No, this is not a blog post about nasal congestion. It’s about the amazing science and artistry of taxidermy. Taxidermy is the science of preparing and mounting dead animals for display and research.

On Wednesdays, a wonderful group of volunteers comes to Queensland Museum South Bank to help prepare specimens as study skins for the research collection. This group is led by Heather Janetzki, our Collections Manager for mammals and birds.

Ali Douglas and Todd Knight from our exhibition construction team produce specimen mounts for display. Firstly the animal is skinned. Preserving chemicals may be applied to the skin or the skin tanned. It’s then mounted on a wooden or wire manikin, or a polyurethane foam animal mould is used. Glass eyes for these mounts are then added. The final result is a very life-like preserved specimen of the original animal.

Some taxidermy specimens are available to borrow from Queensland Museum Loans. See the Biodiversity section in the downloadable catalogue.

More information about taxidermy can be found in the Behind the Scenes section of the Queensland Museum website.