Dear Conchlers,

today on our national feast day in Austria (26. 10. 2000) most of the
museums are open to
show their collections to the public without payment. There are also guided
visists and
I had the oppurtinity to show a small part of the mollusc collection of our
museum, not in my office and collecting room at the natural history
department, but on large table. I had also my microscope with me and showed
also microshells to the people. Also some of the newest donations I
presented to the public. The interest to see the museum and it's
collection was great and we had more than 1 300 people today, which is
enormous for
Innsbruck The people were really impressed of the shells and didn't really
know much
about them. Most of the shells, especially the micros, were unknown and they
caused asthonishment. About 800 - 1000 people viewed through my microscope,
many
of them children and pupils of different schools. A kid of 4 years looked
through my large standing - light magnifier, which I installed too, and
looked
below it and saw the small shells under it (some Rissoidae) and cried: "Pa,
look,
how small the shells are" (in that sense).
It was exciting how interested will get the people in nature.
with best regards from Innsbruck.
Helmut

Helmut "Helix" Nisters
private:
Franz-Fischer-Str. 46
A-6020 Innsbruck / Austria / Europe
phone: 0043 / 512 / 57 32 14
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
website: www.netwing.at/nisters
office:
Natural History Department of the
Tiroler Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum Innsbruck
Feldstrasse 11a
A-6020 Innsbruck / Austria / Europe
phone: 0043 / 512 / 58 72 86 - 37
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
website: www.tiroler-landesmuseum.at