Conservation Analytical Laboratory 



Lambertus van Zelst. Director 



The Conservanon Analytical Laboratory (CAL) engages in re- 

 search and training in the conservation and technical study of 

 museum objects and other materials of cultural importance. 

 CAL addresses questions of concern to archaeology and art his- 

 tory as well as problems facing museums, including the 

 Smithsonian, in the preservation and conservation of collec- 

 tions. A multifaceted training program provides valuable edu- 

 cational opportunities for students in conservation, materials 

 science, archaeology, and art history. 



Conservation scientists at CAL announced an important ad- 

 vance in understanding the effects of environmental condi- 

 tions on materials and complex objects in museum 

 collections. The allowable fluctuations appear to be larger 

 than had been generally assumed, and it is now possible to cal- 

 culate safe ranges of relative humidiry for storage and exhibi- 

 tion areas. Significant savings in climate control costs may- 

 res ulc. 



In a collaborative project with the National Museum of Af- 

 rican Art and outside scholars, CAL researchers are using lead 

 isotope mass spectrometry to examine the origins of the metal 

 ores used for the manufacture of Benin bronzes. The project 

 promises to make interesting contributions to our knowledge 

 of these objects and the people who made them 



Collaborative studies of Maya polychrome ceramic vessels, 

 in which CAL scholars' research led to provenance attribu- 

 tions, culminated with the opening of a major traveling exhi- 

 bition, "Painting the Maya Universe: Royal Ceramics of the 

 Classic Period." The project made important additions to our 

 understanding of the political, social, and economic structure 

 of Maya society. 



The preservation of archival materials is the focus of the 

 RELACT (research collections, libraries, and archives conserva- 

 tion training) program, conducted by CAL in collaboration 

 with the Office of the Smithsonian Institution Archives and 

 the Smithsonian Institution Libraries. This year, many collec- 

 tions maintenance staff received training in preservation man- 

 agement and practices, and staff in four research collections 

 undertook preservation projects. Several CAL conservation in- 

 terns gained practical experience through the projects. 



National Museum of Natural History 



Donald J. Ortner. Acting Director 



In Fiscal Year 1994, the National Museum of Natural History 

 continued its long tradition of excellence in scientific re- 

 search, public outreach, and collections care. Under Anna K. 



Behrensmeyer, Acting Associate Director for Science since 

 Fall 1993, the initial implementation of the "Future Direc- 

 tions in Science" plan resulted in the establishment of five Re- 

 search Initiatives to be emphasized over the next decade: 

 Collections as World Resources; Biodiversity: Systematics, 

 Evolution, and Ecology; Ecosystem History and Global 

 Change; Earth and Planetary Processes; and Human Cultural 

 and Biological Diversity. In the first call for proposals under 

 the new structure, two museum review committees were able 

 to support funding for 19 of the 92 projects submitted for 

 consideration. 



The funded proposals range from preserving nineteenth- 

 century Native American art, producing a CD-ROM on "The 

 Cambrian Explosion" of marine life recorded in the Burgess 

 Shale, investigating Viking settlement patterns in southwest 

 Greenland, and finally, to studying sea cucumbers from 

 abyssal/bathyal seamounts and seeps in the northeastern Pa- 

 cific. The biggest change resulting from the Research Initia- 

 tives is that many NMNH research projects and programs are 

 now funded competitively under a proposal-driven system. 

 Also, in order to solidify the link between science and public 

 programs, the Associate Directors for these two activities are 

 collaborating on a combined vision for science and public pro- 

 grams in the museum. An initial draft was presented in the 

 narrative of the FY 96 budget call, and a final document is ex- 

 pected in 1995. 



Another major accomplishment in FY 1994 was the cre- 

 ation of the NMNH Internet Gopher in October 1993. Begun 

 as a grassroots effort in the Department of Botany, the Gopher 

 has grown to include databases and documents from the U.S. 

 National Herbarium, the ASPT Newsletter (a quarterly news- 

 letter put out by the American Society of Plant Taxonomists), 

 a checklist of the plants of the Guianas, and the Checklist of 

 the Mammal Species of the World. Available information on 

 these topics, among others, is roughly equivalent to 50,000 

 pages of printed text. The database of Botanical Type Speci- 

 mens in the U.S. National Herbarium alone runs to the equiv- 

 alent of 17,500 pages of data and 15,000 pages of indices that 

 permit faster searching. In its first three months, client re- 

 quests on the Gopher Server totalled 39,826, which grew to 

 319,560 requests for all of FY 1994. 



The museum's dedication to rejuvenating public programs 

 so that exhibits become broader in scope and more representa- 

 tive of museum research was evident in the openings of both 

 the traveling exhibit "Spiders!" and the permanent exhibit 

 "In Search of Giant Squids." With a $1.2 million gift from 

 Marvel Entertainment Group Inc., NMNH created the inno- 

 vative "Spiders!" exhibit, which utilizes computer games, 

 videotapes, and live specimens to help visitors experience a 

 spider's view of the world. An exciting part of the "Spiders!" 

 exhibition is the innovative Spider Lab. Designed to provide 

 children with a multi-dimensional introduction to spiders, 

 the Spider Lab provides hands-on learning opportunities 

 through a science laboratory, games and puzzles about spiders, 

 a math corner, and a reading area. The Lab is staffed with "Spi- 



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