Collections
Progress to Date
The Destination 2012 Campaign seeks funding for a list of top priorities with a total goal of $52.5 million, for programming, staffing, building, and technological enhancements that will help the Penn Museum become a major destination by the time Making History closes in July 2012. $41 million has been committed to date, making possible the start of a major renovation of the West Wing of the Museum’s original, 1899 building; the establishment of an Academic Liaison Department, and new staff positions in the Conservation, Education and Exhibits Departments; the endowment of a position in the Museum’s American Section; the creation of the Kowalski Digital Media Center and several digital initiatives, and a wide range of research and special projects.
Building Renovations Project
Thanks to leadership support from A. Bruce and Margaret Mainwaring and Dr. Charles K. Williams II, and with generous additional support from Barbara and Michael J. Kowalski, the Frederick J. Manning Family, Diane von Schlegell Levy and Robert M. Levy, and the 1956 Otto Haas Charitable Trust, in September 2010, the Penn Museum embarked on a major renovation of the West Wing of its original 1899 building.
Conservation Staff and Internship Program
The Conservation Laboratory at the Penn Museum was the first of its kind in the United States to be staffed entirely by professional conservators. The conservators act as caretakers and preservers of the Museum’s extraordinary Collection of more than one million objects and also play a major part in furthering the Museum’s educational mission, through lectures to students, volunteers, staff and the general public, and through an active Internship and Fellowship Program which, since 1971, has hosted nearly 50 fellows and interns, many of whom can be found now working in leading museums worldwide.Director’s Exhibitions Fund
Central to the Penn Museum’s goal of becoming a key destination is an engaging and stimulating exhibitions program. Beginning in 2011 with the landmark exhibition Secrets of the Silk Road, the Museum will present a major traveling exhibition each year, together with several smaller changing exhibitions showcasing world cultures.Digital Initiatives
Digitized collections and research archives will share with a global audience, for the first time, the Penn Museum’s magnificent objects and original expedition notes, maps, photographs and documents through online databases with powerful search engines and virtual exhibitions. Collaboration with other institutions will make it possible to reunite extraordinary collections on line, such as the renowned treasures from the 4,500-year-old Royal Tombs of Ur in Southern Iraq, physically housed among the Iraq National Museum, the Penn Museum, and the British Museum.
New Student Programs
With generous funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Penn Museum has established an Academic Liaison Office to coordinate increased use of the Museum’s extraordinary resources by students and faculty. Greatly expanded internship programs and state-of-the-art teaching laboratories will foster vibrant interactions among students, faculty and Museum collections and research staff. Summer and semester field schools will offer hands-on opportunities for archaeological training.Ways to Give
How can you help the Penn Museum to become a destination and achieve its campaign goals?
