m? Then join us for a discussion of Richard Fortey's Dry Storeroom No. 1: The Secret Life of the Natural History Museum!Fortey, who was a senior paleontologist at the Natural History Museum in London, guides readers on a rambling walk through the museum's vast collections of fossils, jewels, rare plants, and exotic species, pulling open drawers full of orderly rows of specimens, wandering down seldom-used passageways, and poking around in the miscellany of the Dry Storeroom No. 1 of the title. He also introduces readers to the sometimes eccentric scientists who have devoted their professional lives to studying the museum's collections. Full of fascinating detail about such items as Charles Darwin's barnacle collection or the cursed amethyst of Edward Heron-Allen, and of humorous anecdotes such as the one about the time Fortey nearly set the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History on fire, Fortey's tour is, according to the L.A. Times, "Worth the price of admission." Yet Fortey hopes to do more than entertain us; he hopes to persuade us of the essential role museums play in preserving our collective cultural memory and the diversity of life.
Join the conversation Tuesday, December 1 at 7:00 p.m. at Main Library; Thursday, December 17 at 11:00 a.m. at West Ashley Branch Library; or here on the blog.
