Bridgeport, CT – A grant of $9,995 awarded to The Barnum Museum by Connecticut Humanities will enable the museum to present a public program on Nov. 7 in which a rare and unusual artifact, in storage for decades, will be revealed for the first time and thoroughly examined by a team of experts as it is filmed by Firelight Media Group, LLC, of Monroe, CT.
The Barnum Museum has partnered with the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History in New Haven, Conn. to present the program during its current special exhibition, also funded in part by Connecticut Humanities. Experts from Yale University and The Barnum Museum’s Curator will be talking with the audience about what they discover. The program will take place on Saturday, November 7, in the Great Hall at the Yale Peabody Museum.
“We are thrilled to have such a perfect opportunity to finally learn about a rare artifact which has been in our collection for a number of years but never examined,” said Kathleen Maher, Executive Director of The Barnum Museum. “It is an honor and pleasure to be working with the staff of the Yale Peabody Museum to present this public program, tapping into the expertise of the curatorial and conservation team.”
The artifact has been in the Barnum Museum’s collection since 2003, when it was donated by another museum that no longer focuses on history as part of its educational mission. The artifact has never been examined by the Barnum Museum staff because it was believed to be too fragile and the chance of causing inadvertent damage required the guidance of a knowledgeable conservator, according to Adrienne Saint-Pierre, The Barnum Museum’s Curator. “We knew we needed a conservator familiar with such artifacts to guide the difficult process and also felt it would be wise to document it,” she said.
The Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, located at 170 Whitney Avenue in New Haven, is dedicated both to advancing understanding of the Earth’s history through geological, biological and anthropological research, and to disseminating the results of this research to the public through publications, exhibitions and educational programs.
The Barnum Museum, conceived and built by showman P.T. Barnum, has proudly served Bridgeport and Connecticut since 1893. The ornate landmark building at 820 Main Street is owned by the City of Bridgeport and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Hours are Thursdays & Fridays from 11 to 3.
For more information about the November 7 program, please visit www.barnum-museum.org or contact The Barnum Museum at (203) 331-1104 ext. 100.