[Nhcoll-l] Taxidermy bird conservation advice

[Molly Wolanski]

Hi Holly,

There are actually a lot of resources out there on caring for historic
taxidermy and understanding taxidermy as a whole. I would recommend
checking out the Connecting to Collections series put out by the AIC. They
have done quite a few webinars on caring for taxidermy, and specifically
dealing with arsenic in collections.

https://connectingtocollections.org/webinar-archives/

I've learned so much from these webinars!

On Mon, Jul 21, 2025 at 9:16 AM Holly Brown <
holly.brown at student.unimelb.edu.au> wrote:

> Hello!
>
> I am an emerging conservator based in Australia and was guided to Nhcoll
> for advice by my lecturer at the University of Melbourne.
>
> I am working part time as a Museum Officer for a collection that has some
> taxidermy bird specimens.
>
> There has been no conservation action on these taxidermy birds (hawk and
> eagle specimens), and I would appreciate advice on best practice
> conservation care and preventative conservation measures I could try.
>
> I am currently planning on testing the birds for arsenic using a basic
> arsenic test kit I have seen online to ensure they are safe to handle and
> display.  Other than that, I would be open to any other suggestions on how
> best to care for these objects.
>
> Thank you so much in advance!
>
> Holly Brown
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-- 
Molly Wolanski

Exhibits and Collections Manager

The North Museum of Nature and Science

They/them
7173584445
mwolanski at northmuseum.org
northmuseum.org
400 College Ave
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