Community History Program

We believe that history isn't just about dates and facts: it's about fostering a community that asks questions, stewards their stories, and stays curious. The Museum is excited to announce the launch of a new history preservation and outreach initiative, designed to help community members connect with, preserve, record, and interpret Moab’s many stories both within and beyond the walls of the Museum. The Community History Program is supported by a grant from the Utah Humanities Council, and has been developed in collaboration with a team of volunteers, advisors, & community stakeholders. Check out what we're doing, and explore ways to get involved!

What we're doing:

Oral History Projects

The Moab Museum will continue ongoing efforts to digitize our oral history collection, collect new stories, and reach new audiences our rich oral history archive. We'll be...

Digitizing a backlog of oral history material
Using Listening Stations to record new stories from community members
Sharing our oral history collection with new audiences by creating a podcast series of local voices

Community History Workshops

Designed to empower you, our community members, to record the stories and care for the objects important to you beyond the walls of the Museum.

Recording Stories workshops on collecting oral histories are designed to help community members capture and share stories.
Caring for Keepsakes workshops with the Museum's Curatorial & Collections Manager help attendees learn the basics of how to take care of beloved family keepsakes at home.

Programs and Exhibits

In-gallery events will provide fresh perspectives on the importance of local history, engage our audiences, and provide a view behind-the-scenes into Museum work.

Join us for live object preservation demonstrations from a professional conservator working on objects on display.
Beat the heat and explore pop-up exhibits at the Grand Center during the summer.
Stay tuned for speaker events this Fall!

Mystery Photos

Are you a longtime Moabite? An aspiring Sherlock Holmes? There are numerous unidentified photographs in the Museum's Collection, and we are seeking the community's help in putting names to faces! Keep an eye out: we'll be running ads in the local papers and doing a social media campaign seeking to identify people, places, and determine dates for some of the evocative mystery photos in the Collection.

Scan-A-Thon

Do you have treasured photographs at home? Use the Museum's professional quality scanning equipment to digitize your photos during our November Scan-A-Thon! If you'd like, you can elect to donate digital copies to the Museum- and either way, you'll help preserve your family's memories digitally for future generations.

Community History Exhibit

A 2023 temporary exhibit will feature the projects undertaken and stories preserved thanks to the Community History Program. Your involvement -through workshops, events, outreach initiatives, and more- shapes all that we do.