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66-531: The Field Museum of Natural History ( FMNH ), also known as The Field Museum , is a natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois , and is one of the largest such museums in the world. The museum is popular for the size and quality of its educational and scientific programs, and its extensive scientific specimen and artifact collections. The permanent exhibitions, which attract up to 2 million visitors annually, include fossils , current cultures from around

132-488: A shrine to the cat goddess Bastet , and dioramas showing the afterlife preparation process for the dead. In 2024 the museum performed CT scans on 26 of their mummies. The Ancient Americas displays 13,000 years of human ingenuity and achievement in the Western Hemisphere, where hundreds of diverse societies thrived long before the arrival of Europeans. In this large permanent exhibition visitors can learn

198-632: A consortium of museums in or near the University of Chicago , formed Museum Campus South. Also in 2014, filmmaker George Lucas selected Museum Campus as the location of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art , which would have cost an estimated $ 700 million, and expanded Museum Campus south along the city's waterfront. However, these plans were canceled in June 2016 due to opposition from the Friends of

264-487: A glimpse into what life was like for ancient Egyptians . Twenty-three human mummies are on display as well as many mummified animals. The exhibit features a three-story replica (featuring two authentic rooms with 5,000-year-old hieroglyphs ) of the mastaba tomb of Unas-Ankh , the son of Unas (the last pharaoh of the Fifth Dynasty ). Also displayed are an ancient marketplace showing artifacts of everyday life,

330-503: A large collection of diamonds and gems from around the world, and also includes a Louis Comfort Tiffany stained glass window. The Hall of Jades focuses on Chinese jade artifacts spanning 8,000 years. The Robert A. Pritzker Center for Meteoritics and Polar Studies contains a large collection of fossil meteorites . The Underground Adventure gives visitors a bug's-eye look at the world beneath their feet. Visitors can see what insects and soil look like from that size, while learning about

396-402: A major research resource for the national and international scientific community , supporting extensive research that tracks environmental changes , benefits homeland security , public health and safety , and serves taxonomy and systematics research . Many of Field Museum's collections rank among the top ten collections in the world, e.g., the bird skin collection ranks fourth worldwide;

462-622: A merchant named Marshall Field to fund the establishment of a museum. Originally titled the Columbian Museum of Chicago in honor of its origins, the Field Museum was incorporated by the State of Illinois on September 16, 1893, for the purpose of the "accumulation and dissemination of knowledge, and the preservation and exhibition of artifacts illustrating art, archaeology, science and history". The Columbian Museum of Chicago occupied

528-499: A mixed bag of state or provincial support as well as university funding, causing differing systems of development and goals. Opportunities for a new public audience coupled with overflowing artifact collections led to a new design for natural history museums. A dual arrangement of museums was pioneered by J. Edward Gray, who worked with the British Museum in the 1860s. This layout separated the science-producing researcher from

594-548: A modern Tahitian market. The final portion of the exhibit is dedicated to the ceremonial arts of the Pacific peoples. The majority of the collection was gathered by curator Albert Buell Lewis . Building upon Lewis' desire to portray cultures as living and participative, the exhibit was intentionally designed to demonstrate how the Pacific Islands interact with the contemporary world. The Grainger Hall of Gems consists of

660-688: A natural history museum is to provide the scientific community with current and historical specimens for their research, which is to improve our understanding of the natural world. Some museums have public exhibits to share the beauty and wonder of the natural world with the public; these are referred to as 'public museums'. Some museums feature non-natural history collections in addition to their primary collections, such as ones related to history, art, and science. Renaissance cabinets of curiosities were private collections that typically included exotic specimens of national history, sometimes faked, along with other types of object. The first natural history museum

726-487: A record for the fossilized remains of a T. rex until Trix was found in 2013. In December 2018 after revisions of the skeletal assembly were made to reflect new concepts of Sue's structure, display of the skeleton was moved into a new suite in The Griffin Halls of Evolving Planet . Professionally managed and maintained specimen and artifact collections, such as those at the Field Museum of Natural History, are

