Save Museum Dioramas

The International Committee for Museums and collections of Natural History (ICOM-NATHIST) is concerned with the conservation of biological, paleontological and geological diversity in museums collections an in the natural environment, the scientific study of the world's natural heritage, and the education of the wider public through museum displays, conferences, field trips, etc. Of recent interest to ICOM-NATHIST is the trend towards what is termed "modernization," that is, the removal and destruction of old, historic taxidermy and dioramas from museums in the name of improving public education.

A working group on the Art of Taxidermy and its Cultural Importance has been established to help save these creatures. As Eirik Granqvist (Senior adviser of ICOM NATHIST) writes on their website:

"When fire, earthquakes and wars destroy the world's historical and cultural heritage, it might not be possible to do anything, but when that destruction is undertaken by the very people employed as guardians of our heritage, then it is a criminal act and we must all despair for the future of our collections. It is especially difficult to understand the fact that those causing the disastrous damage call themselves scientists when, due to a lack of scientific and historical rigour, they burn or otherwise destroy historical evidence of for example, increasing or decreasing pollution of the environment, both through the destruction of irreplaceable specimens and the context in which they were displayed."

go to the website: http://icom-nathist.de/icom/nh-wk12.htm

Contact eirik.granqvist@elisanet.fi or AdrianXNorris@aol.com for more information.