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I received the following that should be of interest. - Claire mellish
(NHM, London)

 

________________________________

From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Roy Plotnick
Sent: 23 February 2011 17:09
To: PaleoNet



---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Ricardo Palma <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Tue, Feb 22, 2011 at 6:23 PM
Subject: Bad news about the Canterbury Museum
To: 

 

This was received from our ornithologist.  He happened to be talking to
Paul Scofield (Curator of birds in Canty) just when the quake struck:

<< I spoke with Paul Scofield and he says that the museum is badly
damaged.  Paul's big bookshelf fell over him but, because he was on the
phone to me, he was in a part of his office where a pillar stopped it
from crushing him.  He had to crawl out of his office.  The exhibitions
are in total disarray with many shaking apart and the glass in the big
display cases having 'exploded'.  I don't know about the structural
integrity of the building but part of the facade around the front door
has fallen off and Rolleston (at least his statue) has fallen on his
head.  To make matters worse, the sprinklers came on which means that
the collections are wet.  Of course no-one has been able to check any
collections and won't be able too for ages which means collections may
start going mouldy.  It seems certain that the museum will be shut to
the public for months.  Staff like Paul are simply leaving the city with
their family until the water systems in the city are back up and
running.  Additionally the museum server is completely out of action so
no staff will be able to access their work e-mails, even from outside
the museum.  But the good and remarkable news is that no staff or
visitors were hurt apparently.  >>

Greetings, 
Ricardo 

 

-- 
Roy E. Plotnick
Professor
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
University of Illinois at Chicago
845 W. Taylor St.
Chicago, IL 60607
 
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
 
office phone: 312-996-2111     fax: 312-413-2279
lab phone: 312-355-1342
 
 
 
web page: http://www.uic.edu/~plotnick/plotnick.htm
 
"The scientific celebrities, forgetting their molluscs and glacial
periods, gossiped about art, while devoting themselves to oysters and
ices with characteristic energy.." -Little Women, Louisa  May Alcott