Olla Conservation Project Leader

Melanie Clifton-Harvey is a highly experienced conservator who has worked with institutions across the world. Over the next few weeks Melanie will produce a conservation assessment for the olla collection, which is the first step towards our visible storage exhibit. Each olla will be individually examined, verified, and digitally photographed. 

Melanie's recent projects include conservation work on Assyrian bronze vessels and ivory burial remains at the Diyarbakir Archaeological Museum, Turkey. Melanie received her Masters in the History of Decorative Arts, Design and Culture from the Bard Graduate Center in NYC and holds a BTEC National Diploma for Conservation and Restoration of Art Studies from DeMonfort University in London.

Piloting School Visits

In February we will have 120 students from McCabe Elementary School visit the museum. The 4th grade is visiting class by class on Wednesdays. This is our first time doing large group visits to the museum.

After a talk on how the Imperial Valley was once a lake and an ocean, there are 4 activities that the groups cycle through over the day:




- A Desert Walk
- Hands-on Geology 
- Discussion on Projectile Points
- Ceramic Art Program


Since we are piloting, we requested feedback from the parents and teachers. One said "I honestly thought it would be boring.. but I could not have been any more wrong. I had a lot of fun and it was very interesting and it motivated me to know more about our outdoors. All the rocks and arrows were amazing, really enjoyed the clay project. As a parent coming it opened up a new subject for me to talk about with my kids. It is amazing there is so much to see here in the valley just by driving a few miles."

Calling all Curation Volunteers

by Jessica Brody

In 2012 forty-one volunteers were trained in the curation process. They helped us bag, tag, and inventory 11,364 artifacts. In 2013, it's more important than ever that we continue this process. In fact, we have set a goal of finishing the inventory by May 2013.

Last year our volunteers contributed 1,900 hours to curation. Using this as a baseline, we calculate that with two people curating each day that the collections will be out of temporary storage in six months. We must complete this goal to show that we are a museum that works to the highest professional standards. It's already what we do (as our volunteers can attest) and in the next six months, with our volunteers help, we will prove it again. 

We need two people every day curating to complete our mid-year goals. Contact IVDM staff to schedule your curation days. Our motto is "if you are willing, we are open".

MAP

We are proud to announce that the Imperial Valley Desert Museum has been selected to participate in the Museum Assessment Program (MAP). The MAP, funded by IMLS and coordinated by the American Alliance of Museums, helps small and mid-sized museums strengthen operations, plan for the future and meet national standards through self-study and a site visit from a peer reviewer.

MAP is a self-motivated program and participants invest considerable human and institutional resources into the assessment. This year, the IVDM is one of eighty museums chosen across the country to participate in the 2013 program. Our goals for the program are to gain feed back on our plans for long term collections management and review collections policies and procedures in relation to the national standard. You can learn more about the Museum Assessment Program here: http://www.aam-us.org/resources/assessment-programs/MAP

Desert Moon Dreams

Ben Benton shares his telescope for a view of the moon.

"The desert under a full moon is just magical, I urge you to make time to experience it," Dennis Mammana shared his passion for our nearest celestial neighbor. After days of clouds and rain, we weren't sure if we'd get to use the telescopes, but when everything cleared it was just beautiful. You can attend more of Dennis workshops by checking out his website here.

We had 82 people attend the event and since we are beginning to start the process of building exhibits, we asked the attendees to fill out some visitor surveys. Thank you to all who filled them out, this one was our favorite:

In response to the question 'where do you find information on museum programs?':
"1st saw it in IV Press. Then went to website. Made phone call & here I am. Love it. Everyone made me feel welcome and a part of the group. Thanks so much."

We love it, because that's the kind of museum we are trying to build.

Star Gazing with Dennis Mammana

Palm Grove Hike

Today was the first hike led by the informal hiking club, the Jacumba Hikers. The hikers met at the Museum prior to their departure. Bill led the group to the Mortero Palms. This is a destination that is often talked about, but with the exception of Bill, none of today's hikers had been. 

"I thought the hike was awesome," said Martin Hitch. "This was a very unique spot and not typical of other hikes I have done in the desert."

The hikers also ran in to several other museum friends, who just happened to be hiking out to the Dos Cabezas spring. It was a busy day out in the desert today.