Visit the Ohio Historical Society’s Archaeology Collections in Storage and See What’s Not on Exhibit
Have you ever wondered where we keep all the things in our collection when they’re not on display in the museum?
Find out on an exclusive tour with Ohio Historical Society curators who will take you behind the scenes.
The Ohio Historical Societys archaeology collection includes more than 1.6 million artifacts representing more than 13,000 years of Ohio ‘s past. According to David Hurst Thomas, a curator of anthropology at the American Museum of Natural History and a founding trustee of the National Museum of the American Indian, the Ohio Historical Society has “arguably the best collection of pre-contact American Indian objects from eastern North America” in the world!
In addition to all those artifacts, the Archaeology Collections Facility also houses 625 linear feet of documentation related to the collections in filing cabinets and archival boxes, an additional 74 linear feet of photographic documentation, and 100 cubic feet of large format documents such as maps. In addition, there is a reference library of more than 3,500 volumes.
On Saturday, October 6th you can tour the exhibit Following in Ancient Footsteps and then visit the Archaeology Collections Facility with Curator Brad Lepper and the rest of our archaeology staff for a look at some of the many objects that aren’t on display.
This special opportunity to see the facility where we store our extensive archaeology collection, conduct research and process in-coming collections is limited to 15 people. Youll have a special opportunity to meet the staff who collect, catalog, study and most importantly educate us about these remarkable materials. To register for this exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of Ohio Historical Society archaeology collections, $149, click here or call 1-800-686-1541.
The fee helps to support the Ohio Historical Society’s efforts to care for our world-class collections!
The tour begins at the Ohio History Center at I-71 and 17th Avenue in Columbus and it lasts from 1:30 to 4 p.m. For more information, call 800.686.1541 or e-mail [email protected].
Other tours in the works for spring 2013 will feature popular culture collections in the archives and the Ohio Historical Societys extensive collection of Ohio-made, hand-crafted quilts.
