April 23, 2003 Student News
Utah
State's Museum of Anthropology Comes Up from the Cellar, Into
the Light
From the Hard
News Cafe (4/21/03)
The USU Museum of Anthropology has gone from a few dusty cases
of artifacts in the basement hallway of the Old Main Building
to a well-rounded and inviting museum receiving thousands of
visitors each year.
Faculty and students have slowly improved the museum since
it began in 1963.
"We had cases in the hallway and pipes hanging down,"
said Jon Moris, an anthropology professor who remembers the
museum's subterranean beginnings. "It was so hot and you
couldn't control the heat."
Today there are no worries about the heat. In 1992 the museum
moved to room 252 of Old Main, which was originally a chapel.
Now the concerns are focused on funding, storage space, and
making people aware of what the museum has to offer.
Lara Petersen, museum curator for the last three years, has
helped improve outreach programs. Last year 2,198 people signed
the museum's guest book, including 63 school groups.
In fall 2002, the university hired Bonnie Pitblado to be the
museum director as well as teach museum and archaeology classes.
Pitblado said she doesn't think enough people know about the
museum.
"I want to raise awareness among the school community
but also among the Logan community," Pitblado said. "We
have exhibits that will appeal to a lot of people--a little
something for everyone."
Recently, about 30 people attended a special exhibit on lacrosse.
Speakers explained the American Indian origins of the modern
international sport. After the speakers were done, the audience
enjoyed the displays and refreshments of beef jerky and trail
mix.
"I'd never been there," said Thaddeus Nicholls, a
graduate student studying coral reef ecology and a USU lacrosse
team captain who spoke that night. "It was definitely a
place I'd visit again."
Nicholls was invited to speak by his friend, Albert Garner,
an anthropology student who put the exhibit together.
"All of the exhibits are conceived and built by students,"
Petersen said.
More events are planned for the summer. One possible event
will feature the Brazilian martial art Capoeira.
Current exhibits feature a wide variety of subjects from Peruvian
healers to Egyptian hieroglyphs to facsimiles of pre-historic
skulls.
"I love the ice man topic. You just have to think that's
pretty sexy," Pitblado said.
Petersen said she thinks the exhibits are really cool and that
they are able to get a large variety in a small space.
"They had a lot more stuff than I had imagined,"
Nicholls said. "Some of the artifacts were pretty awesome."
Pitblado said that anthropology museums are always interesting
because they deal with people. The more people learn about other
cultures, the easier it is for them to get along with each other.
"Knowing about and understanding other cultures is vital
to our national security," Pitblado said. "The ability
to empathize is critical regardless of your political opinion."
For more information go to www.hass.usu.edu/~anthromuseum/.
By Kristin Olsen
utah
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