One. What is a natural history specimen
Natural history is studied on a wide range of objects. The animals and plants that live on the earth, as well as fungi, the rocks and minerals that make up the earth, are all objects of study of natural history, so there are countless types of natural history research materials - specimens. In general, natural history specimens have specimen data. At a minimum, you need to know where and when the items collected were collected. This is because the object of natural history research will present different states according to space and time, and the nature of the object cannot be objectively understood without collecting data. Therefore, when packing and handling natural history specimens, it is not only necessary to properly handle the specimens, but also to take care not to separate the labels and registration number strips printed with specimen data from the specimens.
It is possible to distinguish an art item from other collections without attribute information, but not from natural history specimens. Several specimens of the same species are kept in the herbarium. Sometimes, specimens of the same species, only collected in different years, months and days, may be collected in the same location more than 100. In the study of natural history, the study of biological variation in nature is a very important topic, so many specimens have been preserved.
Because organisms are mutated, even specimens of the same kind are different for detailed morphological or DNA analysis. This distinction may then not be discovered until the study is completed, and it is very difficult to distinguish between differences before the study begins. Therefore, for the Museum of Natural History, it is very important to keep the label and registration number with the property information of the specimen together with the specimen.
Most of the specimens of natural history are research resources, and many unlearned specimens are also kept in the herbarium. The only way to distinguish the same specimen stored in different specimen containers is the specimen label and the registration number. If the label and registration number are lost while carrying the specimen, there is no distinction. Therefore, when carrying natural history specimens, while paying attention not to damage the specimens, special attention should also be paid not to lose or confuse the specimen labels and other media that record the attribute information of the specimens.
Two. Types of specimens of natural history
Natural history specimens can be divided into animals, plants, fungi, rocks and minerals. From the point of view of packing and handling, it is necessary to classify specimens according to their firm fragility and the method of preservation. First of all, from the perspective of the preservation state of specimens, they can be divided into specimens preserved in the dry state (peeled specimens of animals, fur, bone specimens and dry leaf specimens of plants, fossils, rocks and mineral specimens, etc.) and liquid soaked specimens, that is, specimens soaked in preservation solution, preserved in glass plates and plastic theories.
Three. Arrangement of specimens in the specimen chamber
Natural history specimens are generally arranged in the herbarium according to the classification system (Figure 1). The same animals can also be divided into fish, mammals and insects. Therefore, different arrangements for specimen types are also different. The classification system to use is up to the museum and the researchers who manage the specimens to decide. Therefore, when moving specimens, it is necessary to listen to the researcher in advance to explain the arrangement of the specimens.
Figure 1 Fish herbarium. Liquid soaked specimens are arranged in an orderly manner according to the classification system
When moving specimens, pay attention to the arrangement method, after moving the specimens to the target specimen room, they must be arranged according to the original arrangement. If the specimens are arranged differently from the original, it is not easy to find the specimens, which will cause great inconvenience to museums and researchers.
Four. Packing and handling of specimens
(1) Packaging of liquid soaked specimens
Liquid-soaked specimens include fish, crustaceans (shrimp and crabs), echinoderms (starfish, sea cucumbers, etc.), spiders, and seaweeds. Specimens are soaked in a preservation solution in a glass or plastic container. When moving liquid soaked specimens, be careful not to break the specimen bottle or specimen container. Carrying the container with the head of the container in your hand is likely to unplug the lid of the container and accidentally remove the specimen. Therefore, when holding and disposing the specimen container, it is necessary to fix the bottom of the container with one hand or hold the position near the bottom with the hand.
When handling specimen bottles, for safety reasons, the specimen bottles can be wrapped in anti-impact cushioning materials such as bubble bags, and then packed in plastic boxes. Specimen bottles come in a variety of shapes, and bottles stored in plastic boxes can be damaged by movement. Therefore, when loading the specimen bottle into the box, it must be fixed and cannot be moved. There must be gaps in the middle of the bottle and the bottle, which can be filled with cushioning materials such as fragments or cloth or old newspaper. If the specimen bottle is tilted, the preservation liquid in the bottle will definitely leak out when it is reversed, and it is absolutely necessary to prevent these situations, so it is necessary to place the specimen bottle vertically in the plastic box (Fig. 2).
If the volume of the plastic container is more than 20 liters, no special packaging is required. As long as it is fixed in transit, no movement occurs.
Fig. 2 Packing of fish specimens. Left: Transfer the specimen and put it in the middle of the plastic box Right: Wrap the specimen bottle with a buffer material and put it in the middle of the partition given by the box
(2) Handling of liquid soaked specimens
The method of handling liquid-soaked specimens placed in plastic boxes is basically the same as the method of handling glass furniture, etc. There is no need to use a car with air springs. However, it should be noted that the plastic box in the car needs to be fixed when handling, and no movement can occur. Sometimes plastic boxes are placed on top of each other. There is a danger that the boxes will be dumped, so only 2-3 boxes can be stacked at most.
(3) Packing of dried specimens
(1) Insect specimens
Insect specimens are kept in uniform specimen transport boxes called "German boxes". Although insect specimens vary in size, basically all specimens can be fixed in a box with a pin. When the pin is released, the specimens may collide with each other or fall into the box when the specimens move. Therefore, before handling, be sure to firmly fix the specimen in the box so that it cannot be moved. Specimens of unicorns and toba are prone to movement during handling and require special attention. Because the assistance of experts is required to secure specimens, it is necessary to communicate with the head of the museum before moving. The transport box is placed in a cardboard box and the impact-proof cushioning material is fixed on the fortress to prevent it from moving during handling.
