Course on microscope slides

Microslide conservation training
Institut national du patrimoine
Departement des restaurateurs
150 avenue du President Wilson
93210 Saint-Denis La Plaine
19-21 November 2012

Continuous training practical session organised by the conservation
department of INP in conjunction with the Paris Natural History
Museum.

Objectives and practical information: Broken, dried out, specimens
detached, yellowed mountants? Specimens mounted on slides (for
viewing microscopically) can become totally obscured or even
dissolve away as well as losing their information.

This course comprises both theory but largely practical work and
should enable those working on microscope slide collections to be
able to conserve them.

Intervenant:

    Simon Moore
    Conservator of Natural Sciences, UK

    Simon Moore worked for many years at the Natural History Museum
    of London where he was fortunate in learning many useful
    techniques for the care and conservation of zoological and other
    natural history specimens. He has since published many articles
    concerning conservation techniques which are gradually becoming
    lost and runs courses to pass this valuable information onto
    others.

Coordination:

    Nathalie le Dantec
    Assistant to the director of studies in the conservation
    department at INP and in charge of continuous training.

This course is relevant to: natural science conservators, collection
managers, heritage workers and, particularly, microscopists.

Price: 795 euros

Day 1
Monday 19 November 2012

    9h30 - 9h50             Welcome and introduction

    9h50 - 10h00            Local logistics, health and safety
                            announcements

                            Sorting of equipment and introductions

    10h00 - 11h15           PowerPoint lecture and questions.

    11h15 - 11h30           Tea/Coffee Break

    11h30 - 12h30           Practical session starts:

                            Examination of deteriorated slides and
                            sorting into groups according to
                            mountants used, types of damage or other
                            problems.

                            Placing of archival slides into xylene
                            to start softening of old mountants.

                            Familiarisation with supplied
                            microscopes.  Analysing slides for
                            treatment (what are the
                            specimens/tissues? Stains used?)

    12h30 - 14h00           Lunch

    14h00 - 17h00           Start testing solubilities for unknown
                            mountants: warm water/alcohol/xylene

                            Glass slide and coverslip cutting, use
                            of writing diamond.

                            Making glass supports for coverslips of
                            bulkier preparations.

                            Start to make card slide mount/s of
                            foraminiferans from foraminiferous sand:
                            sort out appropriate specimens, make up
                            pearl glue (old animal-based adhesive).

                            Writing up reports.

                            There will be another refreshment break
                            in the afternoon for 15 minutes.

Day 2
Tuesday 20 November 2012

    9h30 - 12h30            Continuation of practical work.

                            Check archival slides and start
                            remounting process if sufficiently
                            softened; also for other mountants or
                            change solvent if this has not worked.

                            Check labels for fading, solubility of
                            inks and restore legibility if this has
                            been compromised.

                            There will be a refreshment break in the
                            morning for 15 minutes

    12h30 - 14h00           Lunch

    14h00 - 17h00           Conservation of fluid cell preparations
                            if there are any

                            Continue arranged foraminifera project
                            and to keep trying until perfected.

                            Start to make paper covers for slides.

                            There will be a refreshment break in the
                            morning for 15 minutes

Day 3
Wednesday 21 November 2012

    9h30 - 12h30            Continuation of practical work to
                            completion: how has the replacement
                            mountant performed?

                            Application of sealant and/or ringing
                            paint for completed slides.

                            There will be a refreshment break in the
                            morning for 15 minutes

    12h30 - 14h00           Lunch

    14h00 - 17h00           Completion of reports.

                            There will be a refreshment break in the
                            morning for 15 minutes

Laetitia Letendard
Chargee de l'organisation de la formation permanente
Institut National du Patrimoine
Departement des Restaurateurs
150 avenue du President Wilson
93 210 Saint-Denis La Plaine
+33 49 46 57 04
Fax: +33 49 46 57 01


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 26:15
                 Distributed: Sunday, September 2, 2012
                       Message Id: cdl-26-15-017
                                  ***