Ornithology Collection Care Upgrades at the Academy of Natural Sciences

Academy Of Natural Sciences Philadelphia, Philadelphia PA

Investigators

Abstract

The Ornithology collection at the Academy of Natural Sciences has one of the largest and most complete series of Andean birds in the world, and includes specimens of special historical interest such as many collected by Alexander Wilson, John James Audubon, and John Gould. The collections also include over 10,500 frozen tissue samples. This project is to replace many old, warped cabinets with new ones to increase protection of this valuable collection from pest infestations, dust, and light. It will also provide a new ultra-cold freezer for the tissue collection, which is stored now in a freezer shared with other departments. The collections are presently seriously overcrowded, with no expansion space available. The new cabinets and freezer will relieve this.