Day 5 of vacation dawned and it was screaming museum.
(Okay, maybe only I heard that. But I’ve found it pays to listen to the voices in my head.)
Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium… a bizarre place.
It was built in 1891 to house a wealthy man’s cabinet of curiosities which had quickly overtaken his house. It was a big house, but hey… he had 175,000 curiosities. Things can get cluttered quickly.
The building itself was a marvel of stone, turrets and arches.
And the first floor was dedicated to specimens.
No.
Not that kind of specimen.
This kind.
The natural world kind…
(A little bear butt for your viewing pleasure.)
Apparently filthy rich Victorians liked to the travel the world, kill what they saw, then bring it home and stuff it.
And old Fairbanks must have been a taxidermist’s dream.
That’s not to say things didn’t go wrong at times.
And sometimes, horribly wrong.
I’m pretty sure that cat wasn’t grinning during his last seconds on earth.
To say this man was bird obsessed is an understatement.
And while I enjoy a good Black Headed Goatsucker ….
And Common Hoopoe as much as the next girl….
The seemingly endless glass cases filled with dead fine feathered friends began to wear on me.
The Noisy Pitta wasn’t noisy…
And the Jungle Babbler certainly wasn’t babbling.
But I did manage to find some bugs before the scheduled planetarium show.
And what wonderful bugs they were.
You’re welcome.
River's world..... 
Animals preserved like these kind of creep me out. Taxidermy. I dunno, I understand why people are interested in them, but… *shudder*
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And when the entire building is filled with them? Someone is always watching you.
*shudders*
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*shudders and grabs some of the booze we are taking UP Nort’*
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I live up north and see no reason to go any further.
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because! it would be FUN!
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The building reminds me of the old Minnesota Museum of Natural History. They tore it down and put up a modern edifice. They tore that one down too and put up another more modern edifice.
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Progress is not always a wonderful thing….
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Not a fan of dead animals on display.
Dead bugs ~ fine.
Dead insects ~ fine.
Dead creepy crawlies ~ fine.
Dead birds ~ not so much.
And people who stuff their pets and keep them on display ~> NUTS!
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This man stuffed everything. I kept expecting to turn a corner and see his mother…..
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Thank you for the bear butt. Reminds me of a safari – all you see it the butt.
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Happy to oblige. There never seems to be enough polar bear tuchis these days….
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I would prefer a museum of stuffed politicians …
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In appropriate poses?
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Yeah. Some come readily to mind …
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😯 😶 Crazy!!! Yet interesting.
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Which also explains my life in general….
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One person’s treasure is another person’s … nightmare:-0
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It was certainly a nightmare for the birds…
☹️
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You do some strange sightseeing young lady!!!
Is Fred doing any falconry lately???
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Strange is so much more interesting!
And no, not in this weather.
😉
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The expression on that’s cat face is my favorite thing today. Total “mood”. He’s like: “Oh, yeah. You’re just gonna shoot me, bro? Okay, then.”
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I imagine him sitting on the mantle of the man who shot him and grinning maniacally 24/7. That might be revenge enough….
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The stuff of nightmares…
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The grinning cat was a trifle disturbing…..
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I would like that place VERY much. The building itself is quite stunning. I’m going to look this up!
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We enjoyed it, but then… we’re a little odd.
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