We are delighted to share that our nomination for ‘Team of the Year’ has been shortlisted at this year’s prestigious Museum and Heritage Awards.
This was our nomination:
Our team has faced the hardest of challenges in 2023. Our building has suffered ongoing water ingress causing leaks and pest infestations. And with our huge collection being almost 90% organic, it has been very much affected by this. Collections stored in cupboards across 5 galleries and two stores directly above dioramas have been affected. The upper library store had a severe water leak but luckily the books were rescued in the nick of time.
Without the funds required to replace the roof, our only other option was to move the collection. With our full support, our Conservator pulled together the budget, the resources and the team to tackle this monumental task. She researched the most suitable conservation techniques. risk-assessed the tasks, built the budget and trained our whole team on the approach. With the effort of our colleagues across operations, collections and gardens, a new location was sourced and racked out, ready to receive objects.
Phase 1 has been to clean, pack, freeze, conserve and re-home 2000 animal skulls complete with horns. To manage this volume of material in a short space of time, a container-sized freezer was hired. Around 200 objects per batch were frozen for 1 week (including time for slowly cooling and bringing back to ambient temperature), then transported to their new home. On arrival, documentation processes were undertaken.
A small display was created in the museum to help visitors understand the work being undertaken as it did result in two galleries being closed for temporary skull storage. Staff worked tirelessly for months to finish this first stage of the project. Sponsorship by Mr Kipling has been seriously considered to keep spirits high, we have consumed A LOT of cake!
Now we have begun stage 2, the Primate collection. Our extremely valuable primate collection includes around 500 delicate specimens which need to undergo a similar procedure.
We must not overlook the volume of administrative work that these projects carry, from rotas to risk assessments, COSHH assessments, purchasing and reports. Other members of our team committed time to this.
Throughout this process, the whole team worked above and beyond any expectation and our Conservator considered all their needs, from training, equipment, safety, sensitivities (natural history conservation can be upsetting) and motivation/recognition. We anticipate this work to continue behind the scenes of the museum for several years.
Representatives from our team will be attending the awards ceremony in London on 15th May. Our whole team wants to congratulate all the shortlisted nominees and we look forward to celebrating with you.