 |
| Taking apart the specimen frame in the museum team's work space Photo Courtesy of {Sarah Sutton} |
Welcome to Week Two at the CHF! This week's blog is a little behind, but next week I'll get
caught up and cover two major themes the of the week in one blog! Two weeks ago
at the CHF we needed to complete the plant specimen exhibit rotation at the Academy
of Natural Sciences (which is now in partnership with Drexel University). One
of CHF's permanent exhibits displays the ins and outs of color dye and dying
fabrics. Part of this display includes two frames of preserved plant specimens which
were used in the creation of color dyes that date to the nineteenth century. The
CHF has a loan agreement with the Academy of Natural Sciences which stipulates
that the delicate specimens cannot be subjected to sunlight for large amounts
of time, thus, the specimens are rotated every three months. So every three
months Stephanie, the collections manager, and Gillian, the registrar, pack up
the plant specimens and head over to the Academy.
 |
| This is Gillian removing the specimens from the exhibit space Photo Courtesy of {Sarah Sutton} |
 |
| The plant specimens on the work table after being taken out of their frames. Gillian is filling out a condition report in the background. Photo Courtesy of {Sarah Sutton} |
 |
| The side entrance of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel Photo Courtesy of {Sarah Sutton} |
We met with the woman who is in charge of the Herbarium at the Academy, who
filed the appropriate paperwork for the returned specimens, and let us chose
two new specimens to display. There was a bit of confusion due to a policy
change at the Academy, and we were required to choose specimens from the
"teaching collection", rather than the permanent herbarium
collection. Despite our loan agreement, we now had to choose dye-related
specimens from a collection of preserved plants dating to 2012. This causes a
problem for the museum display, because the labels read that the plants are
from the nineteenth century. But these things happen within the museum world; policies
change, staff changes, and agreements are re-worked on the fly. This was a
great day at the CHF because I was able to help with the rotation of an exhibit
object, and I was able to observe problem-solving in real time with the museum
team. I am always surprised by the collaboration of historic institutions in
Philadelphia, but happily surprised. I recently went to a historic
neighborhood consortium meeting with PhilaLandmarks which showed me just how interconnected the historic district of Philadelphia really is. The consortium is "an
association of more than 50 cultural institutions, museums, libraries, historic
sites and houses of worship — all located within walking distance of the
Liberty Bell. {including Landmarks, the Philly History museum, the National Constitution Center, etc.} The purpose of the organization is to encourage cooperative
activities and programs among members and to advocate actions that protect and
enhance the historic preservation of the neighborhoods surrounding Independence
Hall". (beyondthelibertybell.org). The representatives at the meeting shared what their institution is up to, and ways in which they could help each other with marketing and attendance. It was quite the inspiration to see a theme of collaboration in both of my jobs this week!
Philadelphia seems to be a city which understands that growth happens through
collaboration.
 |
| This is the storage area of the Herbarium at the Academy of Natural Sciences Photo Courtesy of {Sarah Sutton} |
Comments
Post a Comment