This was my first time attending a Becker-Rose Cafe, and I was surely not disappointed. I got the opportunity to see Drew Harvell, a Cornell professor who works in conservation oceanography, and her new film, Fragile Legacy. The film details the legacy that the Blaschka family has left behind with their glass renditions of undersea life.

The Blaschka models acutely represent the species and organisms of marine ecosystems, serving as time capsules to measure times of today against that of the 1870s. These models have encouraged scientists to preserve marine life for the sake of keeping these organisms the same. The collection of glass replicas were held for the most part in the National Museum of Ireland. In 1885, Cornell’s first president Andrew Dickson White purchased 500 glass figures from the collection to use in Cornell for the study and teaching of marine biology. These collections have long since been forgotten until the 1960s however, when the collection was subsequently moved to the Corning Glass Museum. Dr. Harvell has worked for 25 years on moving the Blaschka models back to Cornell’s campus and restoring the models back to their original states in order to be studied.

During her talk, she addressed that even some of the most basic organisms, like the common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) was difficult to reassemble and restore; many of these glass pieces are very, very fragile and the paints are very easy to remove with even slightly sweaty hands. One must take extreme care when handling these models. I found learning about these models to be quite fascinating, especially considering the fact that some of the models can be viewed on the bottom floor of Corson Mudd Hall on campus. I was also really fascinated to learn about the fragility of not just the models, but of the undersea life as well. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have become a necessity in underwater excavations in order to protect the life in those habitats and their biodiversity. As an example, Harvell addressed a current ongoing epidemic involving starfish. Starfish in Australia and China have been exposed to a disease that is currently wiping out the starfish in those areas; unfortunately a cure has not been developed yet.

Though I’m not a marine science (or any kind of science) major, I would love to look more into Harvell’s work. More information regarding her work and her film can be found at Fragilelegacy.info.