Don't you just love the smell of arsenic in the morning...

Today I got to be a scientist. It has been a while since I wore a lab coat and latex gloves(I can vaguely remember something with secondary school chemistry experiments), but today I had to protect myself from the bugs, dirt and arsenic that have taken possession of the animal skins in the storage drawers in the gallery.
Because of the bad condition the roof is in and the dead pigeon that has been lying on it for a year now, there is a large scale bug infestation in the Museum. To battle this, all the specimens have to be frozen in order to kill whatever it is that's eating them.
At first it was a bit eerie. Opening a drawer and finding the skin of a soul-less Timon (from the Lion King) I had to put in a bag, seal and store in a crate for transportation. Koala's, platypus, armadillos and various rodents all passed through my hands today. But in the end I got used to it.
Because these skins were prepared in the 19th Century, Arsenic would be the chemical of choice. Being extra careful was a necessity. Don't want to end up like Napoleon....

Working in a museum can be a lot more adventurous than you'd think....

Oh yeah, the floor is crumbling away too. There are many speculations about secret basements. Since nobody has the architectural plan of the building., nobody knows if there is one and what could be in it. Excitement, excitement. It's getting more Indiana Jones every day...