It’s a tour to explore what is normally behind a closed door. We came up with that rhyme ourselves.
Anyways, visitors to a museum normally just see a small portion of its collection. It’s often about space, rotating exhibitions, and what curators feel should be displayed to the public at that time. This fall, the Benton County Historical Society is offering a unique chance to explore some of what normally remains behind closed doors.
(Photo Benton County Museums)
Behind-the-scenes tours of the Johnson Collections Center will be offered on Saturday, September 19, and Saturday, November 7, at the Philomath Museum.
Led by Curator of Collections Patti Larkin, each tour will take visitors inside the climate-controlled facility where the Historical Society preserves more than 140,000 objects.
Yup. You read that right. The “little” museum in Philomath has 140,000 objects. Who would’ve thought? You learn something new every day. You’ll most likely learn something new on one of the two days you can take the tour.
Visitors will learn how museum collections are cataloged, researched, conserved, and safely stored, hence the whole “climate-controlled” facility. The tour also promises a closer look inside “the vault,” along with stories about objects connected to Benton County and the surrounding community.
The Historical Society’s collection includes local artifacts, artwork, photographs, and items from the former Horner Museum at Oregon State University. The Horner Museum began as the College Museum in 1925 and closed in 1995. Its wide-ranging collection was later transferred to the Benton County Historical Society.
The Johnson Collections Center was created with support from Peter and Rosalie Johnson. It provides a modern space for artifacts that are not currently displayed at the Historical Society’s two museums.
Tours of the Johnson Collections Center will begin at 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 2:30 p.m. on both September 19 and November 7. Each tour will last a little over an hour.
The tours are intended for visitors ages 14 and older and require some walking. Attendance is limited to 10 people per tour. That means over the two days of scheduled tours, only about 60 people total will be able to see inside the vault.
Tickets are $20, with discounts available for Benton County Historical Society members. Reservations can be made through the Benton County Museums tour registration page. Additional information is available on the Benton County Museums website
This article was written by K. Hewlitt at The Corvallis Inquirer. Feel free to send us your stories or articles to publish at: editor@corvallisnow.com
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