Musuems, galleries and the like

An illustration of a (conspicuously male) fruit bat from the drawing collection of the Natural History Museum, London, Thomas Hardwicke collection, approx, 1832

A Dodo, Natural History Museum, London. In actual fact it is a "collage" made from parts of several different species of bird to represent what the taxidermist thought a dodo should look like.

The Furze Platt hand axe, a massive Neanderthal tool, Natural History Museum, London, 2019. 30 cm long, was found near Maidenhead, UK.

Darwin's octopus, Spirit Rooms, Natural History Museum, London (2019). The museum had a vast collection of specimens assembled since the nineteenth century. This, a preserved octopus, was collected by Charles Darwin. In his journals, which eventually became the book "Voyage of the Beagle", Darwin records his excitement at seeing an octopus change colour, and wrote back to his teacher, Henslow, in Cambridge, that he thought he had made a "discovery". Henslow, very tactfully, wrote back to tell Darwin that the ability of octopuses to change colour had been known for an extremely long time. Undaunted by this setback, the young Darwin went on to make a few more "discoveries".

A preserved giant squid in a tank, Natural History Museum, London, 2019. This is on display in the spirit rooms, and you have to pay extra to visit, but it is well worth it just to see the giant squid. It is difficult to visualize in a photograph, but the size of the tank gives some idea of how big it is.

A Pterodon, Natural History Museum, London, 2019. This would have been a stunning sight when alive.

A pickled nautilus, Natural History Museum, London, 2019

A fierce looking Tyrannosaurus rex (are there any other kinds?) A life size model in the Natural History Museum London (2019). The Natural History Museum was established by Richard Owen in the 19th century, who coined the word "dinosaur", so in a way it is the epicentre of dinosaurs.

The “Museum of the Moon”, Natural History Museum, London, 2019. This work, by Luke Jerram, has been exhibited around the world and is a six-metre model based on NASA images.

Dancing fossils. This is a bird fossil (cast);130 million years old from China. It is roughly the size of a sparrow ("Liaoxiornis delicates, Royal Ontario Museum. Toronto).

A pair of fossil birds, Confuciusorni dui, from China, 130 million years old, united in death. Probably a female and male. In the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto.

An Ichthyosaur fossil in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto; from Germany, Baden-Wurttemberg: Holzmaden; A kind of reptilian dolphin.

A fossil of a scorpion (actually the shed exoskeleton of a scorpion, Eramoscorpius brucensis ); 430 million years old, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto. It is thought that this early scorpion lived in water, but came up on shore to molt, where it would have been safe from marine predators. The legs are adapted to support the animals weight out of the water, but the rest of the animal has features that are shared by early scorpions that lived in water. So this is an extraordinary fossil, representing the evolutionary border line between marine scorpions (now no longer to be found) and the more familiar land dwelling animals that we are familiar with. www.rom.on.ca/en/about-us/newsroom/press-releases/rom-research-reveals-spectacular-430-million-year-old-ontario

A fossilized katydid, 150 million years old. Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto.

A collection of Trilobites, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto. Why did they all die together?

A yellow and blue Chinese plate; the symbol means longevity or long life- A 100 times long life and a prosperous New Year for 2017. From the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto.

"Red reeds on logs" Glass sculpture from an exhibit of the sculptural glass work of Dale Chihuly in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto.

"Orange Fire Basket:" Glass sculpture from an exhibit of the sculptural glass work of Dale Chihuly in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto.