The Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery (RAMM) in Exeter cares for over 300 specimens of starfish and their relatives from the HMS Challenger (1872-76) voyage.
HMS Challenger and RAMM
Walter Percy Sladen was a world expert on echinoderms (starfish, sea urchins and their relatives). He wrote the report on the Asteroidea (starfish) collected during the voyage and produced the accompanying volume of illustrations.
He had a large collection of echinoderms which were donated to RAMM after his death. This included some of the specimens he studied from HMS Challenger. RAMM also has his extensive library of books including all 50 Challenger Report volumes and many rare papers and publications on echinoderms.
HMS Challenger on display
Constance Sladen paid for a gallery to be built at RAMM in her husband’s memory. Sladen’s Study has altered very little since it was created in about 1910. Many of the specimens on display are from HMS Challenger and are clearly marked. Two of the original HMS Challenger reports are also displayed.
About RAMM
RAMM cares for world-class collections that document the natural, social and cultural history of the city and its environs within a regional, national and international context. It provides access to them and safeguards them for future generations.
The Museum is a public body funded by Exeter City Council. As a Major Partner Museum, it also receives sponsorship from Arts Council England.
Wider collections
RAMM cares for a wonderful and diverse collection consisting of over one million individual objects and specimens from all over the globe. They are divided into the following curatorial departments: antiquities; ethnography; natural history, decorative and fine arts.
The collections contain items of local, national and international importance, and many are of outstanding historical or cultural significance.
The collections can be explored online.
Resources
Biography of Percy Sladen
The origins of RAMM
Using RAMM’s data
Permission has been given to use specimen information and photographs in accordance with Creative Commons CC BY NC SA.
Contact Us
If you wish to know more about RAMM’s specimens please send an email.