'It takes a gentle hand': How the Redpath Museum keeps its exhibits clean

Armed with vacuums, brushes and dusters, staff at McGill's Redpath Museum make sure items like dinosaur fossils and taxidermied birds stay clean and free of dust.

It's not an easy job, with nearly 450,000 thousand pieces in the museum's collection.

But according to Anthony Howell, the collections manager for the natural history division at the Redpath, it can be rewarding.

"Why wouldn't I love the job? I come to work every day, I get to handle material that you otherwise wouldn't be able to handle and see things that I wouldn't otherwise be able to see," said Howell.

Howell cleans about 200 to 400 pieces by hand himself a year. He took CBC Montrealbehind the scenes at the museum to show what it takes.

Meet the man who dusts the Redpath Museum's exhibits by hand

8 years ago

Duration 1:40

Anthony Howell takes us behind the scenes at the museum to show what it takes.