Ask a Curator – 2020 edition

On the 16th September, we took part in #AskACurator day on Twitter – we lined up four of our curators and gave you a chance to put them on the spot and ask everything you’ve ever wanted to know.

Missed it? Fear not, we’ve compiled their best answers right here.

First up was Tannis Davidson, Curator of the Grant Museum. Tannis cares for one of the oldest natural history collections in the UK including our famous glass jar of moles and 8,000 mice skeletons.

 

Easy one. Killer whale. I’d enjoy the lifestyle swimming with my pod in the waters off British Columbia.

— Grant Museum of Zoology (@GrantMuseum) September 16, 2020

 

For decades! The alcohol in the preservative will evaporate over time – it helps to have a good seal for the jar. It depends on the solution – we use 80% IMS spirit which requires topping up every 5 years or so. That said, we have specimens sealed with fluid from 100 years ago!

— Grant Museum of Zoology (@GrantMuseum) September 16, 2020

 

Difficult to choose! Perhaps the silky anteater because it has been in the collection since the beginning (1827) and it is possibly much older and might be the missing type specimen of this species. pic.twitter.com/ZNIcZef5Wx

— Grant Museum of Zoology (@GrantMuseum) September 16, 2020

 

Hi Lea! Some great advice here: https://t.co/mPJQp07YhW. It can be helpful to people in the sector (online conferences, museum social media) and get yourself out there!

— Grant Museum of Zoology (@GrantMuseum) September 16, 2020

 

I always liked collecting things as a child which grew into an interest in museums, archaeology, palaeontology. I worked on field projects and sought jobs in museums which led to new skills, and better jobs. It was a long and winding road!

— Grant Museum of Zoology (@GrantMuseum) September 16, 2020

 

What’s the oldest specimen in the museum?

The oldest specimen in the museum is the fossil worm Ottoia from the Burgess Shale in Canada (500 million years old). pic.twitter.com/X5V0JuAjc6

— Grant Museum of Zoology (@GrantMuseum) September 16, 2020

 

Regarding the museum’s jar of moles:
1. People travel from far and wide to visit it
2. We don’t know why we have it (might be a research collection or was meant to be used for dissections)
3. It receives postcards from other museum animals

— Grant Museum of Zoology (@GrantMuseum) September 16, 2020

(If you’re wondering, the last postcard the moles received was from the Wall Street Charging Bull.)

 

Next up, Curator of the Petrie Museum Dr Anna Garnett was taking questions. She looks after over 80,000 artefacts in the Petrie Museum, including the world’s oldest-known piece of clothing. Here’s what you wanted to know –

Ooh good question! For me it’s the ancient city of #Amarna – home of king Akhenaten, Queen Nefertiti (and #Tutankhamun) and a bustling population of ancient Egyptians more than 3000 years ago. I’m lucky enough to work there as well, which is a lifelong dream for me! #AskaCurator pic.twitter.com/dGuNGioQ6I

— Petrie Museum (@PetrieMuseEgypt) September 16, 2020

Yes! The ancient #Egyptians invented so many things – ancient paper, surveying equipment, medical procedures and remedies, and toothpaste! Which was apparently made from ox hooves, ashes, burnt eggshells and pumice! #AskaCurator pic.twitter.com/REmOxfhyd4

— Petrie Museum (@PetrieMuseEgypt) September 16, 2020

They were! The teeth of the ancient Egyptians often show that they were ground down, partly because of all the grit that would have ended up in their flour and bread. This would have been very painful and affected everyone in society – even the pharaoh! #AskACurator

— Petrie Museum (@PetrieMuseEgypt) September 16, 2020

I’m always so amazed when I’m surrounded by so many incredible objects! It’s never boring. We care for over 80,000 objects at the Petrie so I always spot something that fascinates me. The whole collection is also available online, for digital exploration! https://t.co/9vg6ReMpFS

— Petrie Museum (@PetrieMuseEgypt) September 16, 2020

The ‘Tarkhan Dress’ is something visitors love to see! It’s a linen tunic that was worn by a child or teenager around 5000 years ago & it’s the oldest known, most complete garment in the world. Mind-boggling! https://t.co/Si1SNAUZBt #AskaCurator pic.twitter.com/gjTd77S6lV

— Petrie Museum (@PetrieMuseEgypt) September 16, 2020

What’s your favourite Petrie Museum object? I wrote a blog about some of my favourites when I first became curator in 2017, and they still are! Especially these pottery sherds, broken and repaired in ancient #Sudan more than 4000 years ago https://t.co/9vg6ReMpFS #AskACurator pic.twitter.com/BBXuadtM8E

— Petrie Museum (@PetrieMuseEgypt) September 16, 2020

(erratum – the correct link is here)

Hannah Cornish then jumped in to talk to us about the UCL Pathology Museum, Jeremy Bentham’s Auto-icon. She also looks after our Science collections, including one of the world’s first medical x-ray images.

