Curator ruffles feathers while revealing collector's secrets

They had a chance to hear about the finer points of taxidermy, from its ancient beginnings to a growth in popularity around the 1800s and today's latest techniques – during an hour-long talk given by Clare Brown, Leeds City Council's curator of natural sciences.

"Taxidermy has been an important art form and educational tool for hundreds of years and is still part of the work of a modern museum," she explained.

"Leeds museums and galleries has an excellent collection of international wildlife and this will be a chance to delve a little deeper into their histories."

The event also included a discussion of techniques, which usually involve subjects being skinned, tanned and placed on a model frames . It was organised to accompany the Ruffled Feathers exhibition.

The Hall, which is renowned for its bird garden – is hosting the exhibition, which also includes a specially-commissioned hat from top UK milliner Philip Treacy, until the end of the year.

The curator's talk concentrated on the way animals and plants are preserved in museum collections in the United Kingdom.