farm party!

Ah, the end of the semester. Only a week left of classes, but I'm already finished with work-- at least work in the classroom. The students take their proficiency test tomorrow, so I'll spend my Saturday morning as a proctor in the silent monotony that is that final test. Today, however, was our Level 1 party, and what a wonderful day it was! We went to the family farm of one of our teacher's and spent the afternoon outside enjoying the perfect weather. We also do "awards" at the end of the semester for students, teachers, and student assistants (like me). Mine was "Best at Paying Attention to Students". Earlier this morning, we taught a few students the song "Down By The Bay" and so did a performance for everyone, which included our own lyrics. It was quite fun!

We played frisbee!

We roasted marshmallows! (And you should have seen the look on one student's face after I scooped up my half-burned marshmallow after it had fallen off into the fire and ate it)

Some people played soccer. (And you can see what one teacher described: "the monk has monk shorts")

What a fantastic group!

chemicals, poisons, toxins

Sounds like fun, doesn't it? That's what I spent yesterday learning about in my collections class. Who knew there were so many bad things floating around in museums. I figured we would just be learning about the poor arsenic-lined taxedermied animals common from the 1700's up to the 1970's in natural history museums, but there are far more problems than just arsenic floating around, some mostly because of museums (stereotypical) status as old places and the resulting old practices that we've now learned are not so good for humans or the collections. We've got pesticides, DDT, Hantavirus, lead, tetanus, old stored medicines, radiation (from some rocks and minerals in collections), fungal diseases, mercuric chloride (the stuff that makes you mad as a hatter) and asbestos, just to name a few. And did you know copy machines release ozone (which is a respiratory irritant)? And if you are working in an office you should not have your desk right next to the thing? I didn't.  (It really made me think about how many bad chemicals we use even in our daily life. I now feel the need to go live outside just to escape it all.)

After we spent an hour discussing OSHA in the classroom yesterday, our class took a tour of KU's Natural History Museum. We will be doing a project this semester that consists mostly of cataloging and cleaning BIRDS! Long-dead ones that is, that have been on display at the museum for some time now. We went back to one of the storage rooms and were taking a look at all the pretty feathered things, when I look up and resting up in the rafters is a GIANT alligator! I'd never seen one so big. It, too, had visited the taxidermist long ago and was not in very good shape. Since we saw the underside, it had a long slice down the middle of it to frame the skin, and it was not closed. Not a very appealing sight to begin with, but I pointed it out to my friend, and all she and I could think of was the arsenic we had just heard about was surely just floating down to us...

Now, this probably wasn't the case since the people working in this museum are the same ones who had just warned us of the health hazards, so hopefully this alligator was not as old as it looked!

Speaking of birds, the Smithsonian actually has a Feather Identification Lab at the National Museum of Natural History, created during the 1960's. Currently, one of their projects is to use the remains from bird strikes on airplanes to research patterns and identify species; this information is then used to modify habitats surrounding airfields.

Smithsonian bird collection

Side note: I love the Google.com design today (in honor Jules Verne's birthday)

last day before classes!

When I think about it, it has been a long break since the middle of December! I officially have my first class of the semester tomorrow, collections management, and I also start working regularly again. I'm excited about my classes this semester, with collections being my primary interest in museums, and then I've also got Anthropology in Museums and Conservation.

Finishing at least one of my knitting projects was also on the agenda for this last day of free time, and I successfully did just that:

 When I find new patterns to try, I get excited and start them immediately, so it seems I've always got at least 5 different projects going. This one was a pot holder, and the only reason I did it was to see if I could do the pattern, since it's not so large. I used scrap yarn, which is unfortunately acrylic, so I can't actually use it as a pot holder. That's alright though-- it's still pretty!

the joys of still being in school

I have to say, I'm glad I'm back in school. These breaks between semesters are great! It's given me a chance to finally visit my sister in Virginia (for New Years! Fun!), as well as somewhat manage the arduous task of preparing internship applications for this coming summer (not so fun!).

My trip to Virginia included Richmond as well as DC, and scoping out museums for future "use". I was lucky enough to have several people to show me some neat places. Ever been to Occoquan? No, it's not "Aqua-quan" as I originally thought the name to be. Hey, they told me it was down by the river, so that spelling just made sense! It's a darling little place outside the city. Not to mention, it's close to Ikea (which we also visited)!

The break has also allowed for much-needed magazine perusing, knitting, and painting. You know, for those winter days when there is just no enjoyment in being outside. One new project I plan for this lifetime is to construct a green wall. You know, plants that grow on a wall. A vertical garden. This one will be filed with the rest of my ideas for when I have my own house, I suppose. I hope to eventually have a sun room for this purpose, but perhaps the dining room will do?

Ok, that is actually a restaurant in New Zealand (Foxglove in Wellington), not a private dining room in a home, but what a great idea! I think it fits perfectly.

For now, I guess something like this will have to do for the single bedroom I call my home:

museum rescue!

I've been finding a blog for everything lately, and luckily many of them have been full of helpful information. For one class this semester, the Nature of Museums, our group project is to determine a need or issue within our local community history museum, which is run by our local historical society. Unfortunately, after reading the 80-page report compiled by a museum consultant, it's obvious why I had only ever ventured into the museum once, spent 5 confusing minutes in the basement level, and walked right back out. This museum needs a LOT of work-- everything from very little community involvement to the inside of their brochures being printed upside down.

Our group has decided to tackle the issue of space analysis. I was happy to choose this because having studied architecture for a year, I can finally put some of that not-to-be-forgotten knowledge to work!  I must say, however, that the museum itself is located in the most beautiful building in town. Construction was finished by 1888 and consisted of three main stories. There's a split-level marble staircase and ceilings up to 22 feet high, along with a separate type of wood trim for each floor (ash on the first floor, white oak on the second floor, and yellow burled pine on the top floor). It was originally used as office space and a bank, with the building owner's mortgage company on the third level, and housing for him and his family in the very top--sort of a large attic. Overall, it's just gorgeous, and that museum is lucky to have the space! I'm eager to see what our group can come up with...