Sorry, these fiesty computers. The last messege was slightly incomplete do to
operator error.
 
....we must consider the future.  This is the obligation of a museum.
Consideration for the future is often short sighted because our dollars are
generated in the here in now.  Thus the roles of exhibition vs collections care
end up at odds with one another and within the museum community as a whole.  As
collections managers will admit, we are concerned with pests in the collection,
and the biggest pest is usually the curator.  Yet how does all of this apply to
consumable collections?  Posterity is no longer concerned and the long-term
audience is effectively removed.
 
So let me start with a few concerns about consumable collections.
1) If they are preserved animal specimens, know waht preservatives were used on
   them, through the 1960's arsenic was a common compound, this would then be a
   concern for handlers, public, volunteer or staff.
2) What criteria is used to select an object for consumable use? Are endagered
   or extinct animals appropriate. Yes from an educational point of view, no
   from a scientific point of view.
3) Even consumable collections should have an expected life span, what should
   it be, and how will you achieve it?
 
I hope folks will be able to piece this messege together.
 
Terry Vidal
 
(Frodo Lives!)