Kidz in Cool Places – Heard Museum

By Rebecca Chiffelle

Recently, In the Zona had the privilege of touring the Heard Museum’s archives where they store all of the artifacts they use for upcoming exhibits, or for safe keeping. The mission of the Heard Museum is to preserve precious objects for future generations to appreciate. This is made possible by their hard working conservation team. They take everything into consideration, from temperature control, to the amount of light the pieces are exposed to. At first, the archives look like a big warehouse, but when you step inside, it’s pretty amazing to see how all the pieces are preserved and taken care of by the conservation team. There are about 40,000 items in the museum’s archives, ranging from baskets the size of peas, to huge totem poles and paintings. Many of the artifacts are over one hundred years old. Some artifacts are donated by families; in fact, the Heard just received a gift seventy seven contemporary textiles that are currently stored neatly in the archives. Each artifact the Heard receives gets a number, a description, a photograph, and is entered into a huge database which controls which pieces are coming in and going out.

Whenever the museum wants to open a new exhibit, it is up to the curators to look through the artifacts. Right now, the curators are building a brand new, immense exhibit called, Beyond Geronimo.

The curator’s job is to decide what artifacts are pulled from the archives and put on display. They think about what story the people are trying to see, and they look through the four storage rooms of the archives to gain inspiration. The archives are such a unique, interesting place filled with rich history of the original Native American tribes; we were so lucky to be able to visit!

If you haven’t been down to the Heard Museum in a while, now is the time to go! What makes the Heard Museum so unique is that they don’t only show you the history of the tribes; they show you contemporary artifacts that are still used today. Not only is the museum itself pretty amazing, they also have new exhibits coming out that are fun and educational for kids of all ages. Beyond Geronimo opens in January and is an exhibit that the Heard is very excited about. The exhibit tells the story of lesser known Apache leaders and is something the curator team has been working on for over a year.

Another exhibit at Heard is the Bolo Tie exhibit. Zona also got to talk to archaeologist, Norman Sandfield, who told us all about Bolo Ties and why they are important to the Native American culture, The Bolo Tie exhibit brings light to something most people don’t think much about. Mr. Sandfield himself has delivered about 1100 Bolo Ties, and about 300 of them will be displayed in the museum. More than Childs Play is also a new exhibit that will definitely appeal to younger children. The exhibit displays dolls that the Native Americans made for their children and explains the deeper meaning behind them.

If you’re looking for a fun educational time, head on over to the Heard Museum! Every day they have guided tours to take you through the museum, so you don’t miss a thing. On November 20th, you can hear from Mr. Sandfield himself as he talks about his passion for Bolo Ties and see some of his collection in person! The Heard Museum is perfect for kids of all ages. Go for a family trip or just with your friends. Be sure to stop by and check out the museum and its latest exhibits.