On February 20th, volunteers gathered at the African American Civil War Memorial Museum (AACWMM) for a day of learning and collaborative work on several collections within the museum, as a pilot in preparation for a larger Community Partnership Project to come.

Dr. Frank Smith, director, welcomed the volunteers and described an upcoming collections move, when the museum will move from its current home to the adjacent Grimke School. Dawn Chitty, Director of Education for the museum, and several museum staff and volunteers gathered to show WCG members the museum’s collections, ask questions about preserving those collections and plan for a future CPP project. Several conservators examined a collection of historic military orders for U.S. Colored Troops and drew up recommendations for housing. Others worked with museum volunteers to rehang military uniforms (one reproduction and one created for the movie Glory) more soundly on existing mannequins. Staff also learned from WCG volunteers how to evaluate the basic condition, vacuum textiles and make padded hangers. Other WCG volunteers examined objects and books in the collections and are drafting project goals for the larger CPP project. Museum staff reviewed storage plans for the new space with WCG volunteers, and WCG made several recommendations for revising the layout.

Thank you to Hollinger Metal Edge for their donation of supplies for this event.

Images of the day available on Flickr.