Challenges
What are the main challenges facing the museum today?
In some ways, our strengths are also our challenges. We have an extraordinary Renaissance and eclectic-style building, with the original sections built in 1899 and 1915; maintaining the building, and updating it to 21st- century standards, is a challenge. Penn Museum has a strong research program; integrating current research into public exhibitions and programming is both an opportunity and a challenge, as we look to find ways to make new research accessible and relevant to a wider audience.
Successes
Are there any recent successes you would like to highlight?
We’ve been putting a greater emphasis on finding ways to make our exhibitions more relevant to audiences, and we’ve had some exciting successes: a new exhibition of our world famous collection from the ancient Mesopotamian site of Ur, Iraq’s Ancient Past: Rediscovering Ur’s Royal Cemetery, incorporated both recent research on the collections, a history panel about Iraq that put the 1920s-30s excavation in perspective, and contemporary information about cultural heritage issues in that region of the world. U.S. soldiers, later deployed to Afghanistan, came to see the exhibition, greeted by the Museum’s Deputy Director Brian Rose. Dr. Rose speaks about Iraq and Afghanistan cultural heritage issues at U.S. military bases for the Museum and the Archaeological Institute of America, of which he is President. Another exhibition which has brought new relevance, and energy, to the Museum is Fulfilling a Prophecy: The Past and Present of the Lenape of Pennsylvania, a collaborative exhibition curated by a Penn student and two leaders of the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania, who shared material culture, and their stories, with area residents. Righteous Dopefiend: Homelessness, Addiction and Poverty in Urban America, an exhibition of photographs and text from a Penn anthropologist’s years of field research, was supplemented with community programs exploring difficult issues of poverty, homelessness, and addiction, as the Museum reached new audiences working with key area social service agencies.
In the past year, we are focusing more on ways to connect with the University of Pennsylvania’s diverse and exceptional student body, and the Penn community that we serve—and already we have made some exciting strides forward. We’ve been able to create and fund a new, management level position that focuses on better integrating the students with the Museum and its resources, and we now have a Andrew W. Mellon Associate Deputy Director charged with strengthening academic relations between the Museum and the University, and encouraging interdisciplinary learning. We now have a Student Advisory Board, students actively working to help us develop programs of interest to other students, and are currently training our first team of Penn student docents. We are setting up more student opportunities to experience field archaeology training, as well. Our exhibition program is also beginning to benefit from the input of students on the research, planning and even curatorial levels.
Future Projects/Renovations
What do you see in the future for your institution?
We are fortunate to have a relevant mission—advancing understanding of the world’s cultural heritage— a strong, global collection, and the intellectual depth of one of the world’s top universities, as we plan for a future that will bring us to ever more public and University engagement, via an increasingly robust web presence, relevant and compelling exhibitions and programming, and refurbished galleries that reflect both our rich history, and our promise for the future.
University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
3260 South St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6324
Tel: 215-898-4000
Fax: 215-898-0657
Museum Hours
Memorial Day-Labor Day: Tues.-Sat. 10-4:30; Sept.-May Tues.-Sat. 10-4:30, Sun. 1-5. Closed: New Year's Day; Easter; Memorial Day; Independence Day; Thanksgiving; Christmas.
Admission
Adults $10, senior citizens $7, children 6-17 & students $6; discounts to AAM & ICOM members; children under 6, Penn Card holders & members no charge.
Museum Website
www.museum.upenn.edu
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