>>>> From: John Martinson [mailto:[log in to unmask]]

No, never a docent!  But, the staff who did not provide them the
documentation or training.....and leave them saying "I don't know..."   Of
course, in much larger museums...you would have a much wider venue of
feeding
options.  <smiles>  <<<<

 Hey, wait a minute!  I'm one of those docent trainers, and there's no way I
can provide information on every imaginable question about several hundred
species of birds!  I teach the reason those specimens are in the cases
(e.g., examples of endangered species, and what factors have led to their
being endangered), but sure as shootin' someone will ask the tour guide
something like what day of the year do they start migrating south, or  how
high can they fly, or do they dream when they sleep, or do they taste good
(a woodpecker? don't know, don't want to know!), or something else I haven't
taught and don't know.

 It's clear to me that the person who said I'm supposed to know everything
about each specimen before it goes on exhibit doesn't work in the same kind
of museum I do. There's no such thing as knowing everything about even
something like domestic chickens (as highly studied a species as there is),
much less all 9000+ other species!  Trying to have all the answers in a
natural history museum is like trying to design somethng that's fool-proof.
There will *always* be a fool that can outsmart your preventive measures!

Robin

Robin K Panza                         [log in to unmask]
Collection Manager, Section of Birds          ph:  412-622-3255
Carnegie Museum of Natural History       fax: 412-622-8837
4400 Forbes Ave.
Pittsburgh  PA  15213-4008  USA

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