Museum staff often have to walk a fine line when it comes to displays. Sometimes we get it right, and other times a little modification may be needed. If barriers are put up (such as Plexiglass, metal railings, etc.), some people feel offended or think that we’re trying to keep them away from the object on display. However, if we have no barriers, sometimes people get a little…too…up close with the artifact or specimen.

One of our first priorities is to keep the object on display safe. Without them, there is no museum! A gallery filled with photographs of fossils isn’t the same as seeing the real thing. Safe for the fossil? Yes. Good for museum patrons? Not so much. Another priority is to keep our museum visitors safe. For the most part in this state, we see a good dose of “North Dakota Nice,” which helps us keep our barriers to a minimum and objects close for viewing. There is the occasional mishap however.

Plastic shrink-wrap and a touch of humor to hold the bones in place while the glue dries.

Someone trips over untied shoelaces, and bumps into a painting. Perhaps you wish to show everyone where you are, and during a selfie opportunity lean too far back, knocking into a display case. Or maybe an over-exuberant child who has escaped the watchful eye of parents runs into the leg of a Mastodon.

Not all repairs are conveniently placed! Becky touching up some spots of plaster with brown paint.

This last case did happen. No one was hurt, but the Mastodon legs did suffer some…dislocation. So what happened then? We fixed it. After making sure the bone was still in good condition, we looked for what went wrong with the display mount and how to counter the problem in the future. The radius (lower arm bone) was previously only glued into place. To repair it the bone was first cleaned, then we re-glued the bone and added some wire support. The wire was painted brown to match the bone and make it less distracting than shiny silver. To give the bone a little extra support while the glue was drying, we added a temporary layer of shrink-wrap.

Becky concentrating on painting the newly installed silver wire.

The physical railing around the Mastodon is very low, so it doesn’t distract from the skeleton itself. There’s not a whole lot of modification that can be done on that aspect. So – can people touch it? Even though the physical opportunity is there, the museum staff sincerely hopes you will use photo opportunities, rather than tactile ones. Help keep our museum safe – safe for you and safe for the specimens and artifacts – and enjoy North Dakota’s history!