Alfred Russel Wallace: Back in the picture

Image: Natural History Museum

Giving a lecture this week on biogeography and the role played by Alfred Russel Wallace in the development of that area of study, I was delighted to be able to call upon comedian and musician Bill Bailey to lay the groundwork with his excellent documentary on the Welsh biologist.

Bailey's two-part documentary on Wallace (part two to be aired on BBC2, this Sunday) comes during Wallace 100, a series of events throughout 2013 to mark the 100th anniversary of his death.

Some, including Bailey, argue that Wallace is a 'forgotten man' of science; his contribution to the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection having been watered-down or forgotten completely with the passing of time.

Wallace 100 seeks to put that right, not least by returning a portrait of the man to the main hall of the Natural History Museum in London - a portrait that was removed in 1971. Now, Wallace will have a presence in the NHM to rival that of his colleague in science, Charles Darwin.

A fund has also been set up to erect a bronze sculpture of Wallace at the NHM. This sculpture, currently being created, will finally complete an ambition which has existed since Wallace's death but was not realised due to the outbreak of World War 1.

As well as his contribution to the theory of evolution, Wallace is also know as the 'Father of Biogeography' - the study of how and why plants and animals are distributed across the world.

Biogeography, in tandem with evolution, explains why you find kangaroos in Australia and not in Canada; why you find giraffes in the wild in Africa and not in Ireland.

The Wallace Line (in red) marks a dividing line in biogeography

Wallace's travels and studies in south-east Asia led him to think about how animals and plants are distributed and he was able to draw a line - The Wallace Line - through modern day Indonesia and Borneo to indicate a dividing line between 'Australian-type' flora and fauna on one side and 'Asian-type' plants and animals on the other.

This line, we now know, corresponds with the meeting point of two major tectonic plates which have only (geologically speaking) recently moved together. So, whereas now these two regions lie very close together, the plants and animals on these plates developed in biogeographical isolation and differ hugely from one another. They're the original 'odd-couple'!

Watch the second episode of Bill Bailey's Jungle Hero on BBC Two on 28 April.

A Chat With Spotticus

He's easily the most famous Giraffe on Twitter and his tweets from the Natural History Museum in Dublin are followed by hundreds of eager followers. Now, in an exclusive interview, Spotticus tells all about life on Merrion Street and what it's like being an endangered species.

Hi Spotty….may I call you spotty?
Yes- but only because you asked nicely....

So, you’ve become a bit of an internet celebrity of late. Whose idea was it to let you loose on Twitter?
Well I’d only really found out about this twitter lark when the visitors returned to the museum after the re-opening in 2010 (One advantage of being so tall is you can look over people’s shoulders as they tweet on their mobiles). So I decided it would be a good way (the only way?!?) to converse with my public. To overcome the hoof disadvantage to typing, I have a human collaborator here who helps me tweet. One of the chimps did offer to type, but his spelling is appalling.

Are you enjoying your new found fame?
I enjoy the idea of having followers- it reminds me of my life in the herd before I came to the museum.

How long have you been living/working in the NH Museum?
I’ve been here since 2003- I was brought over to Dublin from the Netherlands by the lovely Leon Bouten and his family, who are taxidermists that work with the museum from time to time.

What’s your history? Where were you working before Dublin?
Well I’m a lot older than I look- I lived in a wildlife park in the Netherlands until 1965. The Boutens kept me in storage from then until 2002, when Dublin got in contact looking for a new giraffe exhibit- and that was that!

Children in particular seem to love you and your pals in the museum. What do you think is the attraction?
Well when was the last time you stood next to a tiger?? The advantage with the museum is that you can stand next to your favourite animal and see how big they are in relation to you. You can’t to that anywhere else- well you could try, but then you run the risk of getting eaten, or squashed… or squashed and then eaten…

Is education and working with schools a big part of the museum’s job?
Absolutely - there is so much to learn about species, habitats, endangerment and extinction and the museum is the ideal location to do just that. It’s important that people are aware of environmental issues and that we help teachers educate their students about these subjects. The education department here do lots of workshops for schools- but I think they could use a few more giraffe anecdotes.

Some people call your home a “museum of a museum” is this something you’re proud of?
I think so! It was Stephen Jay Gould who first said that about us- we are one of the oldest natural history museums, and one of a handful of cabinet style museum left in the world. You could say the museum is an endangered species of its own. Many of the museums who updated their galleries in the 1980’s and 1990’s are now returning to the cabinet style.

