Ask a Curator

The most unusual object I've come across at the museum is this one. Now this is a small black case with a glass front and inside there is quite a large insect lying on some cotton wool and a hand written label on the top that says Lucy lived in the museum 6th February to the 3rd of October 1929. We think Lucy is a locust which is a type of insect which isn't native to the UK but we can't be sure why and how Lucy came to be living here at the museum. Its possible that she was in one of the galleries in a display case or that she lived in one of the curators offices, its even possible that she was bought as a meal for a larger animal and some how managed to survive this fate. The fact that we will probably never know the answer to these questions actually makes this object more intriguing to me and perhaps you can think of a story for yourself as to why and how Lucy came to be living here at the museum all those years ago.

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