secrets of the silk road

Mummies just might be the number one object that comes to mind when one thinks about museums, and especially those from Egypt. But what about the others? Say, from western China? Up until last week, a traveling exhibit titled Secrets of the Silk Road was the only way to see these mummies, naturally preserved I might add, outside of China. But now, at the request of the Chinese government, they are back home, with their last museum stop cut short just days before its grand opening.

Since last summer, the exhibit had already traveled from the University of Southern California to the Houston Museum of Natural Science and was just ready for opening at the Penn Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology when the museum was unexpectedly notified that it could not display the objects and instead would have to ship them back. The museum apparently complied with this and as a replacement opened the exhibit with photographs of the objects. In addition, the museum re-created "dummy mummies" of paper mache-- a 14-year-old visitor could not tell the difference between it and the "real thing". They also kept the live camels out as part of the opening. Hmm. So why were the objects (supposedly) sent home? The museum will not explicitly say.

One reason is that through the DNA testing that is usually conducted on archaeological finds, these mummified humans were found to not be ethnically Chinese. On top of that, they come from the separatist Uighur region in western China, Xinjiang, and some speculate that the Chinese did not want bad press or extra support for Uighur claims of autonomy.

Whatever the reason, it is quite an unfortunate situation for the Penn Museum who spent about 2 million dollars to bring in this exhibit, and who had to refund $50,000 of pre-purchased tickets to visitors.

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)

the snowpocolypse

What a fantastic blizzard that was! Still, it did not seem nearly as bad as they made it out to be. I suppose other areas may have gotten it worse. It seems like this winter we haven't been able to get a break between the melting of snow and the coming of even more. Here's a great satellite photo taken by NASA of yesterday's storm:

NASA images 

At work on Monday (with international students whose home countries include quite a range of environments), we had to make sure the students understood just how much snow there could possibly be. Of course the five students from Tibet (a.k.a. the Land of Snows) seemed unfazed, whereas some of the others were in disbelief. At times I wonder if some of these students have any idea what Kansas is really like before they come here. We had to warn them of the wind chill, and frostbite, and what shoes to wear, good socks, etc. I hope they all came out of it alright.

After shoveling the snow in front of the house this morning, I went on a much-needed snow hike, about 6 miles, which felt wonderful after being shut in all day yesterday. It's too bad I don't have cross country skis, because the fields would have been perfect for it! As it was though, the drifts made it somewhat difficult to discern deep and shallow snow. It wasn't uncomfortably cold though, and everything sure was beautiful!

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:

the art museum toilet

by Matt Nolen

Special Exhibitions: the John Michaeol Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI

early St Lucia's Day

So I'm still going through Ikea withdrawal, especially after getting an email about their "Swedish Holiday Smorgasbord". Because of that, I decided to make Lussekater, or Saint Lucia buns! I always remember St. Lucia's from reading American Girl books when I was little. St. Lucia's Day is a Swedish holiday celebrated on December 13th. It was around before Lucia was even a saint (as in, before Christianity), and was traditionally the day of the winter solstice (I suppose before they realized it actually wasn't?). In the book I read when I was little, the Swedish-American was Kirsten, and she wore a wreath with candles on her head and gave her parents breakfast on the morning of St Lucia's Day, which happened to include St. Lucia buns, all because she was the oldest daughter. Plus she had two looped braids hanging from the side of her head, which were awesome. See?

And here they are:

They are AMAZING! And you should try them, so here is the recipe, from the cookbook "The Swedish Table".

Lussekater
16 rolls

1 T sugar
1/4 c warm water
1 pkg. dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
1/2 c butter
3/4 c milk
1 t saffron
3 c all purpose flour
1/4 c sugar
2 egg yolks, beaten with 1 T water
raisins

In a bowl, combine 1 T sugar, warm water, and yeast. Let sit 10 minutes or until yeast begins to bubble.

In a saucepan, combine butter, milk, and saffron. Heat until warm and the butter is melted, but do not boil. Let sit until temperature falls below 110 degrees F.  Add milk mixture to yeast in the bowl. Add flour and 1/2 c sugar and stir until combined and the dough is smooth and workable. If necessary, add more flour, up to 3 T.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 1 minute. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled (or buttered) bowl, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Divide into 16 pieces. Roll into 1" X 6" lengths. Coil ends in opposite directions, forming tightly curved S-shapes. Let rise for 1 more hour.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Brush buns with egg yolk and place raisins in center of curls (two for each bun). Bake 10-15 minutes, but don't let the raisins burn!

Evidently they freeze well too. I kind of feel like making a whole bunch and sharing them with everyone, because they are that good!