“Eye of newt and toe of frog...”

The three witches in Shakespeare’s MacBeth could have picked up most of the ingredients for their potions at Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s  Alcohol House. Constructed in 1907, the collection contains more than 250,000 preserved reptile and amphibian specimens.

Until recently, the facility has only been open to researchers, but, with a grant from the National Science Foundation, plans are underway to improve preservation of the collection and to make the space accessible to students and visitors. The study of the extinct or critically endangered specimens in the collection will be beneficial to researchers and students as they examine our changing environment.



For more fascinating photos of the Alcohol House and the work that’s
being  done there, visit the Alcohol House curatorial assistant Kaylin Martin’s
Instagram account:  queen of jars