Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Staff Contact:

Andrea J. Burney

Director of Public Relations &

Minority Concerns

ASIAN SHEEP DISPLAY NEWEST EXHIBIT AT

DCC’S WOMACK MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

Richard Bliss, left, retired Danville Community College

Biology Professor, and Mack Williams, right, Director of

the Estelle H. Womack Museum of Natural History, stand

in front of the museum’s newest exhibit -- the Asian Sheep

collection, donated by Dr. Bruce Thatcher of Pennsylvania.

DANVILLE, VA, September 16, 2003-- Through the gift of Dr. Bruce Thatcher and the artful work of Richard Bliss, the Estelle H. Womack Museum of Natural History on the campus of Danville Community College now has a wonderful collection of Asian sheep for the public to enjoy. The eight-specimen collection includes the Siberian Snow Sheep, Chinese Blue Sheep, Iranian Mouflon, and Armenian Mouflon, and others. The striking new exhibit features the sheep perched on various rocky ledges built by Bliss.

Thatcher, a dental specialist in Pennsylvania, collected the specimens through various safaris he has traveled around the world. In December 2002, he also donated an array of pelts.

“He (Thatcher) wanted to invest in the museum,” says Martha Walker, Director of Institutional Advancement and Executive Director of the DCC Educational Foundation. Walker also expressed appreciation to the Danville Lions Foundation, which funded the mounting of the specimens and the creation of the exhibit. Walker said the Asian sheep collection has been appraised at more than $196,000.

Bliss, a retired DCC Biology professor and long-time curator, was instrumental in establishing the Museum. He created the mount for the sheep and also prepared the exhibit. The actual building and mounting process took approximately four months. He noted that this does not include the time spent for initial planning and preparation. The result is a new exhibit for the whole family to enjoy.

The Estelle H. Womack Museum of Natural History is open Tuesdays-Sundays, from 2 to 5 p.m., and at other times by appointment. For more information or to make an appointment, please contact Mack Williams, Museum Director, at (434) 797-8498 or toll free (800) 560-4291 ext. 8498.