Sharing a bit of the University of Puerto Rico's Ichthyology Museum with you today. If you really wanted to see some ancient history, this place is like walking back in time. Such as, when all of your lab equipment was sturdy glass, reference books were left untranslated from German and record keeping was done by hand on a thick leather bound ledger.
I was granted a small assistantship this semester to work on reforming this museum back to a functional resource. It's a daunting task as I stared at the many half-empty jars of ethanol-deprived specimens. This collection was once the best in the Caribbean (and still remains as the only collection in the Caribbean). I have some serious chores at hand, but nonetheless an exciting task to curate and maintain a once beautiful piece of natural history.
So, I snapped a few photos on my phone as I walked through last week. One of my favorite areas is the office of the previous Curator. His library of ancient texts still remains, as though they haven't been touched by human hands in many many years (but unfortunately, the humid Caribbean climate hasn't been too kind to them). I especially love the out-of-print originals, which I'm sure are tomes and relics to past Ichthyologists.
I really love this museum and this job. I feel as though I'm helping to preserve a history that many people once worked very hard to create. I hope that those following after me will help keep this museum alive for future ichthyologists and biologists.
Thanks for letting me share a piece of my own life with you! Have a great week and Happy Monday!
Until tomorrow,
I really love this museum and this job. I feel as though I'm helping to preserve a history that many people once worked very hard to create. I hope that those following after me will help keep this museum alive for future ichthyologists and biologists.
Thanks for letting me share a piece of my own life with you! Have a great week and Happy Monday!
Until tomorrow,
Incredible! This sounds like a dream... and so very much like my own internship at the Cheekwood museum in Nashville, Tennessee, except that I worked with art-related resources rather, not Ichthyology. Two questions:
ReplyDelete1. What is in the first picture? Is that a print, or a preserved specimen?
2. Where did you begin your work on this project?
<3 jen @ stuff jen did
Hi Jen! Thanks for your comments!! Your internship sounds interesting too!
DeleteTo answer your questions, the first picture is a cleared and stained specimen (a juvenile Queen Triggerfish, actually). It was prepared by my M.S. advisor back when he attended this same university for his Ph.D. (so much fun with the history!)
And the where question, I'm not sure what you mean exactly, but I started the project last year by cataloging specimens from the collection that did not have University of Puerto Rico identification numbers. Now I'm working on replacing the preservation fluids in the jars of the current collection. The work was started here in Puerto Rico after I became a Ph.D. student.
Cataloging, always a good place to start! I was curious how someone with a Museum/Curation background might handle such a situation. Your answer makes me feel better about my approach to my internship.
ReplyDeleteWhen I began, the collection was so damaged, dirty, and disorganized that I wasn't sure how to begin. Since I have a library science background, I tackled it by shelf-reading the cataloged items and setting aside the uncataloged items to be cataloged later. Oh, the dust... and oh, the treasures I found! :) Good times.
Yeah, honestly my background is pretty basic and minimal - I had instruction from the previous Curator before he left, but he wasn't a professional either. Seems as though your approach was successful too!
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