Improving the Storage Environment of the University of Wisconsin Geology Museum Historical Collections

FAIN: PG-52071-13

University of Wisconsin, Madison (Madison, WI 53715-1218)
Richard Slaughter (Project Director: May 2012 to November 2014)
Carrie Eaton (Co Project Director: October 2014 to November 2014)

The purchase of storage furniture, preservation supplies, and environmental monitoring equipment to help maintain a collection of more than 15,000 ancillary materials at a noted science museum. Established in 1848, the UW Geology Museum contains a world-class collection of geological specimens and fossils. The mostly paper-based ancillary materials help document the history of the museum's collecting practices and exhibitions, as well as shedding light on developments in the history of science since the middle of the 19th century. The project would involve the rehousing of the museum's journals and books (960), photographs (1,100), and antique scientific instruments (32), and historic object catalog cards (13,400).

The UW Geology Museum (UWGM) was founded in 1848 and is the most popular science outreach venue on the UW-Madison campus. This grant will support the rehousing and environmental monitoring of the UWGM's entire ancillary collection of paper objects and antique scientific equipment. The requested funds will be used to purchase storage materials for the object catalog cards, photographs and publications that cover over a century's worth of museum and university history. The UWGM will also purchase a museum-grade cabinet for the permanent storage of its antique scientific equipment, which will be cataloged and rehoused in custom enclosures. Lastly, this grant will support the purchase of additional monitoring equipment for the historical collections and training in museum environmental monitoring for the UWGM's curator.