Conservation Storage – Meteorite Cabinets
The Meteorite Collection at The Natural History Museum is one of the oldest and most comprehensive research collections in the world. NHM work has been at the forefront of meteoritical research since its inception, with extra-terrestrial minerals being discovered, and classification schemes devised at the NHM. Furthermore, the collection supports research internationally, with an average of 60 loans per year (~ 300 specimens) to scientists across the world. The curation of these meteorites is paramount to the success of NHM's research, and that of scientists internationally, as meteorites are susceptible to oxidation (due to high metal content) and contamination by terrestrial sources.
Meteorite specimens are precious and rare, and vulnerable to contamination as well as potential degradation in sub-optimal conditions. Thus, the Meteorite storage cabinets required had to provide a buffer to changes in the local environment and prevent organic and metal contamination, as well as allowing access to specimens and minimising the effect of movement (i.e. on opening and closing drawers).
Specific concerns were:
- Changes in temperature and humidity which increases cracking and the rate of contamination reactions.
- High humidity increases the oxidation of iron nickel metal (a major component of most meteorites).
To form part of its range of Collections Furniture Rotadex was able to design Meteorite storage cabinets to meet the requirements of The Natural History Museum. Rotadex Meteorite cabinets are made from galvanised steel with a powder coat finish of not less than 60 microns thickness. Product Dimensions: Height 1045mm x Width 585mm x Depth 470mm.
Drawer runners are inserted and fixed into place with bump-stops to the rear of each pair to soften the landing of the specimen trays that are used to store the meteorite samples. The cabinets and door are of double-skin manufacture with the inside of the door fully enclosed to prevent any access to the cabinets by bugs from the outside.
All joints and doors are sealed with a specific conservation grade inert sealant and silicone free rubber approved by the Natural History Museum, London. This is to prevent pest ingress and also to maintain an inert internal environment.
All cabinets meet the NHM requirements set out below:
- Museum quality, with a non-off gassing coating to BS 3900
- Securely lockable
- Sealed/closed-cell with very low gas-exchange values (0.1 ideal up to 0.3 AER acceptable)
- Smooth opening/closing drawers with minimal vibration
- Fully removable/flexible drawers and shelves to allow for changing future arrangements
- Allow for inclusion of desiccant within cabinet (e.g. an ~A5 sized cassette)
- Cabinets are stable with a long life expectancy (the NHM collection is 250 years old).
Each cabinet incorporates fixing holes to join them top-to-bottom; side-to-side and back-to-back to prevent any vibration to the cabinet lines or contents due to the fragility of the specimens.