The first question for #AskACurator today is a corker. No, we don’t have any burps in jars, but we do have some specimens showing illnesses that might cause burping such as oesophageal reflux and stomach ulcers. https://t.co/AR5wmHwTNP

— Hannah Cornish (@HannahLCornish) September 16, 2020

(In fact, not only do we have a stomach ucler in the collection… we have 53, according to the database.)

 

Jeremy Bentham was a prolific writer, and if there wasn’t a word to express what he wanted to say he made one up. He gave us maximise and international, but my favourite is circumgyration, which he didn’t invent, but used to describe his daily jog around the park #AskACurator https://t.co/FPhBP9rmh2

— UCL Culture (@UCL_Culture) September 16, 2020

Finally, Subhadra Das – writer, broadcaster, comedian and museum curator at UCL Culture – came in to talk about museums and decolonisation, race and empire.

 

How exciting! Part of me wants to write a whole essay to answer this, but I think the most important thing is: have a very clear idea and belief in your research, message, and what you are trying to achieve. That way, whatever the challenges, you can keep going.

— Subhadra Das (@littlegaudy) September 16, 2020

Also, find your people. I couldn’t do what I do without the solidarity of @museum_detox, and there is no greater joy as a curator than that moment where the story you are telling connects with someone who has been really needing to hear it. All power to you!

— Subhadra Das (@littlegaudy) September 16, 2020

Funny you should mention it… https://t.co/DRjNcTCmB3

— Subhadra Das (@littlegaudy) September 16, 2020

Also, I’m mindful of pretending I do all of these things at the same time, I definitely don’t. All my work is twist on storytelling and engaging with audiences, be it through teaching, exhibitions or podcasts. Most of the time I’m on the sofa drinking tea, as I am right now.

— Subhadra Das (@littlegaudy) September 16, 2020

That is so kind, thank you! I learned from the best, @GoldingTG, who worked FoH for many years @PetrieMuseEgypt. Then @steve_x encouraged me to do @BrightClubLDN and it’s been a lot of practice ever since. Have probably done 500 tours of the Galton Collection in my time!

— UCL Culture (@UCL_Culture) September 16, 2020

In addition to diversifying the stories and themes they tell, I think being allies is really important here. Part of it is encouraging and making room for non-white professionals, and part of is acknowledging non-academic knowledge and expertise.

— UCL Culture (@UCL_Culture) September 16, 2020

Subhadra highlighted some museum projects that are working to address the topics of decolonisation, race and empire:

Excellent question, and I’m pleased to say the answer is lots! @NHM_London are addressing this, including some brilliant work on Black History tours by @NatHistGirl https://t.co/dUMQqRY4SK

— UCL Culture (@UCL_Culture) September 16, 2020

@HornimanMuseum are way more than an overstuffed walrus. @jcniala and @JohannaZS doing great work with the African collections there. https://t.co/8pNQl5BPPt

— UCL Culture (@UCL_Culture) September 16, 2020

@ActivismLearn and @EconomicCurator are doing important reflective and reflexive work @LSELibrary on their institutional history of eugenics.https://t.co/U4kXDNNzT3

— UCL Culture (@UCL_Culture) September 16, 2020

My fellow @artfund Headley Fellow @profdanhicks and @laurabroekhoven are making some pretty monumental changes @Pitt_Rivers https://t.co/eVLY5y3Ma3

— UCL Culture (@UCL_Culture) September 16, 2020

@britishmuseum are starting to take steps to recontextualise their displays. As @DavidOlusoga says, this is an important start to address the erasure of colonised and enslaved people. https://t.co/Y8iLVXwT9m

— UCL Culture (@UCL_Culture) September 16, 2020

There are lots of other examples, probably lots I don’t know about, so do share them here! My time for today is up, thanks for your questions and conversations and see you next year!

— UCL Culture (@UCL_Culture) September 16, 2020

That’s all for #AskACurator 2020 – until next year!