Dear Dan, It has been my experience that all items placed in exhibits have a nasty tendency to offgas. My curatorial staff has told me that if a good coat of paint is applied to the surface of the item and allowed to cure for at least 30 days, most of the offgasing can be contained. The surface had to be painted completely with no exposed surfaces. Also, the off-gasing was considerably less of a concern if the items were not placed in an enclosed exhibit case or tureen. However, other persons on this list may have much better information. Good luck! Mike Kassel Exhibits Manager Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum >From: "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: Museum discussion list <[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Styrofoam in Exhibits >Date: Wed, 2 Jun 2004 09:38:03 -0400 > >I have a dilemma I hope you conservators can help me out with. > >My administrative, budget conscious self wants to use extruded polystyrene >foam as a scenic element for an upcoming exhibit. No artifacts will be in >contact with it, it would be sculpted into a backdrop and painted. > >My curatorial self can’t believe that extruded polystyrene doesn’t offgas >something nasty. > >I spent a fair amount of time researching this question on the >conservator’s list and the archives for this discussion group (among other >places) and can’t find a definitive answer. > >Thanks, > >Dan Bartlett >Exhibits Manager >Midway Village & Museum Center >Rockford, IL > > >-------------------------------------------------------------------- >mail2web - Check your email from the web at >http://mail2web.com/ . > >========================================================= >Important Subscriber Information: > >The Museum-L FAQ file is located at >http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed >information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail >message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should >read "help" (without the quotes). > >If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to >[log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff >Museum-L" (without the quotes). Michael Kassel Exhibits Manager Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum Cheyenne, Wyoming 82001 307-778-1413 _________________________________________________________________ MSN 9 Dial-up Internet Access fights spam and pop-ups – now 3 months FREE! http://join.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200361ave/direct/01/ ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).