Lorry’ ‘Supermarket Car Park’. Here is the answer…

I was talking to my colleague Jack Ashby, Manager of the Grant Museum, about their upcoming #WhaleWeekender extravaganza, and he mentioned the incredible history of their specimen and its intended national tour. I told Jack that I remembered seeing a whale in the back of a truck when I was a kid in Salford in the early 1970s. Jack looked at me like I had said 1870s. On reflection there is certainly a circus side-show, freak-show element to this experience. Until speaking to Jack, I have not thought about this for years. (more…)

An Introduction to the Papyrus for the People Project

By tcrnlmb, on 5 July 2017

Just a little over six months ago, the Papyrus for the People Project began after being awarded Designation Development Funding by Arts Council England. During this time, we have done a lot of work behind the scenes to grow our project into something amazing. As we’ve just reached this milestone, I thought it would be a great idea to share more about the project, what we’ve been doing and what we plan to do onwards. (more…)

Help us build and clean a whale skeleton

By Jack Ashby, on 3 July 2017

Some of the whale's backbone, in one of our stores.

Some of the whale’s backbone, in one of our stores.

This weekend we will be attempting to rebuild our largest specimen – a northern bottle-nosed whale skeleton. And we would like you to help us do it.

The specimen’s story begins in 1860 when it was originally collected in Somerset, when an expedition set off across the Bristol Channel in pursuit of “two great fish” (as they were described by the local newspaper – whales are, of course, mammals) – one of which was brought back to land. After a period “on tour” as a whole carcass, the prepared skeleton was displayed hanging from the ceiling of the Weston Super-Mare Museum. It eventually came to the Grant Museum in 1948, but it had been dismantled into its separate bones. (Its full, remarkable story, including the use of entirely inappropriate whale-murdering equipment, misguided entrepreneurship, rancid carcasses, financial ruin, and the unusual tasks the wife of a 19th century curator might find herself doing, can be read in a previous post).

At over eight metres long in life, different parts of the skeleton have been stored in different cupboards and cabinets across the Museum and its storerooms. (more…)