{"id":214,"date":"2016-11-14T12:48:19","date_gmt":"2016-11-14T12:48:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/conservation\/?p=214"},"modified":"2016-11-15T20:58:19","modified_gmt":"2016-11-15T20:58:19","slug":"new-kids-on-the-bench","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/conservation\/new-kids-on-the-bench\/","title":{"rendered":"New Kids on the Bench"},"content":{"rendered":"
Greetings, and welcome to the first blog of the 2016-17 academic year! We (the new first year students of MSc Conservation Practice) are aiming to maintain this blog during our two years here with updates on our objects, our experiences, and day-to-day lab happenings that we think you might be interested in.\u00a0 There is a lot that goes on in our lab – in any conservation lab – that people outside of it never think about, that we never thought about before arriving here.\u00a0 There are obviously the big things, the \u201cwow, you\u2019re trusting us to touch THAT\u201d things: the X-Ray machines, the laser cleaning system, the 2500 year old sarcophagus.\u00a0 But there are also little things about lab life that, even after two months, we are struggling to remember: how to properly roll a cotton swab (any interest in a tutorial video?), how to adjust your lab chair for maximum comfort (or at least minimum discomfort), how to read and sign a risk assessment for pretty much any lab hazard you can possibly imagine, how to put a new blade on your scalpel without bloodshed (there\u2019s probably a risk assessment for that).<\/p>\n

We\u2019re all a bit overeager and overexcited and overstressed in our first few weeks, with our first few projects, so mostly we\u2019re struggling with what may turn out to be one of the most important lab lessons of all: How To Not Spend Too Much Time in the Lab. Yes, how we fare over the next two years will probably dictate our futures, the lessons about swabbing and desk comfort and X-Ray developing will stand us in good stead for many years to come, but I think it is important for us to learn now that figuring out when to pack up our tools and books and go home to watch Bake Off is very important for our sanity, and certainly for Phil\u2019s sanity.\u00a0 (Sorry Phil).<\/p>\n

So, over the course of the year, we hope to provide you with a variety of glimpses into the lives of conservation students at Cardiff University. Some, like this, may be brief and informal, while others may delve into topics like corrosion chemistry or solubility parameters or how to (and how not to) X-ray iron small finds. <\/p><\/div>\n

Please feel free to leave comments\/questions below! This blog will have several student contributors, and contact details will be provided as applicable. This year\u2019s Blog Managers are Stephanie Whitehead (whiteheads@cardiff.ac.uk) and Aliza Taft (taftad@cardiff.ac.uk).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Greetings, and welcome to the first blog of the 2016-17 academic year! We (the new first year students of MSc Conservation Practice) are aiming to maintain this blog during our […]","protected":false},"author":1131,"featured_media":233,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[10],"class_list":["post-214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-about-cu-conservation","tag-conservation"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4fDDX-3s","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":580,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/conservation\/the-first-few-weeks\/","url_meta":{"origin":214,"position":0},"title":"What to Expect the First few Weeks","author":"Stephanie Whitehead","date":"September 16, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Congratulations and welcome to our new Cardiff University conservation students! We couldn't be more happy to have you. While we look forward to meeting you I am sure most of you are wondering: What happens next? You've packed your suit cases. 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Every so often the department organizes a hike to get us away from our swabs and scalpels and into the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cabinet of Curiosities"","block_context":{"text":"Cabinet of Curiosities","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/conservation\/category\/cabinet-of-curiosities\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/conservation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/228\/2017\/03\/IMG_7758_20170121113449-e1488549457747-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/conservation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/228\/2017\/03\/IMG_7758_20170121113449-e1488549457747-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/conservation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/228\/2017\/03\/IMG_7758_20170121113449-e1488549457747-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/conservation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/228\/2017\/03\/IMG_7758_20170121113449-e1488549457747-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/conservation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/228\/2017\/03\/IMG_7758_20170121113449-e1488549457747-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/conservation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/228\/2017\/03\/IMG_7758_20170121113449-e1488549457747-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":370,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/conservation\/captain-planet-resolutions-for-the-new-year\/","url_meta":{"origin":214,"position":2},"title":"Captain Planet: Resolutions for the New Year","author":"Stephanie Whitehead","date":"January 11, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Happy 2017 to one and all! I hope you are all finding yourselves refreshed and rejuvenated after the winter break. As we all get into the swing of things I thought it would be fun to discuss our goals for the new year. 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Luckily, the department has cultivated some amazing connections with museums around the UK,\u00a0 and even some in the US and Greece. Many of these connections come\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Internships and Placements"","block_context":{"text":"Internships and Placements","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/conservation\/category\/internships-and-placements\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/conservation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/228\/2016\/03\/cardiff-uni2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/conservation\/hello-world\/","url_meta":{"origin":214,"position":4},"title":"Welcome to Conservation@Cardiff!","author":"Nerys Rudder","date":"January 8, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"If you're interested in conservation then you are part of a very special breed of people. \u00a0Part scientist, part artist, part project manager: conservators are the quintessential multi-tasker! \u00a0So what does it take to be a lab-coat wearing, scalpel wielding heritage warrior and what do you have to go through\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "About CU Conservation"","block_context":{"text":"About CU Conservation","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/conservation\/category\/about-cu-conservation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Photographing ongoing treatment of a sarcophagus at Cardiff University. 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