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792-654: A significant portion of the "Farming Villagers" display. The Empire Builders display includes Aztec and Incan artifacts gathered in the 19th century. The Ancient Americas exhibit transitions to the Alsdorf Hall of Northwest Coast and Arctic Peoples and eventually the Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories exhibit. This emphasizes the thematic unity of the Field Museum's American collections. Cultural exhibitions include sections on Tibet and China , where visitors can view traditional clothing. There

858-418: A small fraction of the specimens and artifacts are publicly displayed. The vast majority of specimens and artifacts are used by a wide range of people in the museum and around the world. Field Museum curatorial faculty and their graduate students and postdoctoral trainees use the collections in their research and in training e.g., in formal high school and undergraduate training programs. Researchers from all over

924-513: A variety of geographical areas including the Sahara and East African rift valley. The final section is dedicated to the African diaspora with a particular focus on the impact of the slave trade on the continent. The Africa permanent exhibit owes most of its collection to the efforts of Wilfred D. Hambly. This extensive permanent exhibition covers two culture areas that were vitally important to

990-527: Is F and it is used when citing housed specimens. Targeted collecting in the US and abroad for research programs of the curatorial and collection staff continuously add high quality specimen material and artifacts; e.g., Dr. Robert Inger 's collection of frogs from Borneo as part of his research into the ecology and biodiversity of the Indonesian fauna . Collecting of specimens and acquisition of artifacts

1056-803: Is a 57-acre (23 ha) park in Chicago along Lake Michigan . It encompasses five of the city's major attractions: the Adler Planetarium , America's first planetarium; the Shedd Aquarium ; the Field Museum of Natural History ; Soldier Field , home of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League ; and the Lakeside Center of McCormick Place . Spanning from Roosevelt Road in the north to

1122-548: Is a research library containing over 2,000 herpetological books and an extensive reprint collection. The Field Museum's Double Elephant folio of Audubon's The Birds of America is one of only two known copies that were arranged in taxonomic order. Additionally, it contains all 13 composite plates. The Field's copy belonged to Audubon's family physician Dr. Benjamin Phillips. The Field Museum offers opportunities for informal and more structured public learning. Exhibitions remain

1188-483: Is a result of a changing attitude towards Native Americans that emphasized Native peoples instead of Native artifacts. This exhibit is dedicated to the natural and cultural history of the Pacific Islands and is organized into five different sections: the natural history of the islands, the cultural origins of Pacific Islanders, a canoe display, an ethnographic collection showcasing New Guinea's Huon Gulf , and

1254-496: Is also an exhibit on life in Africa , where visitors can learn about the many different cultures on the continent, and an exhibit where visitors may "visit" several Pacific Islands . The museum houses an authentic 19th-century Māori Meeting House , Ruatepupuke II, from Tokomaru Bay , New Zealand . Additionally, the Field Museum's Northwest Coast Collections showcase the early work of Franz Boas and Frederic Ward Putnam 's work with

1320-462: Is nowadays subject to clearly spelled-out policies and standards, with the goal to acquire only materials and specimens for which the provenance can be established unambiguously. All collecting of biological specimens is subject to proper collecting and export permits ; frequently, specimens are returned to their country of origin after study. Field Museum stands among the leading institutions developing such ethics standards and policies; Field Museum

1386-699: Is widely acknowledged, enabling analyses of distribution shifts due to climate changes, land use changes and others. During the World's Columbian Exposition, all acquired specimens and objects were on display; the purpose of the World's Fair was exhibition of these materials. For example, just after opening of the Columbian Museum of Chicago, the mollusk collection occupied one entire exhibit hall, displaying 3,000 species of mollusks on about 1,260 square feet (117 m). By 1910, 20,000 shell specimens were on display, with an additional 15,000 "in storage". Only

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1452-661: The Kwakwakaʼwakw (Kwakiutl) people in the Alsdorf Hall of Northwest Coast and Arctic Peoples. Finally, the Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories permanent exhibition displays the Field Museum's current collaborative efforts with the indigenous people of North America. The Africa cultural hall opened at the Field Museum in November 1993. It offers 14 different displays that are primarily ethnographic in nature. Several African countries are exhibited as well as

