[NHCOLL-L:451] Re: bird egg display

[James Dean]

Having just been involved in dismantling the Bird Hall exhibit at the
Smithsonian, I can tell you that your are very wise to be wary of adhesives
on eggs. The egg display in our exhibit had been in place since about 1955.
Many eggs were glued to the wall or floor of the case with an unknown
adhesive. (its amazing how difficult it is to find set up notes on a 45 year
old display!).

Removing the eggs proved to be a challenge. Most came loose with only
minimal damage, but a few suffered considerable damage. One or two broke
into pieces .

Unfortunately, I do not have the answer to the best adhesive to use. My
advice would be to concentrate on brackets or trays that will hold the eggs
in place without the use of adhesives.



James Dean
Collections Manager
Division of Birds, MRC-116
National Museum of Natural History
10th and Constitution, NW                                 phone: 
202-357-4288
Washington DC 20560-0116                             fax:      202-633-8084

                                                            email:
dean.james at nmnh.si.edu
web site: http://www.nmnh.si.edu/vert/birds/