Recoloring the Animals in the Dioramas

Fluorescent lighting, embraced by diorama artists in the 1940s for its cool, blue-sky effect, eventually caused animal skins to fade, bleaching dark fur blond. To restore scientific accuracy, conservators searched for a just-right colorant that was light-stable, reversible or retreatable, and that wouldn't clump, mat, or bind the fur. The solution was a series of carefully mixed shades of a commercial dye. The restored Hall of North American Mammals reopened October 2012. CREDITS: PHOTOGRAPHY AMNH/Conservation Department VIDEO AMNH/J. Bauerle AMNH/J. Reynolds S. Sfarra *** Subscribe to our channel: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=AMNHorg Check out our full video catalog: http://www.youtube.com/user/AMNHorg Facebook: http://fb.com/naturalhistory Twitter: http://twitter.com/amnh Tumblr: http://amnhnyc.tumblr.com/ Instagram: http://instagram.com/amnh ***