The Edna Lawrence Nature Lab

I worked at the Edna Lawrence Nature Lab at RISD for two years.  While I was there I made a lot of specimen displays.  Here are some examples.  I didn't do any of the taxidermy, just the visual display. 

These are Venus' Flower Baskets (aka euplectella Aspergillum).  They are the remaining skeletal structure of a deep sea sponge.  They are actually amazing little things with amazing historical/cultural significance which I won't go into here (see info card), but suffice it to say that the Victorians loved them and would make fancy displays for them just like this replica.  I made it with Sculptamold and sand, embedded with sea specimens from the Lab collection.  I also researched/designed/wrote copy for the informational card next to the display.

This is a massive dragonfly that I collected a few summers ago on Martha's Vineyard.  Hard to tell from this photo but it's nearly 4 inches across.   I dried and pinned the specimen and mounted it in a glass display box.  Later, the tail broke off :(.

This is the flying squirrel mobile I made which hangs from the Nature Lab ceiling.

This is what I call the "G.I. Joe cicada", because of its army fatigue-like coloration and tiny ruby red bulbs on its forehead which I'm pretty sure are for shooting lasers.

I also found this on the Vineyard and pinned it for the Nature Lab.

This is a baby possum I built this new display for.

And this little beauty is a cross-sectioned, freeze-dried squirrel which I arranged into this display.  I installed a hinge so you can open it up to see its brain and other guts.

This is the mysterious and rare googly Eyegus, as pictured in its natural habitat.  Little is known about these creatures.  There is very little documentation on their activities as they are often misidentified as dust bunnies.