Blaschka model of a radiolarian
A stunning glass model of a plankton, called a radiolarian, created in the nineteenth century by the famous artisans Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka.
These amazing glass models are currently undergoing conservation at the Museum. They were made by Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka (father and son) between 1886 and 1889) and they show a species of radiolarian called Dorataspis diodon (Haeckel, 1862).
Radiolarians are small, single-celled drifting (nektonic) plankton with silica-based 'skeletons' called tests. The size of the model is 15 x 17cm but radiolarians are really microscopic, about 0.035 µm by 0.06 µm (1µm is only one thousandth of a millimetre).
There is some suggestion that this batch of models may have been ordered in 1886. They are mentioned in the Catalogue of Glass Models of Invertebrate Animals (1888) by Henry Ward, Rochester, N.Y. This is one of 18 protozoan models registered within the Zoology Department of the Museum in 1889. It has the catalogue number 642.
Toolbox
In World War II the Museum was used as a secret base to develop new gadgets for allied spies, including an exploding rat!