Historical-Didactic Collections | Virtual Center for Zoology Collections

Zoological Collection:

Most of the specimens are on display in the showcases in the corridor of the Zoology Department, which can be visited by students and the general public. The rest of the duplicate specimens or specimens susceptible to restoration are in a space dedicated to heritage collections in the V Centenary Building of the University of Granada.

On an ongoing basis, through teaching innovation projects and the support of the Department of Zoology, the needs for improvement, conservation and visibility of the collection are attended to.

This collection has provided content for the Virtual Museum of the CCZ-UGR website as a support for learning zoology subjects in the different degrees in which the department is involved.

In 2023, the 'Catalog of the Historical-Didactic Collection of the Department of Zoology: A Natural History' was published by Moleón, M. (Coord.). It is available in PDF format for download and viewing by clicking HERE.

Esta publicación ha sido financiada por el Programa de Innovación y Buenas Prácticas Docentes de la UGR, como parte del proyecto "La Colección Histórico-Didáctica del Departamento de Zoología: un recurso inclusivo" (ref.: 22-179). Se trata de un compendio de los contenidos de las vitrinas, en particular, sobre especies incluidas en ellas, con especial énfasis en la "especie destacada" de cada vitrina, investigadores y naturalistas españoles clásicos de cada grupo y sociedades científicas españolas especializadas y sus publicaciones.

Magic Lantern Plates Collection:

During the remodeling works of the Zoology Department carried out in 2012, 5 wooden boxes corresponding to a collection of 436 magic lantern plates were found, 95 of them coming from Les fils d'Émile Deyrolle and the rest manufactured by Radiguet & Massiot (1900). It is a didactic material used for teaching the various zoology subjects taught from the end of the 19th century to the first half of the 20th century.

The magic lantern plates had their peak towards the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, being used both in the academic and recreational fields. With the advent of color slides on flexible media in the mid-20th century, lantern plates fell into disuse.

Thanks to the aid program for the co-financing of University Extension activities of this Vice-rectorate of the University of Granada in the modality of Conservation and dissemination of Heritage, it has been possible to tackle, firstly, the cleaning and restoration of the 436 lantern plates that make up the collection, the storage in individual envelopes of specific material and the restoration of the original wooden boxes that housed them. Subsequently, the plates were catalogued and digitized for the creation of a database on the CCZ-UGR website. In a second stage, the appropriate storage for the collection in specific boxes of photographic material was addressed and all this, together with the original restored boxes, placed in a suitable cabinet located in the collections room of the department with the appropriate humidity and temperature conditions for proper conservation.