1518-606: The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. The museum has maintained its reputation through continuous growth, expanding the scope of collections and its scientific research output, in addition to its award-winning exhibitions, outreach publications, and programs. The Field Museum is part of Chicago's lakefront Museum Campus that includes the John G. Shedd Aquarium and the Adler Planetarium . In 2015, it

1584-568: The YouTube channel The Brain Scoop , hiring its host Emily Graslie full-time as 'Chief Curiosity Correspondent'. The Museum's curatorial and scientific staff in the departments of Anthropology, Botany, Geology, and Zoology conducts basic research in systematic biology and anthropology, besides its responsibility for collections management, and educational programs. It has long maintained close links, including joint teaching, students, seminars, with

1650-643: The man-eating lions of Tsavo . The Mfuwe man eating lion is also on display. Evolving Planet follows the evolution of life on Earth over 4 billion years. The exhibit showcases fossils of single-celled organisms , Permian synapsids , dinosaurs , extinct mammals , and early hominids . The Field Museum's non-mammalian synapsid collection consists of over 1100 catalogued specimens, including 46 holotypes. The collection of basal synapsids includes 29 holotypes of caseid , ophiacodontid , edaphosaurid , varanopid , and sphenacodontid species – approximately 88% of catalogued specimens. Inside Ancient Egypt offers

1716-519: The Ancient Americas. Throughout the exhibit, collections are displayed in a way that emphasizes the cultural context of the artifacts. The six displays draw from the Field Museum's massive North America collection. Significant collections utilized by the exhibit include pre-Columbian artifacts gathered by Mayanists Edward H. Thompson and John E. S. Thompson. Additionally, former curator Paul Sidney Martin's American Southwest collection makes up

1782-464: The Field Museum's curator of North American archaeology and ethnology James VanStone. The Cyrus Tang Hall of China opened as a permanent exhibition in 2015. The hall consists of five sections: Diverse Landscapes, Ritual and Power, Shifting Power, Beliefs and Practices, and Crossing Boundaries. The first three sections are organized chronologically while the final two sections are organized by theme. Three hundred and fifty objects are displayed throughout

1848-657: The First World Congress on the Preservation and Conservation of Natural History Collections took place in Madrid, from 10 May 1992 to 15 May 1992. While the museum buildings where collections of artifacts were displayed started to overflow with materials, the prospect of a new building space would take years to build. As wealthy nations began to collect exotic artifacts and organisms from other countries, this problem continued to worsen. Museum funding came from

1914-545: The University of Chicago and the University of Illinois at Chicago. Professional symposia and lectures, like the annual A. Watson Armour III Spring Symposium, present scientific results to the international scientific community and the public at large. The museum used to publish four peer-reviewed monograph series issued under the collective title Fieldiana , devoted to anthropology , botany , geology and zoology . Natural history museum The primary role of

1980-687: The advancement of analytic techniques, new data can be gleaned from specimens that may have been collected more than 150 years ago. The library at the Field Museum was organized in 1893 for the museum's scientific staff, visiting researchers, students, and members of the general public as a resource for research, exhibition development and educational programs. The 275,000 volumes of the Main Research Collections concentrate on biological systematics, environmental and evolutionary biology, anthropology, botany, geology, archaeology, museology and related subjects. The Field Museum Library includes

2046-644: The areas of anthropology, botany, geology and zoology and documents the history and architecture of the museum, its exhibitions, staff and scientific expeditions. In 2008 two collections from the Photo Archives became available via the Illinois Digital Archives (IDA): The World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 and Urban Landscapes of Illinois. In April 2009, the Photo Archives became part of Flickr Commons . The Karl P. Schmidt Memorial Herpetological Library, named for Karl Patterson Schmidt

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2112-454: The basis for the museum's scientific-research programs. These collections include the full range of existing biodiversity , gems , meteorites , fossils , and extensive anthropological collections and cultural artifacts from around the globe. The museum's library, which contains over 275,000 books, journals, and photo archives focused on biological systematics, evolutionary biology, geology, archaeology, ethnology and material culture, supports

