Launching shipping containers from the roof, for science.

Our insect museum hosted a demonstration on the basics of shipping delicate dried and pinned insect specimens. The visiting class was the 'Museum Research and Curation' graduate course, taught by Dr. Eric Roalson, and it integrates all the natural history museums on the WSU campus. After a tour of the museum and our imaging system, Silas Bossert led the students in how to properly brace and pack pinned specimens to be ready to be shipped around the world -- hopefully without breaking. Loan shipments are an important component of insect collection management. Silas purposely packed his incorrectly, and was the only one with a broken-off insect head and a few broken legs. 

Ready to throw the shipping boxes off the roof.

All boxes thrown off after a countdown.