Curators abuzz
02 December 2010
RAMM’s curators are getting excited. Now that Benbow, the exhibition fitout contractor, is installing the museum cases, the first displays can be put together. Unbeknown to most, insects rule the world so it is fitting that they should be first in line for the recolonisation of RAMM.
A new gallery for insects
A brand new gallery has been designed to give visitors a glimpse of RAMM’s fantastic insect collections and pay homage to these beautiful and industrious creatures. Over 500 insects are being carefully mounted by our technical team in readiness for the new gallery. The selection ranges from the staggeringly large to the particularly small and represents a broad cross-section of our collections: beetles, butterflies, bugs and bees to mention just a few. The exotic butterflies are also being prepared for the collections study centre.
Past displays
Before RAMM's development project, birds and large mammals stood proudly in the galleries but very few insects were on display. There were only a few butterfly cabinets in a publically visible storage area with a revolving selection of drawers left open to view.
It is many years since a significant selection of insects has been on display. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, visitors were able to browse through the 1,000 plus drawers that housed RAMM’s 60,000 specimen exotic butterfly collection. Unfortunately, despite being housed in the finest mahogany entomological cabinets, the vibrations produced when opening and closing the drawers were causing damage. Antennae, legs and the minute scales that cover butterflies wings were dropping off and they were removed from public view to prevent further damage.