The Rothschild giraffe was recently added to the Red List of endangered species. How does this make you feel?
I couldn’t believe it- giraffes have never been on the Red List before! There a 9 recognised sub-species of giraffe and us Rothschilds (Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi) are particularly distinctive as we have no markings on our lower legs.
The IUCN, who compile the Red List of Endangered Species, estimate there are fewer than 670 individuals remaining in the wild. The drop in numbers is blamed on agricultural development, human settlement and poaching. There are only a few small populations now remaining in Kenya and Uganda, and they are isolated from each other, so they unable to interbreed.
The situation for us is now critical and the IUCN and the Giraffe Conservation Foundation are doing great work to try protect us. I should also say them museum staff look after me very well too- hoof shines, mane trims… the odd vacuum clean now and again…

Do you think places like the NH Museum have a role in promoting conservation?
Definitely- as well as educating the public and housing some extinct species, all large natural history collections  have the unique position of supplying “ancient” DNA to scientists, who use this information when studying animal populations. This in turn helps the conservation of several species.

Besides your good self (obviously) is there any other particularly interesting ‘stars’ of the museum that you would recommend visitors see?
There are lots of different characters here- the visitors love the lions, tiger, sharks and all those other vicious creatures! The Giant Irish Deer and very impressive, with their 3-metre wide antlers! Also on the ground floor, if you can find them, there is an eel that choked on a frog and Ireland’s biggest goldfish...

Are you getting many visitors these days? Are school holidays your busy period?
We are so busy it’s unbelievable- mini-humans everywhere! I hear we’ve had a 10% increase in visitors in 2011- 300,000 people in one year! The summer season which stretches from April to August is always the busiest with school tours, summer holidays and tourists. We love our visitors because they pass their love of us from one generation to the next which constantly keep us popular!

I see the keepers have opened the ‘Discovery Zone’ in the museum. What’s that all about?
That’s a new area in the museum which is used to host events like storytelling, school workshops and public handling sessions. The zone provides a space for visitors to look at and learn about the different species the line on land and in the water. There are two carts with lots of animals to look at and learn about. An added bonus is that you are allowed to touch some of the animals- Nessa the Bager loves getting scratched behind her left ear....

Anything else we should know about?
Cheung the Giant Panda has had a dye job.

Many thanks to Spotticus for taking the time to answer my questions and to Spotty's colleagues at the NHM for facilitating our little chat. You can visit Spotticus and his friends at the Natural History Museum from Tuesdays - Saturdays and admission is FREE!
You can also follow Spotticus on twitter @SpotticusNH

Heritage Week - Science Ideas

As well as Water Heritage Day, there are a few other science related events happening for Heritage Week:

University College Cork are hosting an historical walking tour of the campus. This will take in the gardens with many impressive tree specimens as well as the Aula Maxima, where one can view the Boole Window and culminating in a visit to the magnificent Crawford Observatory - the only observatory on a university campus in Ireland.

The tour is free of charge and running until Friday at 3pm every day and bookings can be made at visitorscentre@ucc.ie

Another interesting place to visit over this week should be the National Science Museum at St. Patrick's College, Maynooth.

To be honest, I wasn't aware such a thing exisited  but they seem to have a huge collection of historical scientific apparatus including that of Nicholas Callan, who invented the induction coil. Might be worth a visit. Their website has more details.

Science Snapshot 12: Wall of Birds

For the next few weeks, along with some of our usual posts, we're posting a series of  'Science Snapshots'.
Science Snapshot was really popular when we ran it last year for Science Week and this will be a continuation along the same theme.

You can see all of the snapshots so far by clicking here.

Today's image is from the Irish Natural History Museum, now re-opened after it's enforced closure. The museum is one of the best such museum in Europe and is often described as a 'museum of a museum'.

Science Snapshot 10: Elephant Teeth Again

For the next few weeks, along with some of our usual posts, we're posting a series of  'Science Snapshots'.
Science Snapshot was really popular when we ran it last year for Science Week and this will be a continuation along the same theme - that's why this is number nine already!

You can see all of the snapshots so far by clicking here.

Some months ago, I asked you to identify a mystery object from the UCC Zoology Museum. Turns out, it was an elephant tooth! Well, here's one in situ in an elephant skull at the Irish Natural History Museum. Makes more sense when you see where it's supposed to be. Doesn't it?

Ireland and Oxford: The Science Connection

I hope you enjoyed St. Patrick's Day. Here's an Irish science connection that you may not have known about.

The wonderful Natural History Museum at Oxford University is a must visit for science fans everywhere. But did you know about the important Irish links to the building?

The museum building was completed in 1860 and was designed by the Irish architects Thomas Newenham Deane (who was born in Cork) and Benjamin Woodward (who was born in Co. Offaly). Deane and Woodward also designed the museum at Trinity College, Dublin.

Stone columns made from different British and Irish stone are a significant feature of the neo-gothic design.

Statues of some of the greatest scientists, stand around the ground floor but much of the planned stone carving around the interior remains incomplete.

O'Shea working on the Oxford museum

Although the university was happy to pay for the construction, the ornamentation was paid for by public subscription. Irish stone carvers O'Shea and Whelan (from Ballyhooly, Co. Cork) were employed to carve the interior but money ran out before they could finish the job.

