It’s been a busy year in the Lab, and frankly we kind of lost track of our usual Halloween festivities this year. So in lieu of something big, new and grand, I thought I’d share some of the fantastic content we’ve created in years past.
Our Halloween Instagram festivities truly began in 2021 when we hosted five days of Preservation Horrors, complete with a skull rating system and everything!
Day one: Pests
Day Two: Light Damage & Acid Migration
Go to our Instagram feed to see Day 3 (Tape), Day 4 (Brittle Paper), and Day 5 (Water Emergencies).
In 2022 we had another multi-day event called the Haunting of the Preservation Lab where we highlighted tools, equipment and materials that appear in horror movies, but that we also use daily in the Lab. Followed by a fun “actual” haunting of the Lab!
The board shear…always intimidating to new students and staff when they start, and maybe for good reason!?
Solvents are our friends, when used safely…but Chris made a fun mad scientist!
Don’t forget to check out Catarina with the foam saw…it is pretty terrifying! And then there is the Haunting of the Preservation Lab, and part two, which makes question everything…
In 2023 we shared Scary Stories from the Stacks, which included sights from the stacks that strike fear into the hearts of conservation professionals!
Then we received several stories from staff about strange occurrences and happenings in the libraries over the years we recreated those as reels…
Don’t forget to check out the Haunted Stairwell, a ghost story from our much loved colleague Mike Braunlin at the Classics Library.
Then last year we created Halloween Costumes: Conservation Edition, which included last minute costume ideas featuring things you could find around a conservation lab.
Fun fact, we still have the Vigo painting in out back supply room and occasionally it will scare non-team members or new students and we get a chuckle out of it!
Happy Halloween everyone! Stay safe.
Jessica Ebert – Assistant Conservator