Let's jump right into this month's update! We have a lot of fantastic news to share on specimen production, packaging, and more.
SPECIMEN EMBEDMENT TEST COMPLETE AND SUCCESSFUL
Last month, we mentioned that the acrylic embedment tests of MM5 were underway. We're excited to say that the tests are complete, and all specimens successfully endured the hardship of embedment. And the results? Drumroll please...
Prototyping! This is the Large Fifth Edition Embedment test along with the approved prototype Custom Display box and Microfiber pouch.
Take a look at the first MM5 Large embedment sample! There are still some minor adjustments to be made to the text and spacing before full-scale manufacturing, but we're excited to share the beginning of the casting process in this update!
The acrylic casting process is very harsh. Solvents attack the surface of our delicate specimens, and everything has to endure temperatures over 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Still, it's a necessary step of the process to ensure everything is able to be included in the museum.
Preparing for this ordeal is a huge part of our specimen production process, and there are many rounds of testing. Even when we're confident everything will be safe, it is still a little nerve-wracking when you're waiting for the results. 😅 We're happy to say our preparations paid off though and every specimen was embedded safely!
SPECIMEN PRODUCTION COMPLETE
In addition to the embedment test results, we're excited to announce that we've completed the full specimens run for the crowdfunded versions of the Large, Touch, and Small Fifth Edition! 🎉
Wrapping specimen production is a huge milestone for each Edition of the Mini Museum, but MM5 was particularly challenging due to the massive number of specimens and all their varied materials.
In total, we produced over 120,000 specimens across wildly different materials. Each one was a mini project of its own with unique challenges and solutions. As always, we'll be detailing many of these steps in the Companion Guide's "Crafting the Fifth Edition" essay but as a celebration, we thought we'd share some behind-the-scenes photos here.
CASTING AND ASSEMBLY UNDERWAY
With embedment tests and specimen production complete, we're on to the next big phase: casting and assembly!
Small Mini Museums are first on the list. They are in production now and should be ready for QA soon.
Touch Mini Museum assembly is also well underway. We're at 90% complete on assembling specimens in their small acrylic containers. The balance should be ready next week so we can begin the final arrangement of all specimens.
Large Mini Museum production will begin once the Smalls are complete. This will allow us to balance production more efficiently as the Larges take more time to build.
We're also happy to announce that we ended up with enough Empire State Stainless Steel to upgrade the entire run of Small Mini Museums from the steel support to same the shiny surface material in the Large and the Touch. This will be a beautiful addition to the Small.
PACKAGING REVEALED
Manufacturing for Display Boxes and Microfiber pouches wrapped production this week and will be heading to our warehouse very soon. So feast your eyes on the Fifth Edition box design!
The MM5 Full Packaging Spread!
Bask in its glory, jump for joy, wallpaper your living room with it! (Don't actually do that last part. It will be in your hands soon enough.)
Our long-time designer, Christian Baldo, has really outdone himself this time. We couldn't be happier with how this turned out!
In other box-related news, we had a smaller run on the Small museums than predicted and the cost of producing a standard Small-size box turned out to be roughly the same as the Large box with full foam padding. So, we decided that rather than give a box with less art, we'd go for a big box with all the art. Yes, that's right all Small Mini Museums will be getting the same upgraded box as the Large, complete with magnetic enclosure.
ADD-ONS AND PLEDGE MANAGER LAUNCHING SOON
In addition to mainline production, we also have a large number of items in process for the Fifth Edition: Pins, Coelacanth Cutting Board, T-shirts, LED Illuminated Stands, and a few extra surprises too. Once the final details are set and we get a little closer to actually shipping, we'll load these items into the pledge manager and begin asking for shipping addresses.
IT'S NOT TOO LATE GET YOUR MUG IN THE COMPANION GUIDE!
We'd like to feature as many backers as possible in our Fifth Edition companion guide, so we're putting out the call for photos! Please share a photo of you and your museum with us and we'll include it in the gratitude section of the guide.
Please send your photos to [email protected] and let us know they are for inclusion in the guide. Our backers are the reason we are able to continue sharing these wonderful projects with the world and we'd like everyone to know it!
A 3.86 BILLION MILE JOURNEY
In science news, the NASA OSIRIS-REx completed a seven-year roundtrip to and from the distant asteroid 101955 Bennu, bringing with it 8.8 ounces of extraterrestrial geologic material. The unmanned spacecraft was launched in 2016 and caught up with the asteroid in 2018. NASA then spent two years orbiting and analyzing the terrain to find the best site for a sample collection.
Bennu is about 1,600 feet in diameter, or around 400 feet wider than the Empire State Building is tall. Scientists were particularly interested in the presence of hydrated minerals, indicating Bennu's parent body may have had water. When it was time to collect, OSIRIS flew to the surface of the asteroid and struck it with a robotic arm, sending several tons of material into the space around the probe. It used its collection chamber to capture some of the debris and then prepared to return to Earth.
After another 3 years of travel, OSIRIS finally made it back to our planet, where it jettisoned the collection capsule and flew off toward its next mission. Here on Earth, NASA prepared to retrieve the capsule from the Great Salt Lake Desert in Utah, where it parachuted down on September 24, 2023, at 8:52 a.m. local time. The seven-year mission span may seem like a long time, but as it turns out the sample landed three minutes early! Way to go, OSIRIS!
The choice of asteroid is actually relevant to Mini Museum 5–Bennu is a B-type carbonaceous asteroid, which contains primitive traces of the early solar system in a largely unaltered state. This may hold important clues to the origins of the sun and planets. The Muonionalusta meteorite, the very first specimen in MM5, is another extraterrestrial object with early solar system material. We're excited to see what more is learned from this first-hand sample!
As for OSIRIS, the spacecraft's journey has only just begun. As we speak, it is on its way to orbit the Sun for several years, where it will wait to rendevous with the asteroid Apophis. In 2029, OSIRIS will repeat its collection maneuvers on this new asteroid and send even more material to Earth.
