Application of Window Filters and Environmental Monitors to Protect and Preserve Humanities Collections at Living History Farms

FAIN: PG-287642-22

Living History Farms (Urbandale, IA 50322-3724)
Jaime Leigh Nicolet Rutan (Project Director: January 2022 to present)

The purchase and installation of ultraviolet light filters for three buildings and environmental monitoring equipment for 20 buildings at Living History Farms, a 500-acre outdoor history museum that includes three farm sites, a country homestead, and the 1876-era town of Walnut Hill.

The proposed project involves introduction of window film to filter out ultraviolet rays that can damage collections artifacts in the three buildings that house the most valuable and difficult-to-replace Living History Farms (LHF) collections. The project also involves introduction of monitoring equipment to assist LHF staff in keeping track of environmental conditions in the 20 buildings spread across 500 acres where collections are displayed and/or stored, in order to prevent deterioration of artifacts caused by conditions such as excessive or inadequate humidity.