On Thursday the Greenbuds and Mens group combined and headed along to the McManus Galleries Collection Unit. The building was originally the museum itself until it moved to its present location. The building is now used to store and catalogue new and old items that the museum doesn't have room to show.
When we first arrived we were met in the lobby by our fantastic hosts David and Mike who explained the role of the Collections Unit. The lobby itself had a huge variety of interesting things including a range of model boats, different mounted animals heads and an original concept model of the Murraygate Dragon statue.
After the introductions we went downstairs to the Natural History section where we saw pure tonnes o' bonnie animals.
We then walked through to the next section which had fossils, stones and ancient pottery. After this we went all the way upstairs to another section which seemed to be a big mishmash of different things including plants, trees, lichens, mosses, plant seeds, more animals and loads of other things.
The seed below is from Ibicella lutea which is a species of flowering plant known by the common names devil's claw, unicorn plant, martynia, proboscis flower, and ram's horn. It grows in dry conditions, such as those in desert regions. The name "devil's claw" comes from the shape of the double-clawed seed pods. The sharp-toothed claws on the pods attach to large animals that brush against them, acting as the plant's method of dispersal.
After this we moved on to the last section which included butterflies, moths and a model sailfish.
This concluded another great day out with DAMH. A great day was had by all.