2178-412: The biodiversity of soil and the importance of healthy soil. On May 17, 2000, the Field Museum unveiled Sue , the largest T. rex specimen discovered at the time. Sue has a length of 40.5 feet (12.3 m), stands 13 feet (4.0 m) tall at the hips, and has been estimated at 8.4–14 metric tons (9.26–15.4 short tons ) as of 2018. The specimen is estimated to be 67 million years old. The fossil

2244-399: The biological perspective in exhibits to teach the public more about the functional relationships between organisms. This required the expertise of zoologist and botanist. As this kind of work was not typical for educated scientists of the time, the new profession of curator developed. Natural history collections are invaluable repositories of genomic information that can be used to examine

2310-499: The drive itself is lined with a number of grand bronze monuments: a 1904 sculpture designed by Kazimierz Chodziński commemorating Thaddeus Kościuszko , relocated from Humboldt Park in 1978; a 1911 monument to Karel Havlíček Borovský relocated from Douglass Park in 1983; and a 1973 replica of a famous 19th-century statue in Warsaw , designed by Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen , depicting Nicholas Copernicus . In 2014,

2376-554: The early work of the Field Museum—the Arctic and Pacific Northwest . The Pacific Northwest collection is more extensive, but both collections are organized into four categories: subsistence, village and society, the spiritual world, and art. Major displays include a variety of dioramas and a large collection of totem poles . The current permanent exhibition has its origins in the Maritime Peoples hall created by

2442-484: The epic story of the peopling of these continents, from the Arctic to the tip of South America. The exhibit consists of six displays: Ice Age Hunters, Innovative Hunters and Gatherers, Farming Villagers, Powerful Leaders, Rulers and Citizens, and Empire Builders. Visitors are encouraged to begin with Ice Age Hunters and conclude with Empire Builders. In this way, visitors can understand the cultural and economic progression of

2508-534: The existing holdings. Despite the passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act in 1990, the Field Museum is estimated to hold more than 1000 Native American remains that have not been repatriated. Collection management requires meticulous record keeping . Handwritten ledgers captured specimen and artifact data in the past. Field Museum was an early adopter of computerization of collection data beginning in

2574-414: The first natural-looking mammal and bird specimens for exhibition as well as for study. Field Museum curators developed standards and best practices for the care of collections. Conservators at the Field Museum have made notable contributions to conservation science with methods of preservation of artifacts including the use of pheromone trapping for control of webbing clothes moths . The Field Museum

2640-510: The five galleries. These artifacts are a sample chosen from the Field Museum's significant China collection. This collection was gathered by the sinologist Berthold Laufer . Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories opened as a permanent exhibition in 2021. This exhibit is an extensive renovation of the former Native American Hall at the Field Museum. Native Truths utilizes about 400 artifacts to interpret Native American culture and history while also addressing modern-day challenges. The exhibition

2706-636: The following collections: This private collection of Edward E. Ayer , the first president of the museum, contains virtually all the important works in the history of ornithology and is especially rich in color-illustrated works. The working collection of Dr. Berthold Laufer , America's first sinologist and Curator of Anthropology until his death in 1934, consists of about 7,000 volumes in Chinese , Japanese , Tibetan , and numerous Western languages on anthropology, archaeology , religion, science, and travel. The photo archives contain over 250,000 images in

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2772-401: The histories of biodiversity and environmental change. Collaborations between museums and researchers worldwide are enabling scientists to unravel ecological and evolutionary relationships such as the domestication of the horse , using genetic samples from museum collections. New methods and technologies are being developed to support museomics . Museum Campus Museum Campus

2838-476: The late 1970s. Field Museum contributes its digitized collection data to a variety of online groups and platforms, such as: HerpNet , VertNet and Antweb , Global Biodiversity Information Facility (also known as GBif), and others. All Field Museum collection databases are unified and currently maintained in KE EMu software system. The research value of digitized specimen data and georeferenced locality data

2904-781: The mollusk collection is among the five largest in North America; the fish collection is ranked among the largest in the world. The scientific collections of the Field Museum originate from the specimens and artifacts assembled between 1891 and 1893 for the World Columbian Exposition. Already at its founding, the Field Museum had a large anthropological collection. A large number of the early natural history specimens were purchased from Ward's Natural History Establishment in Rochester, New York . An extensive acquisition program, including large expeditions conducted by

