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TIPS FOR VISITING
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GETTING THERE:THE WESTERN EUROPEAN COLLECTIONS ARE EASY TO VISIT IN ONE TRIP. IT IS BEST TO FLY IN TO PARIS OR LONDON, AND THEN TRAVEL BY TRAIN THROUGH EUROPE. YOU SHOULD CONTACT A STUDENT TRAVEL AGENT, LIKE STA, FOR THE BEST DEALS ON FLIGHTS AND EURAIL TRAIN PASSES. BE SURE TO PICK UP AN INTERNATIONAL STUDENT IDENTITY CARD FOR DISCOUNTS ON ADMISSIONS AND OTHER DEALS!
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BUDGETING YOUR TIME:DO NOT PLAN ON HAVING ACCESS TO COLLECTIONS AFTER REGULAR WORK HOURS OR ON WEEKENDS. CONTACT THE CURATORS WELL IN ADVANCE TO FIND OUT WHAT EQUIPMENT IS AVAILABLE AND WHAT YOU SHOULD BRING, WORK HOURS, COLLECTION ACCESS AND LOAN INFORMATION. REMEMBER THAT MANY MUSEUM STAFFERS DO SUMMER FIELD RESEARCH. YOU MAY NEED TO BE VERY FLEXIBLE.
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PLACES TO STAY:FOR THOSE TOLERANT OF THE STUDENT LIFE, YOUTH HOSTLES ARE THE LOGICAL CHOICE. BUT THERE ARE OTHER OPTIONS THAT WON'T BREAK THE BANK. CONTACT CURATORS AS FAR IN ADVANCE OF YOUR ARRIVAL AS POSSIBLE, ESPECIALLY IF YOU VISIT IN THE SUMMER. THEY MAY KNOW OF NEARBY HOTELS. IN PARIS, YOU MAY WISH TO CONTACT THE PARIS AMERICAN ACADEMY. THERE ARE CHEAP ROOMS AVAILABLE ON THE CAMPUS OF THE MUSEUM IN COPENHAGEN, BUT THEY GO VERY QUICKLY. IF YOU TRAVEL IN THE SUMMER, CHECK TO THE LOCAL UNIVERSITIES. THEY OFTEN RENT OUT DORM ROOMS. I STAYED AT IMPERIAL COLLEGE FOR A FEW DAYS IN LONDON- JUST UP THE ROAD FROM THE BRITISH MUSEUM. IF YOU SPLURGE ON A NICE HOTEL ROOM SOMEWHERE, MAKE IT IN AMSTERDAM.
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GENERAL:BE SURE TO BRING A VARIETY OF CLOTHES: THE COLLECTIONS ARE OFTEN QUITE DIRTY, AND THEY MAY BE QUITE COOL IF ALCOHOL AND DRY SPECIMENS ARE KEPT TOGETHER. LAUNDRIES ARE VERY COMMON, SO BRING LAUNDRY SOAP AND A LAUNDRY BAG. BE SURE TO BRUSH UP ON FOREIGN LANGUAGE SKILLS, ESPECIALLY IN PARIS. THIS WAS NOT A PROBLEM IN AMSTERDAM OR COPENHAGEN. AFTER YOU HAVE COME ALL THIS WAY, CATCH SOME OF THE SIGHTS IN THE CITIES OR NEARBY!
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THIS STAMP WAS ISSUED TO COMMEMORATE THE 'MUSORTSOM' EXPEDITIONS THROUGH THE INDO-PACIFIC, WHICH BROUGHT UP EXTRAORDINARY DEEP-WATER MATERIAL
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TAKING TIME OUT TO VISIT THE TOWER OF LONDON, HISTORICALLY THE SITE OF MORE TORTURE THAN MOST GRADUATE PROGRAMS, BUT NOT ANY LONGER.
