Thank you Jenica & Hands on Curation

Jenica, our archeology curator, has left the building and we wish her all the best as she moves on to start her graduate program at Arizona State University. With Jenica's help we were able to recurate over 6,100 artifacts in 6 months.  That is 1000 more artifacts than were recurated over the past two years. According to Jenica's Inventory Project Progress Report, if we maintain this rate of curation, we will finish the project in 2 years. 

Jenica enjoying the beautiful scenery after the monsoon rains  earlier this month.

Our goal is to train 2 more curation groups so we can keep up a steady rate of progress. We can half the project time with just one more group of 4-8 people committed to curating every other week. We curate every Wednesday through Saturday so please consider bring a group out to see what's new at the museum and lending a hand with the inventory project. Call Jessica at 845-702-3968 or email at ivdmuseum@gmail.com. 

July 4th @ Freedom Fest

Museum staff with Kohl's Cares volunteers, and the Desert Cruisers Car Club worked side by side to entertain the families that attended this year's Freedom Fest on the IVC campus. 100 kids enthusiastically recounted the results of the watermelon contests at the Desert Cruisers booth while they attempted making coiled pots. We saw some kids and parents we've seen at past fairs and some new ones who stayed for hours perfecting their art.

Hosted by KXO radio, the event "began in 1991, the year the Gulf War ended and has become

Imperial County’s largest single day event with over 65,000 people on the Imperial

Valley College campus grounds and many more witnessing and listening to this event

from their homes, roadsides and on canal banks around the valley." 

Gloria from KXO made sure everything went smoothly and we thank her and Ralph from Desert Cruisers for being so helpful and welcoming to the Desert Museum staff during their first year the Fest. 

2nd Exhibit Opening and Artists Reception

The Imperial Valley Desert Museum invites you to the 

Exhibit Opening & Artist reception for

Collections

Saturday, July 14th 6pm - 10pm @ the Museum, 11 Frontage Road in Ocotillo, CA

Three new exhibits explore the role of collections in our lives. First, the Collectors exhibit features the life-long devotion of community members to the objects they collect. Second, the next installment of the on-going What we are Curating Today! exhibit displays the fruit's of one man's documentary efforts to collect images of 1930's Imperial Valley. The third exhibit features the contemporary artwork of Ivan Soto, the founder of the El Centro 7-Day chapter. The El Centro chapter was the second chapter formed in California  dedicated to community service-based programs. Ivan's art reflects his passion and shows the introspective side of creating collections. 

The Artist Reception and Exhibit Opening on July 14th will feature the musical talents of our museum staff (it's ok, they're professionals) and light refreshments. Come and meet our local collectors and celebrate the second exhibit opening at the new Imperial Valley Desert Museum.