Climate Resilient Collections: Developing an Environmental Monitoring System

FAIN: PG-293531-23

Plimoth Patuxet Museums, Inc. (Plymouth, MA 02360-2429)
Annie Greco (Project Director: January 2023 to April 2025)

The purchase of a digital, automatic monitoring system to record consecutive temperatures and relative humidity.

Plimoth Patuxet Museums cares for over 400,000 objects in collections, which include archaeological, archival, and decorative arts materials. With a diverse set of material types, it is critical to understand the environmental conditions in order to best ensure the preservation of this cultural heritage. Daily checks of digital readers and weekly recording of the temperature and relative humidity, allow the Museum to understand seasonal changes, but do not provide insight into daily changes that may be damaging collections. Recently completed conservation assessments recommended that the Museum upgrade to a digital, automatic monitoring system that can note consecutive temperatures and relative humidity and create more robust reports to document the environmental fluctuations these spaces experience in the widely varying New England climate. These efforts will aid the Museum in its long range planning to renovate and build new storage spaces for the collections.