Although they offered to do it for free, the university management accused them of "defacing" the building by doing some of this unauthorised work.

Some people suggested that the stone carvers responded by caricaturing the university management as parrots and owls in the carving over the main entrance. The carvers were forced to remove the heads and they remain headless to this day!

Inside the Dead Zoo

To celebrate Darwin Day; a two-part documentary (via youtube) on Ireland's Natural History Museum, also known as The Dead Zoo.

Part1


Part 2

43 % have never been to the Natural History Museum

The Irish Natural History Museum has re-opened today after being closed since 2007. Despite a €15 million refurbishment being put on hold, the museum opened today with just minor structural changes having been made.
Due to the halt on refurbishment, little improvements have been made with regard to emergency exit from the upper floors. For that reason, the balcony galleries, containing many thousands of specimens, will no longer be accessible to the general public. This is a real shame, but we should be thankful for small mercies and the fact that the bulk of the museum is now, once again, open to the public.

According to our recent survey 57 % of readers who responded had previously visited the museum on Dublin's Merrion Street. If you haven't been, now is a perfect time to go. It's free, so bring a friend!

Natural History Museum - a history of neglect?

Some excellent news for Irish science with the announcement that the Natural History Museum of Ireland will re-open on Thursday 29th April.

The museum has been closed since 5th July 2007 when one flight of a staircase collapsed suddenly and without warning with about 20 people on it. Eleven people were injured in the collapse. According to a report prepared for the Office of Public Works (OPW) by Price and Myers Consulting Engineers, a sound "like someone biting into a crisp apple" was heard and the flight of stairs gave way.

"such staircases are common to many large 18th and 19th century houses"The stairway was a cantilevered staircase which are common to many large 18th and 19th century houses in Ireland. They are designed to have one side of each stair (or step) attached to the supporting wall of the building. This takes part of the load of the stairway. The rest of the load is passed down the stairs from step to step - the weight coming from above is held by the back of the step, that step is then supported by the step below. This is repeated all the way down the stairs.

The report to the OPW suggested that the failure of the staircase started at the bottom, where it was most heavily loaded and "progressed rapidly up the flight".

On inspection of the collapsed stairway, it was evident to the engineers that pieces of stone had been inserted into the steps to repair wear and tear. This work was probably done over 20 years ago " when little was known of the mechanics of these staircases".

Having carried out stress testing on the collapsed stairway, the report concludes: "It is clear that the introduction of the inserts has very considerably weakened the threads". The remaining flight of stairs at the museum, which did not have such inserts was not affected and after testing has been confirmed as perfectly safe.

It was unfortunate that the collapse should have happened in 2007, as it was the 150th anniversary of the opening of the building as the Museum of the Royal Dublin Society.

A €15 million redevelopment plan for the museum was approved by the National Development Plan in February 2008 and staff began the task of documenting all of the collections (some 10,000 exhibits) on site in preparation for a move to accommodate the necessary building work. This redevelopment plan included the construction of an Earth Science Gallery underneath the front lawn of the building which would exhibit geological collections.

However, by December 2008, the restoration plan was put on hold due to financial constraints and by 2009 a temporary exhibition space was opened at Collins Barracks, Dublin.

A 2005  report by the Royal Irish Academy (RIA) notes that the museum comprises "an irreplaceable and priceless national collection of world-scale historical importance in a setting of the highest architectural significance". This is important to note. The Merrion Street building has often been referred to as a "museum of a museum" given the traditional layout and design which ironically survives due to a lack of public spending on the building.

It is a unique entity, believed to be the last national natural history museum in the world to retain the 'cabinet' layout of the 19th century style.

The report to the RIA insists that the museum should be preserved "as it stands with a minimum of modernisation" but that an extension should be provided to expand and provide more modern interpretive elements, teaching and refreshment facilities and access by the disabled.

"removal of the natural history collections would be symbolic of the notion that science has no part in Irish culture" -RIAA move away from its current location in the heart of Ireland's government district (it is adjacent to Leinster House) is discouraged by the report: "It is the only wholly scientific institution in this complex and removal of the natural history collections would be symbolic of the notion that science has no part in Irish culture".

Given the current state of public expenses, it is hardly surprising that the museum will re-open this month with the minimum of work having been done to the fabric of the building. This is not to detract from the work of the staff over the closure - they have re-cataloged much of the collections and provided new labeling.

As for the Earth Science Gallery and the extension to house new exhibition space and disabled access, these have been put on the long finger once more. It seems the Natural History Museum is destined to stay much as it has been for the past 150 years. Not because there isn't a need to upgrade teaching, exhibition and access facilities, but because the government cannot bring itself to spend money on the much needed improvements. A government which continues to call for its young people to study science, but will allow its science museums to, very literally, collapse.

You may want to complete our poll on the Natural History Museum. Have you ever been? The poll can be found on the top right hand corner of this page.