Moab Museum Blog

Interpreting Petroglyphs: Perspectives on Prominent Panels

August 20, 2021

“There’s always variations of understanding of how sites [were] used by Ancestors,” explained Bertram Tsavadawa on a recent summer morning, standing alongside a petroglyph panel near the Colorado River. Tsavadawa, a Hopi guide, belongs to the corn clan from the village of Old Oraibi, 3rd Mesa in Arizona. He joined Don Montoya, a retired archeologist,…

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History Comes to Life through School Programs and Summer Camps

July 7, 2021

Providing educational opportunities for the children of Grand County, Utah has long been an important part of the Museum’s work. This spring, the Museum delivered core curriculum-aligned field trip programs to over 350 Helen M. Knight Elementary School children. These trips, designed in collaboration with teachers to complement each grade level’s subject matter, took students…

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Utah Central Railroad – Construction

Transcontinental Railroad Exhibition on Display at the Moab Museum

June 29, 2021

On May 10, 1869, the Golden Spike was driven into the railroad at Promontory Summit, Utah, completing the once unimaginable rail line that crossed the continent and dramatically shaping America’s history. The Transcontinental Railroad, crossing formidable terrain to link the coasts, was a tremendous engineering achievement and major factor in the nation’s westward expansion. A…

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Fran and Terby Barnes Photo Archive: FAQ

May 18, 2021

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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Annual quilt show brings color & cheer

May 3, 2021

For many years, the Delicate Stitchers quilt guild has held an annual themed challenge and displayed a colorful array of handmade quilts in the Museum. This year, the quilters present “The Straight Skinny,” a series of long, thin quilts 12″ by 48″ which have been created by a dozen local quilters. The exhibit will open…

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Museum Board welcomes new Trustees

April 28, 2021

Moab residents Cindy Hardgrave and Megan Blackwelder were elected to a three-year term on the Museum’s Board of Trustees at the Board’s April 21 meeting. Ms. Blackwelder currently serves as SE Regional Manager for the Utah Division of State Parks & Recreation, where she oversees three state museums (The Edge of the Cedars, Anasazi State…

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Tracing the history of Black frontiersman William Grandstaff

March 31, 2021

A deep dive into new insights about Grandstaff’s life The story of William Grandstaff, a Black frontiersman who once called Moab home, has long held a prominent place in our region’s history, and the incomplete record of his life in the Moab Valley has long invited question and controversy. Records recently uncovered by musician and…

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Temporary Exhibit: Memories of the Quarantine / Memorias de la Cuarentena

March 18, 2021

The Moab Museum is thrilled to present a temporary exhibit entitled Memories of the Quarantine / Memorias de la Cuarentena in collaboration with the Moab Valley Multicultural Center, which features a collection of stories presented in both English and Spanish collected by Moab local Mónica Piñera has collected from both sides of the US-Mexico border. The…

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Museum hosts Moab Charter School Student pop-up art show

February 26, 2021

The creative and versatile young artists of the Moab Charter School brought a pop of color to the Museum for a full week. From February 15th through 19th, the Museum hosted a temporary pop-up exhibit of student art ranging from paintings to sculpture, which was open to the students, families, staff, and friends of the…

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Conserving a Twenty-Year Labor of Love | The Moab Museum’s Homage to Urbanek

January 22, 2021

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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