When you pop your head into an office or lab here at the Museum, you never know what you’re going to find. Often it’s someone frowning at a computer while they’re crunching data or responding to email. Once in a while it’s someone squinting into a microscope. And every so often you stumble across real action. Trays of fish being sorted, carts of plant samples being digitized or boxes of jars of invertebrates being examined and labeled.

Today we found Ann Cordell in the ceramics lab reconstructing a ceramic vessel from approximately 1000 B.C. to 500 B.C. From the dark areas, which are numbered artifacts, she extrapolates the rest of the vessel based on her vast experience with the type of pottery and origin.

This ceramic vessel is being carefully reconstructed from partial artifacts found at a dig site. Florida Museum photo by Radha Krueger

This ceramic vessel is being carefully reconstructed from partial artifacts found at a dig site. Florida Museum photo by Radha Krueger

Although we stay ahead of the newest technology, the Museum also holds on to older equipment and furnishings, like this old cabinet in the Ceramics Lab. Florida Museum photo by Radha Krueger

All of our labs have properly posted safety signs in areas staff need to be aware of specific work being done. In the Ceramics Lab, there’s always something interesting being worked on. Florida Museum photo by Radha Krueger