Hello from Conservation!

Over the past few weeks we, in the Conservation Department, got really good at walking artifacts, much like pet parents walk their furry friends. Or, at least that’s what it felt like.

What would possess us to “walk” artifacts, you ask? We are in the process of moving approximately 145 objects from their current location in outdoor storage, to a happier storage environment! We, at the Museum, are re-purposing the old boat building shed to rehouse over half of the artifacts currently stored outside. We have approximately 3 more weeks (spread over an undetermined amount of time) of work with partner groups before the whole outdoor collection is rehoused – either in the boat building shed or in a condensed, reorganized area outside.

Many of the artifacts being moved are industrial in size, weight, use, and sturdiness making them difficult to move and impossible to store in some interior storage areas. While we aim for ideal storage for all of our artifacts, throughout the (near 100-year) history of the institution we have collected some really big objects! Those artifacts which have been stored outside were put there for their ability to weather the environment, but it was time to reassess and improve their situation.

This is the result of a year and a half of survey work by some of the Conservation staff and is a joint effort between the Conservation and Collections Management departments, with the help of the Facilities and Security departments, and other staff members.