2970-516: The museum acquired the largest collection of birds and bird descriptions, from artist, and ornithologist Daniel Giraud Elliot . In 1894, Elliot would become the curator of the Department of Zoology at the museum, where he worked until 1906. In order to house, for future generations, the exhibits and collections assembled including those for the World's Columbian Exposition , Edward Ayer convinced

3036-780: The museum by collectors and donors , such as the Boone collection of over 3,500 East Asian artifacts, consisting of books, prints and various objects. In addition, "orphaned collections" were and are taken in from other institutions such as universities that change their academic programs away from collections-based research. For example, already beginning in 1907, Field Museum accepted substantial botanical specimen collections from universities such as University of Chicago , Northwestern University and University of Illinois at Chicago , into its herbarium . These specimens are maintained and continuously available for researchers worldwide. The Index Herbariorum code assigned to this botanic garden

3102-891: The museum was known as the Chicago Natural History Museum . In 1921, the Museum moved from its original location in Jackson Park to its present site on Chicago Park District property near downtown Chicago. By the late 1930s the Field Museum had emerged as one of the three premier museums in the United States, the other two being the American Museum of Natural History in New York City and the National Museum of Natural History at

3168-447: The museum's academic-research faculty and exhibit development. The academic faculty and scientific staff engage in field expeditions , in biodiversity and cultural research on every continent, in local and foreign student training, and in stewardship of the rich specimen and artifact collections. They work in close collaboration with public programming exhibitions and education initiatives. In 1869, and before its formal establishment,

3234-472: The museum's curatorial staff resulted in substantial collection growth. During the first 50 years of the museum's existence, over 440 Field Museum expeditions acquired specimens from all parts of the world. In addition, material was added through purchase, such as H. N. Patterson 's herbarium in 1900, and the Strecker butterfly collection in 1908. Extensive specimen material and artifacts were given to

3300-526: The natural history museum was a new space for public interaction with the natural world. Museums began to change the way they exhibited their artifacts, hiring various forms of curators, to refine their displays. Additionally, they adopted new approaches to designing exhibits. These new ways of organizing would support learning of the lay audience. Organised by the League of Nations , the first International Museography Congress happened in Madrid in 1934. Again,

3366-596: The only building remaining from the World's Columbian Exposition in Jackson Park, the Palace of Fine Arts. It is now home to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry . In 1905, the museum's name was changed to Field Museum of Natural History to honor its first major benefactor and to reflect its focus on the natural sciences. Stanley Field was the president in 1906. During the period from 1943 to 1966,

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3432-413: The possibility of diverse audiences, instead adopting the view of an expert as the standard. The mid-eighteenth century saw an increased interest in the scientific world by the middle class bourgeoisie who had greater time for leisure activities, physical mobility and educational opportunities than in previous eras. Other forms of science consumption, such as the zoo, had already grown in popularity. Now,

3498-568: The primary means of informal education, but throughout its history the Museum has supplemented this approach with innovative educational programs. The Harris Loan Program, for example, begun in 1912, reaches out to children in Chicago area schools, offering artifacts, specimens, audiovisual materials, and activity kits. The Department of Education, begun in 1922, offers classes, lectures, field trips, museum overnights and special events for families, adults and children. The Field has adopted production of

3564-427: The removal of display mounts from historic objects, testing of collections for residual heavy metal pesticides , presence of early plastics in collections, the effect of sulfurous products in display cases, and the use of light tubes in display cases. Concordant with research developments, new collection types, such as frozen tissue collections, requiring new collecting and preservation techniques are added to

3630-461: The science-consuming public audience. By doing so, museums were able to save space in the exhibit areas and display a smaller, more focused amount of material to the public. This also allowed for greater curation of exhibits that eased the lay viewer's learning and allowed them to develop a more holistic understanding of the natural world. Natural history museums became a story of our world, telling different organisms narratives. Use of dual arrangement

