Sustainable Preservation of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science Archaeology Collection

FAIN: PF-255862-17

Denver Museum of Nature and Science (Denver, CO 80205-5732)
Melissa Bechhoefer (Project Director: December 2016 to April 2023)

 A project to rehouse an archaeology collection that focuses on North America. The 72,000 archaeological objects would be moved into the newly constructed LEED-certified Avenir Collections Center and placed on custom-created storage mounts and in new cabinetry.

The Denver Museum of Nature & Science (DMNS) requests a Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections implementation grant for a three-year project to sustainably preserve its internationally significant Archaeology Collection into the Museum’s state-of-the-art Avenir Collections Center. Grant funds will support collections assistants who will move and rehouse this collection. Cost share will include DMNS-contributed time (from staff, interns, and volunteers), preservation supplies, and indirect, as well as museum storage equipment from a third party. The project will improve accessibility of the Archaeology Collection for scholars, source communities, students, and the general public, and will promote continued humanities research and cultural partnerships. Dissemination of project results and information about the design and construction of the Avenir Collections Center will provide an important resource to other humanities museums looking to sustainably preserve their collections.

Associated Products

Rehousing Manual for Bulk Archaeological Collections (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: Rehousing Manual for Bulk Archaeological Collections
Author: DMNS Anthropology Collections Staff
Abstract: This document provides step-by-step instructions for the rehousing of bulk archaeological collections at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.
Year: 2020
Audience: Other

Science Division Live: NEH Grant (Radio/Audio Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Science Division Live: NEH Grant
Writer: Melissa Bechhoefer
Director: Melissa Bechhoefer
Producer: Taliah Farnsworth
Abstract: This 60-minute Facebook Live broadcast project co-director Melissa Bechhoefer discusses the NEH-funded project. Promotional paragraph: In early 2014, DMNS opened the Avenir Collections Center, a new facility focused exclusively on collections preservation and access, designed with sustainability in mind. Join Director of Collections, Melissa Bechhoefer, for a short introduction to this new sustainable collections facility via a discussion of a National Endowment for the Humanities grant; this grant has funded collections assistants to rehouse and move our archaeology collections into this award-winning new facility.
Date: 6/17/2020
Primary URL: https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&v=278258236871537
Format: Web

NEH Archaeology Collections Grant (Web Resource)
Title: NEH Archaeology Collections Grant
Author: Melissa Bechhoefer
Author: Dominique Alhambra
Author: Baylee Hughes
Author: Michele Koons
Abstract: The Anthropology Department received a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections implementation grant for a three-year project to rehouse and move its internationally significant archaeology collection into the Avenir Collections Center. Grant funds have supported collections assistants to move and rehouse this collection with goals to identify, document, and sustainably preserve the archaeology collection. The website includes project photos and updates.
Year: 2019
Primary URL: https://www.dmns.org/science/anthropology/projects/neh-archaeology-grant/

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