Oxford University Museum of Natural History gives exhibits fresh look
- Published
Dinosaurs and dodos may have long been extinct but Oxford University Museum of Natural History is giving their remains a new lease of life.
As part of plans to change the museum's displays for the first time in almost 20 years, the specimens are being temporarily removed as new conservation cabinets are fitted.
The museum, founded in 1860, attracts more than 750,000 visitors a year.
Mangers said the refurbishment would "safeguard our heritage".
The new display, which will include presentations of the "diversity of life and address the importance and fragility of biodiversity and human impact on the environment", will be constructed this year.
The museum said the cabinet changes were part of longer term plans to "transform" the displays in its main court.
Museum director Professor Paul Smith said a grant meant they were able to purchase the cabinets which "meet today's conservation and display standards".
"These are exciting changes for the museum, as we look to provide our large and varied audiences with inspiring, scientifically rigorous and aesthetically beautiful presentations of the natural world," he said.
Founded in 1860 as the centre for scientific study at Oxford University, the museum now holds the university's internationally significant collections of entomological, geological and zoological specimens.
It is housed in a pre-Raphaelite inspired example of neo-Gothic architecture and underwent a major £2m refurbishment project to fix its leaking roof.
However, after the roof was replaced in 2016 sunlight started causing "rapid and irreversible damage to specimens", which resulted in a reflective film being added to its glass tiles.
The museum will remain open to visitors as normal throughout the changes this year.
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