Spatterdock vacuum-form mold (2 of 2), circa 1950s-1970s

Item — Object: 21

Identifier: Mem_inv_267

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Vacuum-form mold used to make spatterdock leaves for exhibits, possibly between the 1950s and the 1970s.

Vacuum forming involves heating a sheet of plastic to a forming temperature. The sheet is then forced against a mold using a machine vacuum which draws the hot pliable plastic sheets over the leaf plaster molds. This process picks up and transfers all the details of the leaf mold to the plastic sheet. After the sheet cools, each leaf is cut out and has a wire attached to it. Each leaf is then airbrush is natural color. Metal squeeze molds can also be used instead of plaster. In this case, plastic sheets are placed between the molds and clamped tightly under very hot water so that they can take the impression.  

Dates

Usage: circa 1950s-1970s

Extent

1 Objects

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Additional Description

Physical Location

Cat 5-5 D-2

Bibliography

The American Museum of Natural History: an introduction, C. Ray, 1972.

Quinn, Stephen C. Windows on Nature: The Great Habitat Dioramas of the American Museum of Natural History. New York: Abrams; New York: American Museum of Natural History, 2006.