VOLUNTEERS ALLOW MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY TO OFFER PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES
Lara Petersen, curator of Utah State University’s Museum of Anthropology, is looking forward to meeting and working with recruited museum volunteers beginning in late August. “We could not do what we do without the enthusiastic support of our volunteers and students,” she said.
Assisting Petersen are Curtis and Tricia Hancock, Utah State students and Logan residents. The Hancocks head a volunteer program for the museum. As volunteers themselves, the Hancocks have worked with Petersen to develop a program to cover the various needs of the museum.
Positions in the recently created volunteer program at the Museum of Anthropology include education curator, public relations specialist, special events coordinator, collections curator and membership program coordinator. Those interested in volunteering at the museum should contact the Hancocks at (435) 792-3540 or by email at tkhancock@cc.usu.edu. Applications are also available at the museum, located in Old Main room 252, open weekdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Complete training will be provided for all new volunteers beginning in early August. Volunteers should be ready to work with the museum team in late August and provide
approximately five hours a week.
An example of the work to be coordinated by a museum volunteer is June 18, when the first event in the “Anthropology and the Arts” performance series is offered. The event is the type of activity the museum’s special events coordinator would arrange. It is a performance by Troupe Shazadi of the USU Middle Eastern Dance Club that begins at 7 p.m. at the outdoor amphitheater on Old Main Hill.
“Part of the mission of the museum is to serve as an educational resource to the public,” Petersen said. “We hope special events such as the Anthropology and the Arts series, exhibit openings, guest lectures and other socials will bring the public and the museum together. We want to increase awareness of the Museum of Anthropology so that both students and community members can enjoy the educational benefits we have to offer.”
The artifacts the museum holds in its collection are the basis for many of its educational offerings.
“Our collections represent cultures from Africa, India, North and South America, Polynesia and the Middle East,” Petersen continued. “The research on these objects is ongoing.”
Researching, managing and teaching about the museum’s collection will be the responsibilities of the collections curator.
The Utah State Museum of Anthropology has come a long way since its beginnings in the basement hallway of Old Main, Petersen said. Professor Gordon Keller arranged displays with objects from his archaeological fieldwork in the Great Basin and Southwest when he joined the Utah State faculty in 1963. In 1981, professor Carol Loveland became the museum director, and over the next seven years she more than doubled the number of exhibits and began to catalog the collection with the help of students. Under her leadership, the museum moved to its present location in the south turret of Old Main. The museum was closed in September 1995 for renovation of the south wing of Old Main. Substantially remodeled, the new museum reopened in April 1998 with a larger exhibit area, a collections storage room and special lighting and humidity control. In 2002 the museum welcomed its current faculty advisor, Bonnie Pitblado.
A goal for Pitblado and Petersen is to expand the use and appreciation of the Museum of Anthropology, and the newly created volunteer program will assist these efforts, Petersen said.
Information on the variety of museum volunteer positions will be released throughout the summer. For information on any of the positions, contact the Hancocks. For information about the museum, see the Web site at www.hass.usu.edu/~anthromuseum.