In three weeks, all of Kingman Museum’s collections were moved out of the Limit Street building and into secure storage. But it didn’t magically happen on its own.
The project was helmed by museum director Eltine DeYoung, who kept things on a tight schedule and under budget.
Museum staff put a lot of muscle into preparing artifacts. If you see Josh Holderbaum, Emily Powell or Mollie Gordier, give them a fist bump.
One of their big projects before the move was to clean out the geology room, which meant carrying rocks and dealing with rusted cabinets, while updating the electronic database. They finished it in two weeks, in a feat of extreme archiving.
It was all possible with funding from the Battle Creek Community Foundation, the Zanetti Foundation and Post Consumer Brands. Without them, we’d probably be in the middle of deaccessing the collections right now.
So what happens next? Thanks to all of the donors who sent their support over the last few months, Kingman Museum has enough momentum to finish a strategic plan.
Planning has already begun for potential pop-up exhibits while looking for a permanent venue. We’re bringing more members onto the working board. Educational programming is also on the list of priorities. Not to mention the question of what road blocks the ongoing pandemic may pose.
This year is the original collection’s 150th anniversary. That’s when Battle Creek Central first put items on display in its museum room. We want to celebrate this milestone with some special features.
That’s a lot to handle in 2021. However, we have a team who moved an entire museum in three weeks. We are getting advice and support on going forward from the Battle Creek Community Foundation, Battle Creek Unlimited and the City of Battle Creek. We have confidence that we can reopen the museum and keep the collections relevant for another 150 years.
If you would like to help us out, every donation helps forge a path forward.
‌