Humble creatures like land snails
now have a reason to hold their heads high _ they've got a
respectable museum dedicated to their kind!
Chulalongkorn University has
announced a new addition to its museums of natural history. It's
called ``The Snail Museum of Thailand''.
Located in the Faculty of Science, the new museum has almost 250
species of these one-footed creatures on display, from the
colourful tree snails and the minuscule microsnails (microscopes
are available so you can see the details of their intricate
shells) to giant carnivorous slugs, alien species and many more.
However, according to Assoc Prof Somsak Panha, leading
malacologist and curator of the new museum, those specimens in the
showcases are merely a small part of the entire collection. Tens
of thousands more specimens, both wet and dried, are kept in the
cupboards both at the museum and in his lab ready for researchers
to use as references.
Of course, the museum is open to the public too. But it is advised
that you make a phone call to Chula's Department of Biology first
so they can arrange to have somebody lead you around and explains
things. A guided tour will not just make your trip to the museum
more fun, but also more eye-opening.
The phone number is 02-218-5375/6.
By the way, if you're going, don't forget to visit the main
Natural History Museum, the Insect Museum and the Turtle Museum
too. They're all in the same building.