(2) Stripping specimens
The specimen is stripped around washi paper or a thin cloth to prevent it from moving during handling. Peeled specimens that can stand up are called real stripped specimens (stripped specimens restored to their original living state). During handling, it is necessary to prevent collisions between specimens and cause damage. Therefore, small and medium-sized specimens should be stored in large cardboard boxes, and the impact-proof cushioning materials should be stuffed between the specimens to fix them to avoid specimen movement. Large- real-time stripped specimens need to be wrapped and protected with bubble bags, etc., and then fixed in a wooden frame.
Specimens of some birds and small mammals are called fake stripped specimens (Figure 3). These are specimens used for research, and unlike real stripped specimens, they cannot stand on their own. Fake peeled specimens are usually made by removing the internal organs of animals and drying them. The shape is generally a simple shape of a bird after folding its wings. Fake stripped specimens are wrapped in thin sheet paper, stored in cardboard boxes, etc., and thin sheet paper or impact-proof cushioning materials are stuffed between the specimens to prevent the specimens from moving. In addition, thin sheet paper and cushioning materials should be covered on the specimen, and the specimen should be firmly fixed in the cardboard box.
Fig. 3 Force-stripped specimens of birds
(3) Skeletal specimens
Skeletal specimens of mammals and birds, as well as human skeletal specimens, vary in size and shape (Figure 4). Cross-linked skeletal specimens of large mammals (so that the bones of the whole body are joined together and in a self-contained state) need to be packed in a wooden frame so that no damage occurs when transported. If the bones of each part of the body are preserved separately, in most cases a specimen container contains a certain number of bones. At this time, each bone should be placed in a cardboard box with bubble bags or paper wrapped separately, and the impact-proof cushioning material should be stuffed between the bones for fixation.
(4) Dry leaf specimens of plants
The size of plant dried leaf specimens generally has certain specifications, and dry leaf specimens are affixed to a certain size of base paper. Therefore, when packing dry leaf specimens, the base paper is placed in a cardboard box, etc. for packing, and the impact-proof cushioning material can be stuffed to prevent the bottom paper from moving.
(5) Fossils, rocks, mineral specimens
Fossil specimens come in all shapes and sizes. When packing, you need to use bubble bags, old newspapers, etc. Be careful not to cause shock to the specimen.
In order to prevent contact between rock and mineral specimens, each specimen should be wrapped in washi paper or newspaper. If the specimens come into contact with each other, the chemical properties will change, which may have a huge impact on subsequent analysis. If the specimen stored in the specimen container is large, it can be pressed from above with a cotton ball to fix it. At this point, there is no need to pack the specimens separately. The most important thing is to prevent the movement of specimens and the contact between specimens.
Fig. 4 Specimens of interlactic osteoarthritis of milky-billed mammals
(4) Handling of dry specimens
Liquid-soaked specimens are stored in glass bottles or plastic containers, so there is no need to use a car with an air spring when handling, but dry specimens are more likely to be damaged than liquid-soaked specimens. If the outer side of the container in which the liquid soaked specimen is covered with a cushioning material, it is not easily damaged even if there is a slight collision between the containers. However, for dried specimens such as stripping, skeletal specimens, and insect specimens, the possibility of damage is extremely high if the specimens collide with each other. Therefore, it is important to firmly fix the specimens placed in the transport vehicle. Therefore, a transport vehicle equipped with an air spring is required to carry the dried specimen.
(5) Display the handling of specimens
There is essentially no difference between the specimens used for presentation and those used for research, and it can be said that the difference only exists in appearance. Research specimens only need to be kept in a state that can be used for research, and have nothing to do with the beauty and ugliness of appearance. The most important thing is the part that needs to be used in the research and whether the features are preserved intact, as long as this condition is met. However, the specimens used for the exhibition bear the heavy responsibility of conveying the theme to the audience, and need to pursue a certain display effect, so it is necessary to pay attention to the beauty, size and posture of the appearance.
The classification of specimens used for display is the same as that of specimens used for research, and is also divided into stripped specimens, skeletal specimens, liquid soaked specimens, dry leaf specimens of plants, rock and mineral specimens, etc. In addition to this, there are specimens in the display specimens that cannot be used for research. For example, replicas, models, perspective views and other artifacts.
In China, the exhibition specimens of one museum will not be moved to other museums on a large scale, which will bring trouble to their own exhibitions. As a result, it is relatively rare to transport exhibition specimens between natural history museums in the country.
The matters to be noted when packing and handling exhibition specimens are basically the same as for research specimens. Remove the specimen from the exhibition hall, be careful not to damage the specimen, wrap it with anti-impact cushioning materials such as bubble bags, and load them into cardboard boxes, plastic boxes or wooden boxes for handling.
However, exhibition specimens also differ from research specimens. When returning a borrowed specimen, the specimen must be placed in the same state as before. Therefore, it is necessary to correctly record the position of the specimen on the exhibition line in advance. In addition, large specimens hanging from the ceiling, etc., are often exhibited in a special way. Sometimes it is necessary to use aerial work vehicles, etc., and the working method is more dangerous. Therefore, it is necessary to check the display site in advance, communicate carefully with the responsible learner, and discuss how to remove the display specimen from the display place.
Source/Heritage and Artwork Packaging Transportation Guide