MSM Freezer for Conservation

The Maine State Museum is up and running with an important, though at first glance surprising, new collections care tool – a walk-in freezer, with over 750 cubic feet of space and the ability to reach temperatures below -10 degrees Fahrenheit.

The freezer has found its home in the museum’s natural science collection storage space. There, it will be near the site of a low-level infestation of clothes moths, particularly in the extensive collection of taxidermy. Following a carefully designed protocol to destroy insect pests, museum staff will work their way through the collection, isolating, freezing, and then thawing the taxidermy mounts. The new freezer was purchased with special funds directed to conservation projects. It makes an important advance in the museum’s collections care capacity, while ensuring the long-term survival of natural science specimens that are essential to an understanding of Maine’s ecology and environment.

Watch the video below to learn more!