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MUSEUM NATIONAL d'HISTOIRE NATURELLE
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BRITISH MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
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PARIS, FRANCE
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LONDON, ENGLAND
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THE 'MUSORTOM' SPECIMENS ARE KEPT IN PARIS. THIS WAS SIMPLY THE MOST SPECTACULAR COLLECTION I HAVE SEEN. MANY SPECIES WERE FOUND HERE THAT HAD NOT BEEN SEEN EXCEPT FOR THE TYPES AND WHICH WERE CONSIDERED TO BE INVALID. THEY WERE OFTEN FOUND IN LOTS OF DOZENS OF SPECIMENS (AND SAVED FROM THE TAXONOMISTS KNIFE!). I WONDER WHAT I MISSED BY STAYING ONLY FIVE DAYS. MOST OF THE OPHIUROIDS, AND I WOULD SUSPECT MOST OF THE OTHER ECHINODERMS, ARE DRIED. THIS IS A POTENTIAL GOLD MINE IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN DEEP-WATER INDO-PACIFIC MATERIAL! (CLICK PHOTO FOR LINK)
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THE MATERIAL THAT SPURRED THE INTEREST IN DEEP-SEA BIOLOGY IS HERE- THE GREAT 'HMS CHALLENGER' SPECIMENS. MANY TYPES FROM THIS AND OTHER EARLY EXPEDITIONS, BUT LITTLE IN THE WAY OF UNSORTED/UNIDENTIFIED MATERIAL. ( CLICK PHOTO FOR LINK)
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ZOOLOGICAL MUSEUM, UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN
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SWEDISH NATURHISTORISKA RIKSMUSEET
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ZOOLOGICAL MUSEUM, UNIVERSITY OF AMSTERDAM
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COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
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STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN
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AMSTERDAM, HOLLAND
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ANOTHER FAMOUS COLLECTION, DATING BACK TO THE GLORY DAYS OF ECHINODERM SYSTEMATICS. A LOT OF TYPE MATERIAL IS HERE, NOTABLY (AGAIN FOR YOU DEEP-SEA FOLKS) SOME OF HERTZ'S MYSTERIOUS GERMAN DEEP-SEA EXPEDITION TYPES FROM 1927. THIS IS NOT WHERE THEY SHOULD BE! MORTENSEN'S PACIFIC EXPEDITION MATERIAL, SOME OF WHICH IS STILL UNIDENTIFIED, IS THERE, ALONG WITH THE 'DANA,'' DANISH INGOLF,' AND EXCELLENT 'GALATHEA' MATERIAL. LIKE THE MCZ, THE GHOSTS OF GREAT ECHINODERM SYSTEMATISTS MUST STARE OVER YOUR SHOULDER! THERE ARE NICE AND CHEAP ROOMS AVAILABLE IF YOU ARE ORGANIZED WELL IN ADVANCE OF ARRIVAL AND CONTACT THEM.
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I DID NOT MAKE IT TO THIS COLLECTION, HOWEVER I HAVE CONTACTED THEM FOR LJUNGMAN TYPE MATERIAL.
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THIS IS A VERY SMALL COLLECTION, HOUSING PRIMARILY THE 'SIBOGA' MATERIAL. IF IT IS NOT REPORTED IN THE 'SIBOGA' EXPEDITION REPORTS, YOU PROBABLY WON'T FIND IT HERE. HOWEVER, THIS IS A FABULOUS CITY. YOU CAN COVER THE COLLECTION IN ONE MORNING OR SO (AND IF YOU ARE WORKING ON A GROUP THAT PEOPLE ARE POOR AT IDENTIFYING, YOU REALLY MIGHT WANT TO CHECK THERE JUST IN CASE- I FOUND OPHIOMUSIUM LIGATUM HERE, MISIDENTIFIED AS THE COMMON O. LYMANI, WHICH DOUBLED THE NUMBER OF KNOWN SPECIMENS!), AND THEN WANDER THROUGH THE CITY IN THE AFTERNOON.
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RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
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ZOOLOGISCHE STAATSSAMMLUNG
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OCEANOGRAPHIC MUSEUM
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MOSCOW & ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA
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MUNICH, GERMANY
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MONACO
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I DID NOT VISIT HERE, BUT HAD SPECIMENS LOANED. I WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO VISIT HOWEVER, SINCE THE RUSSIANS SENT OUT MANY, MANY EXPEDITIONS AND VERY FEW OF THEM ARE REPORTED (OR AT LEAST WIDELY PUBLICIZED?). THERE WERE SOME VERY INTERESTING SPECIMENS SENT TO ME, INCLUDING POSSIBLE NEW RECORDS OF A "LOST" SPECIES FROM OFF CHILE. POTENTIALLY A GOLD MINE.
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I DID NOT VISIT HERE, BUT ONLY BECAUSE I DID NOT LEARN OF THE COLLECTION UNTIL LATER. THIS APPEARS TO BE THE LOCATION OF THE 'VALDIVIA' TYPES FROM THE DEUTSCHEN TIEFSEE EXPEDITION (THOUGH OPHIUROID TAXONOMISTS SHOULD NOTE THAT SOME OF THE MATERIAL IS ALSO IN COPENHAGEN, AND THEREFORE MAY ALSO BE OTHER PLACES!). CHECK HERE FOR A LIST OF THE ECHINODERM TYPE MATERIAL.
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I DID NOT MAKE IT TO THIS COLLECTION, BUT WOULDN'T IT BE NIFTY? GAMBLING, TAXONOMY, SYSTEMATICS...THEY ARE SO INTERRELATED! THERE ARE A FEW TYPES HERE FROM THE EXPEDITIONS SENT FROM THE INSTITUTE, BUT THERE ARE RUMORS OF UNIQUE STORAGE (E.G., TYPES, PLYWOOD AND RUBBER CEMENT). IT MAY BE DIFFICULT TO GET LOANS. IF IT WAS DESCRIBED BY KOEHLER, AND YOU CAN'T FIND THE TYPES ANYWHERE ELSE (INCLUDING LYON), THIS IS A GOOD POSSIBILITY.
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ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A MUSEUM I DON'T HAVE LISTED?
CHECK THE:
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VIRTUAL LIBRARY MUSEUM PAGE
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A SEARCHABLE DATABASE WHICH LISTS HUNDREDS OF MUSEUMS FROM AROUND THE WORLD!
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