Vivien Barnett

Under the guidance of Dr. Mariana di Giacomo, I spent the spring of 2019 completing an internship in natural history conservation in a classroom setting. Each student was responsible for presenting on the history and current collections care challenges surrounding different types of natural history specimens from fluid specimens to dinosaur bones and ethnographic collections. I researched and presented on taxidermy collections, and continued my interest in those objects through my treatment of a taxidermy toad. All specimens treated in this internship came from the Iron Hill Science Center in Newark, DE. The course also involved social media outreach via Twitter and preparing posters and handouts on conservation for the science center to distribute and use to educate the public on our work. This internship was incredibly hands on and introduced me to a new conservation specialty in which I now have a growing interest and hope to pursue in the future in tandem with my interest in textile conservation.