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FALL/WINT ER 2017 WEBB M AGA ZINE
WEBB
T HE WEBB SCHOOL S webb.org
todaymuseum
ALF
News from the Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology at The Webb Schools
museum at webb
L. Collection space before renovation; stacks of immobile storage cabinets were bolted to floor. R. Compactor rails were installed before concrete was poured in the empty collection room.
World Class Collections Make a World Class Museum For decades, the Alf Museum has hosted stellar exhibits, students, staff, lab spaces, and fossils—yet, the collections storage space for priceless documents of past life did not match our aspirations to be a truly world class facility. The fossil collection is the heart of our museum. Cabinets and shelves were bursting at the seams with specimens, limiting the museum’s ability to collect new fossils
L. First carriage installed on rails that would soon house a double row of cabinets (those in foreground were mounted on this carriage). R. Collection space after installation of compactor system; double rows of cabinets now move laterally on rails and storage capacity increased 60 percent.
and safely house historical ones. We needed additional space, and we needed it soon! Constructing a new building or expanding into existing rooms wasn’t an option. Fortunately, storage technology offered a creative solution.