Wikipedia @ The Hunterian

Today the Hunterian Museum took part in the Britain Loves Wikipedia event, taking place in museums all over the UK during the month of February. The aim of the event is to increase the number of pictures available to illustrate Wikipedia articles, and to inspire new articles. There are also prizes to be won. I got several reminders from the folks at the Hunterian Museum, inviting me through Flickr, Twitter and the blog to come out and take some photos. I was looking forward to it.

Unfortunately, I forgot to set myself an alarm and overslept, and I kinda forgot to read the rules beforehand, so most of the photos I took aren’t eligible, not that I got that many. Missed the Archaeology part which I was most interested in. In terms of the rules, I didn’t know that I had to take 2 photos of everything, including the label in the second photo. Oh well. The competition runs until the end of February so if you’re interested, you still have time to head to a museum and take some photos to submit to Wikipedia. Remember, all museums most likely have some rules about photography within the museum, so you should always ask before taking a photo. The Hunterian Museum, for instance, doesn’t allow flash photography or tripods.

Oh, speaking of the Hunterian Museum, remember that photo of the Main Building covered in scaffolding I posted last week? The Hunterian Museum’s Main Hall is undergoing roof works at the moment and is currently closed off to the public. A part of the Hunterian Museum is still open though.

Oh, and the fossilised fish is a Dentex leptacanthus, from the Eocene period (55-33 Million years ago), and has extant relatives alive today, according to the label.

You can find out more about the event from the University press release, the Hunterian Museum website, and the official Britain Loves Wikipedia website.

I’ll post some of the photos I took at the Hunterian Museum a bit later on when I have the next Museum Week on this here photo blog.

[Poll #9: What is the best source of food on campus?]
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February 17, 2010 | Categories: Hunterian Museum, Museums | Tags: Fish, Fossil, Glasgow University, Hunterian, Hunterian Museum, Museum, Wikipedia | 1 Comment »