A Night at the Museum

Did you ever wonder what happens at night in a museum? Did you ever see the movie “A Night at the Museum” with Ben Stiller? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if history came to life like in the movie? We could ask questions that only those who lived through historical events would know the answer to. What would you ask about our collection?

While here at Aanischaaukamikw we don’t have wax figures or models of historical figures on display, history does in fact come to life at night in our museum. The history that comes to life is not like in the movies. We rotate artifacts, taking a few objects out and replacing them with new ones. The history that comes alive is a new story about an artifact that has yet to be seen, and the stories that are told about these items.

The rotation of our collection occurs when the exhibit is closed and it is a very delicate process. Removing the acrylic top is the first step and it must be done very carefully. The acrylic top is there to protect the artifacts and the last thing that we would want to do is damage any of the items on display, thus lifting the acrylic top has to be done ever so carefully. Once the top is removed, the artifacts are removed (very carefully) then placed acid free tissue. Are you wondering why we are wearing gloves when handling objects? It is because we do not want to get any oils from our hands on the artifacts and risk damaging precious objects.

Once the original artifacts have been removed, placing the new items is the next step. Again, handling with care is essential in this process. Once the artifacts have been nicely placed and are ready to be viewed by all it is time to put acrylic top back on.

Now that the acrylic top is covering the artifacts can be enjoyed by all and a new story can be told about each and every new object on display. Really, while it is nice to think the museum comes to life at night, it really comes to life during the day when visitors to ACCI view and shares their thoughts on the items on display.

Although at night time…….