3696-539: The terminus of the Stevenson Expressway at Lake Shore Drive in the south, the Museum Campus consists of the southeastern portion of Grant Park , the entirety of Northerly Island , and the northern portion of Burnham Park . The Museum Campus opened on June 4, 1998, after the northbound lanes of Lake Shore Drive had been moved west of Soldier Field in 1996, freeing up 36 acres of land. It

3762-495: The world can search online for particular specimens and request to borrow them, which are shipped routinely under defined and published loan policies, to ensure that the specimens remain in good condition. For example, in 2012, Field Museum's Zoology collection processed 419 specimen loans, shipping over 42,000 specimens to researchers, per its Annual Report. The collection specimens are an important cornerstone of research infrastructure in that each specimen can be re-examined and with

3828-560: The world, and interactive programming demonstrating today's urgent conservation needs. The museum is named in honor of its first major benefactor , Marshall Field , the department-store magnate . The museum and its collections originated from the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition and the artifacts displayed at the fair. The museum maintains a temporary exhibition program of traveling shows as well as in-house produced topical exhibitions. The professional staff maintains collections of over 24 million specimens and objects that provide

3894-433: Was an early adopter of voluntary repatriation practices of ethnological and archaeological artifacts. Field Museum collections are professionally managed by collection managers and conservators, who are skilled in preparation and preservation techniques. Numerous maintenance and collection management tools were and are being advanced at Field Museum. For example, Carl Akeley 's development of taxidermy excellence produced

3960-521: Was an early adopter of positive-pressure based approaches to control of environment in display cases, using control modules for humidity control in several galleries where room-level humidification was not practical. The museum has also adopted a low-energy approach to maintain low humidity to prevent corrosion in archaeological metals using ultra-well-sealed barrier film micro-environments. Other notable contributions include methods for dyeing Japanese papers to color match restorations in organic substrates ,

4026-422: Was created to transform the vicinity of three of the city's most notable museums – the Adler Planetarium , the Shedd Aquarium , and the Field Museum of Natural History – into a scenic pedestrian-friendly area. The area is landscaped with greenery and flora as well as jogging paths and walkways. A picturesque promenade along Solidarity Drive, an isthmus , links Northerly Island to the mainland. The median of

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4092-433: Was named after the person who discovered it, Sue Hendrickson , and is commonly referred to as female, although the dinosaur's actual sex is unknown. The original skull is not mounted to the body due to the difficulties in examining the specimen 13 feet off the ground, and for nominal aesthetic reasons (the replica does not require a steel support under the mandible). An examination of the bones revealed that Sue died at age 28,

4158-643: Was possibly that of Swiss scholar Conrad Gessner , established in Zürich in the mid-16th century. The National Museum of Natural History , established in Paris in 1635, was the first natural history museum to take the form that would be recognized as a natural history museum today. Early natural history museums offered limited accessibility, as they were generally private collections or holdings of scientific societies. The Ashmolean Museum , opened in England in 1683,

4224-463: Was quickly adopted and advocated by many across the world. A notable proponent of its use was German zoologist Karl Mobias who divided the natural museum in Hamburg in 1866.   The goal of such museums was not only to display organisms, but detail their interactions in the human world as well as within their unique ecosystems. Naturalists such as American Joseph Leidy pushed for greater emphasis on

4290-476: Was reported that an employee had defrauded the museum of $ 900,000 over a seven-year period to 2014. The Museum received 1,018,002 visitors in 2022, ranking it 11th in the List of most-visited museums in the United States . Animal exhibitions and dioramas such as Nature Walk, Mammals of Asia, and Mammals of Africa allow visitors an up-close look at the diverse habitats that animals inhabit. Most notably featured are

4356-727: Was the first natural history museum to grant admission to the general public. The natural history museum did not exist as a typical museum prior to the eighteenth century. Civic and university buildings did exist to house collections used for conducting research, however these served more as storage spaces than museums by today's understanding. All kept artifacts were displayed to the public as catalogs of research findings and served mostly as an archive of scientific knowledge. These spaces housed as many artifacts as fit and offered little description or interpretation for visitors. Kept organisms were typically arranged in their taxonomic systems and displayed with similar organisms. Museums did not think of

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