Through The Rasmuson Tier 1 grant and community donations, the Juneau-Douglas City Museum has been able to purchase three new exhibit cases for collections.
“Our continued work to redesign the galleries to best interpret our community’s history was hampered by the aging exhibit cases in our general history gallery, said director Jane Lindsey. “Over thirty five years old, these cases were bulky, difficult to access to change out exhibits, and composed of large sheets of plate glass with no internal lighting. Having received a grant-in-aid award from the Alaska State Museum for one new museum quality case two years ago, it was apparent that we needed to raise funds for three more with added exhibit features that would allow us flexibility and quality exhibit interpretation. A price tag of almost $70,000 for three new museum quality cases was daunting.”
The museum received the maximum award of $25,000 from the Rasmuson Tier 1 grant award program, which was supplemented by donations from The Capital City Celebrations 50th Anniversary Committee, Friends of the Juneau-Douglas City Museum, the Mike Blackwell Fund and The Men’s & Women’s Pioneers of Alaska, Igloo #6. Celebration Committee members Kathy Hildre and Jackie Triplette explained that the money being donated was raised by the committee through fundraisers and donations from Juneau businesses and members of the community.
“Therefore, it rightfully belongs with our museum to continue the story of Juneau as the Capital of Alaska,” they said.
The three new cases will allow the museum to preserve collections, light exhibits appropriately, maximize a small space, change out or update exhibits easily and ensure proper security of exhibits for decades to come. Two of the cases will re-house exhibits formerly found in the general history gallery. These cases will be installed in the hands-on mining room and will contain drawers for interactive exploration. The third case will be installed in the general exhibit gallery and focus on Juneau trade and business. These upgrades will allow the Museum to refit exhibit space in the general history gallery with an interactive touch screen and dedicated history on Aak’w and T’aaku Kwáan residents.
