Link to the Show / Show NotesToday we're talking bones, lots of bones - this is a the place where elephants lurk in cupboards and crocodiles line the corridors, there is also a rumour about an academic with a hippopotamus in his office (that's one heavy paperweight mulls the Museum Detective).Joanne Burke is the technician and caretaker of a vast Zoology Collection in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Canterbury. This collection houses vertebrates (mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish and birds) and invertebrates (marine invertebrates, insects and spiders). Part of Joanne's role is to supply zoological specimens for the labs in the School covering topics such as vertebrate biology, human biology, fresh water and marine biology. The other part of her job is to support the research staff. One of her oddest assignments was to assemble birds in anatomically correct sexual poses. Joanne also posts off reference collection specimens at the request of overseas researchers and she tells us that they do a roaring trade in Hagfish. This relic species grows up to 1 metre (3.3 feet) in length in New Zealand.Visitors are not limited to university students and staff. Each winter Joanne offers a children's programme (as part of KidsFest) to capture the imagination of budding zoologists.The Zoology Collection's first acquisition was a puffin in 1888. Over the years the collection grew primarily from researchers going off on field trips and coming back with specimens. The occasional acquisition of deceased zoo animals have also boosted the collection. Some specimens are now quite precious, such as the Tasmanian tiger (thylacine), which is not on display. And we learn the difference between articulated (wired back into anatomical correctness) and disarticulated specimens (bagged bones).It's a whiffy job - working with glue, alcohol and animal flesh, and then there the bit about the flesh-eating bugs aka museum slaves. Joanne confesses that she picks up the occasional 'road kill' and has become quite adept in the art of taxidermy. This is certainly not a job for the fainthearted!
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