Oly is 82 years old and has been working at the museum for half of his life.
SAINT PAUL, Minn — At the biology laboratory at the Science Museum of Minnesota, Richard “Oly” Oehlenschlager carefully examines a specimen.
At 82, Oehlenschlager is retiring from his position as the museum’s Collection Manager of Biology, leaving behind a legacy that spans thousands of specimens and countless stories.
“This room is a mecca for biological specimens,” Oehlenschlager said, gesturing to the cabinets filled with meticulously preserved plants and animals.
“This particular fish is called the solder,” he explained, holding up a specimen who is.
Oehlenschlager’s work goes beyond mere preservation.
Dr. Catherine Early, the Barbara Brown Chair of Ornithology and Curator of Biology, speaks highly of her retiring colleague.
“He always seems like he’s in a good mood,” she said, adding, “I believe his mom was very tolerant of him doing taxidermy at the kitchen table.”
Oehlenschlager even has been known to cook some of the specimens that come in, particularly grouse.
“They’re far greater than pheasants, as far as my culinary taste buds show,” he chuckled.
Despite his retirement, Oehlenschlager plans to return as a volunteer.
“There’s a lot yet to do,” he admits, acknowledging that the work of preserving the natural world is never truly finished.
“One lifetime isn’t enough to really evaluate things properly, because each year is different, each day is different,” he said.
His legacy at the Science Museum of Minnesota is not just in the specimens he’s preserved, but in the knowledge he’s shared and the passion he’s inspired in others.
“It’s been harder to get respect because I’m a younger woman,” said Dr. Early. “He was so welcoming from the start, and he knows Minnesota so well.”
But keeping with his character, and acknowledgement that documenting natural history is never done, he said he will be volunteering once a week.
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