At History San José we don’t have a
designated program for adopt-an-artifact, but we have thought about it is on
our long list of projects to try. We have on occasion raised funds to conserve
a specific artifact. For example, we found an 1850 cattle brand book that we
didn’t know we had. (Don’t ask.) It was in desperate need of
conservation so we included an article about it in our newsletter with a
request for donations. Checks came flying in and within a week we had more
than we needed to have it conserved. We have done this with a few other
objects and had great success. I think the donors like to know that they are
directly involved in preserving an artifact.
Good luck!
Melissa Johnson
Curator of Interactive Media
history|san josé
408.918.1051
www.historysanjose.org/cannerylife
From: Museum
discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Sent: Tuesday, February 26, 2008
10:36 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [MUSEUM-L]
Adopt-an-Artifact
Esteemed colleagues –
Has any of your institutions tried an
adopt-an-artifact or similar program as a way of raising money for collections
care? If so, was it successful, either in terms of fundraising or in other,
less tangible ways such as publicity for your museum or attracting more
artifact donations? Would you mind sharing how you publicized and managed the
program? We are thinking of launching something of that sort in conjunction
with an exhibit we are opening in May that will feature seldom-seen items from
our collection as well as items significant to
Many thanks,
Anne
Featured Exhibits:
ToyTime: Larger-than-Life Folk
Toys, September 8, 2007 to March 9, 2008
Flags Across The Nation: Quilts
of Patriotism, September 11 to
November 11, 2007