-David Breeckner, Interim Museum Director
Today the Imperial Valley Desert Museum made its first steps
toward the next stage of its development and offerings.
A group of dedicated volunteers came together
to transform an underutilized and underappreciated facility on the Museum’s
grounds into a dynamic work space for future arts-based projects and
programs.
Join us in saying “goodbye” to
the old Information Center (IC) and “hello” to the new Activities &
Propagation Center (APC).
Since the closure of the original Imperial Valley College
Museum in El Centro, the IC served as a storehouse and repository of its
collections and records. It held this
role for many years, until the construction of the new IVDM building in Ocotillo in 2008. From then until 2012, its storerooms were
emptied and the artifacts carefully transported to their new forever home at
the Imperial Valley Desert Museum. Since
that move, the IC has been listless and often relegated to the background of
any conversation. Many, including some
of our own membership and Board, have since forgotten the history and
importance of its earliest role!
Now, the IVDM Society, Inc looks to revitalize that same
facility, giving it new purpose as an outdoor education and activities space.
Moving forward, we hope to see the APC
succeed as a place for dedicated cultural art and science programs.
On a busy day at the Museum, it can be
difficult to find the space to run our signature coiled clay program, or to
design new mosaic signage and artwork.
It is even more difficult to garden, propagating local plants.
The new APC gives the Museum room to grow in
all these activities, and more.
In place of a single building on its property, the IVDM now
looks to grow into a multi-building, multi-purpose campus.
Today, a team of six volunteered their morning and afternoon
to begin the first stage of its transformation.
Working to the musical stylings of the 1950s, 60s, and 70s and the
promise of grilled hotdogs, volunteers swept, sorted, and binned the
accumulated trash of the last two decades (and beyond). Looking forward, the IVDM hopes to continue
its work on the APC: repairing its sloped roof, repainting the exterior walls,
developing its open courtyard, and to complete its design and installation of a
planting space for the propagation of the town of Ocotillo’s namesake.
Our “Community BBQ & Clean-up” series has only just
begun! If you would like to get
involved, we welcome you to reach out to Museum staff by email, phone, or by just
stopping in.
