BIRD EXHIBIT OPENS AT UNIVERSITY MUSEUM

The Southeast Missouri State University Museum this month will feature an exhibit of bird specimens from all over the world.

There will be examples of rare and exotic species from six continents that show the plumage preservation by Glen Smart of Cape Girardeau. Smart has maintained the hobby of taxidermy throughout his career as a research biologist and specialist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Smart creates lifelike, hand-carved wood birds. Visitors to the exhibit can see wooden birds in various stages of the carving process as well as finished pieces.

Smart's wood carvings have been exhibited at shows in Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Oregon, California, Rhode Island, New York and Washington. His work is also represented in private collections. He has also donated some of his work to the biology department at Southeast so students can benefit from the study of actual fowl.

The exhibit, which runs through March 27, includes the university collection as well as some of Smart's private collection. The exhibit opened Tuesday.

Smart graduated from Southeast in 1959 with a bachelor's degree in botany and zoology, and from the University of Missouri with a masters in wildlife management. He retired in 1990 and moved back to Cape Girardeau.