[Nhcoll-l] [EXT] question about fog machine inside museum

[Valerie Tomlinson]

You wrote:
“A question has come at our museum about the use of a fog machine …”
All I can say is: “Don’t do it!”
This question comes up regularly on the conservation forums.
The fog is an oily compound, usually a glycol as you say. It is dispersed through the air so that it gets everywhere, even inside cases is possible. It does not disappear and evaporate after it has settled. It stays as a fine sticky residue on all surfaces and attracts dirt forever more to the surface of your artefacts. The residues also attracts moisture and can grow mould, all of which is not good for preservation.
The glycol can also soften certain paints and finishes if there is enough of a buildup.
Fog machines are not suitable in any venue where you have artefacts you are trying to preserve.
That’s my 2 cents.
Valerie Tomlinson



From: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> On Behalf Of Abraczinskas, Laura
Sent: Tuesday, October 4, 2022 2:47 PM
To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
Subject: [EXT][Nhcoll-l] question about fog machine inside museum

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Hello,
A question has come at our museum about the use of a fog machine for an event. The machine is a type from a local party supplies store, and a liquid “fog juice” product is added to create the fog effect.  I am unable to find a specific Safety Data Sheet for the liquid, but it likely contains Propylene glycol and possibly Triethylene glycol. The program staff is suggesting to use the fog machine near a display of elephant skulls and skeletons (with tusks).  There is a mammoth skull also nearby and an adjacent room lined with habitat dioramas.

Our collections staff believes this is inappropriate for use in our museum.  We are looking for information about damage to museum objects/specimens and this type of equipment.  Does your Collections Policy mention or prohibit this type of equipment?  We are in the process of updating our Collections Policy too.

Thank you very much!
Laura

Laura Abraczinskas
Pronouns: She, Her, Hers
Collections Manager, Vertebrate Collections
Michigan State University Museum
409 West Circle Drive
East Lansing, Michigan  48824
USA

(517) 355-1290 (Office)

Michigan State University occupies the ancestral, traditional, and contemporary Lands of the Anishinaabeg–Three Fires Confederacy of Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi peoples. The University resides on Land ceded in the 1819 Treaty of Saginaw.


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