Moab Museum | Collections
Conservation Spotlight | Apatosaurus “Wiren” Femur How does the Moab Museum preserve paleontology specimens entrusted to our care? This summer, the Museum staff partnered with Utah Friends of Paleontology (UFOP) to perform object conservation treatments on the Wiren Femur currently on exhibit in the Museum’s North Gallery. UFOP is a statewide non-profit volunteer organization dedicated to preserving…
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On July 27th, visitors to the Moab Museum got to witness an important part of Museum work that ordinarily takes place behind the scenes: the stabilizing conservation treatment of two Ancestral vessels. Professional conservator Kimberleigh Collins-Peynaud performed stabilizing treatment on an Ancestral water vessel and an Ancestral storage and cooking container, both on loan to…
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By: Tara Beresh, Curatorial and Collections Manager If you’re local to Moab or a longtime visitor to the Moab Museum, you may be aware of the renowned “burden” basket—an extraordinary ancestral relic, iconic to the area and sacred to proximate Native groups. The cone-shaped basket is styled to be worn like a backpack, is woven…
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The Moab Museum has recently undertaken the digitization of the extensive photo archive of longtime Moabites Fran and Terby Barnes. Curatorial & Collections Manager Tara Beresh addresses some of the most frequently asked questions about Fran and Terby, as well as their archives, now part of the Museum Collection. Who were Fran and Terby Barnes?…
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Longtime Moab locals, John and Anne Urbanek presented what is today referred to as “the Urbanek map” to the Moab Museum in December 2005. Originally from Kansas, John and Anne moved to Moab for employment at Arches National Park. Prior to Moab, John served as a pilot in the Korean War and enjoyed observing the…
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Cultural Material Acquisition and Exhibition at the Moab Museum Tara Beresh, Curatorial and Collections Manager, Moab Museum Museums worldwide have been criticized for the controversial display of indigenous objects. In years past, the Moab Museum showcased prehistoric ancestral objects such as ceramics, basketry, projectile points, and sandals. Some visitors admired these objects, inquiring: How old…
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