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Museum’s dinosaurs are being wiped out… by the sun light!

The remains of the dinosaurs are threatened by the sunlight

Dinosaurs in Oxford are in danger of becoming extinct – because of the sun. They are exhibits at one of Britain’s most prestigious museums which are being ‘destroyed’ due to high levels of ultraviolet light coming from its glass roof.

The remains of the dinosaurs are threatened by the sunlight

Recent hot weather has caused interior temperatures at Oxford University’s Museum of Natural History to rise to 44C (111F), making it as hot as the Sahara Desert.

The museum is housed inside a large Grade I listed building that was constructed in 1859 – with an impressive Victorian glass roof.

But the resulting heat and exposure from ultra violet light is damaging the ancient exhibits including stuffed animals and dinosaur skeletons.

The roof underwent a 14-month extensive restoration project costing £2million in 2013, after a number of the specimens were damaged by rainwater and sunlight.

During the restoration, more than 8,500 glass tiles were removed and resealed, but a layer of UV-protecting film that had become discoloured over the years was removed and not replaced.

The museum currently attracts more than 600,000 visitors a year and offers more than 250,000 specimens.

The damage from the exposure of high levels of UV light is causing ‘rapid and irreversible damage to specimens’.

The museum has now submitted a planning application to install a reflective film to the roof’s glass tiles.

Due to the increased exposure, high temperatures and low humidity from the restoration work three years ago, the results has been having ‘deleterious effect on the collections, and putting them at high risk of irreversible deterioration’, the application states.

The document sent to Oxford City Council adds: ‘In short, they are being destroyed.’

A spokesperson for the University of Oxford said: ‘During 2013-14, the University of Oxford completed a major roof restoration project at its Museum of Natural History, which involved the removal of a protective film that had become degraded and patchy.

‘This film had been installed in response to the now-resolved problem of tiles from the museum tower coming loose and falling on the glass roof, rather than in response to issues over light levels.

Given the possibility that a new film would end up in a similar condition to the previous one, it was decided instead to protect individual exhibit cases with UV film.’

The museum has said that it has been monitoring UV and heat levels closely since it reopened in 2014 and it has now applied for listed building consent to install a solar protective film on the roof, after concerns were raised over the potential impact on exhibits that are not housed within the UV protected cases.

Plans to install a better ventilation system are also thought to be being drawn up in an effort to decrease the temperature inside the building, making it more comfortable for staff and visitors.

The recommended maximum temperature for collections at the museum is also understood to be 25 degrees (77F).

The spokesman added: ‘This will reduce the incoming UV radiation by approximately 99.9%, adding further protection to the museum’s exhibits, none of which have thus far suffered any major deterioration but which are at risk over the longer term.

‘The planned work should also provide a more comfortable experience for our visitors during the summer months.

‘Because of the Grade I-listed status of the museum building, steps to manage the environmental conditions in the museum have been taken progressively rather than wholesale, with the impact of each step being assessed along the way.’

UM– USEKE.RW

NIZEYIMAMA JEAN