Objects tell stories of craft, use and care, from their creation to their preservation. Preservation is showcased in museums in various capacities but is usually not directly noticeable. At times, conservation is undertaken in the public view, whether it is on a site or as part of a visible lab. In the latter case, it might often be in a temporary or small space.
The Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH) has gone further. The Stories We Keep: Conserving Objects from Ancient Egypt exhibit is directly focusing on conservation, while displaying Ancient Egyptian artefacts. Resources are dedicated to sharing behind the scenes activities with the public and putting conservation in the spotlight. It invites visitors to reflect on “things” that have value to them, then to see how the museum cares for objects through different methods and tools, that are part of a conservation approach. A third part of the exhibit is a functional large size visible conservation lab.
The development of the exhibit was possible thanks to the renovation of the Ancient Egypt exhibit, put in place in 1990. The style very much reflected on the design aesthetics and education style of the time, involving human remains on view. The advanced deterioration of a large 4,000-year-old Dahshur boat initiated a reflection on the renovation of the exhibit. It was coordinated nicely with the approval of the new CMNH’S Human Remains policy in 2023, defining how human remains in general are to be handled, displayed, and returned. The policy went into effect immediately, therefore the three mummified people on display, and the coffins and grave goods associated with them, had to be removed from public view.
To better care for the human remains and the boat, the exhibition closed in 2023, with the goal of reinterpreting the collection and the space with updated knowledge on the Ancient Egyptian artefacts and new policies on human remains. Knowing that the public was very attached to the Ancient Egyptian exhibit and collection, CMNH decided to create this temporary and transitional exhibit, focusing on the way collections are cared for and on conservation in general, and allowing the public to witness the preservation of artefacts in progress. The public also has the opportunity to speak with the conservation team through an open window on a regular basis to learn about conservation work, how an institution works, and discuss various museum related topics. Besides, this has allowed to expose/inspire a career to the general public and students at the nearby colleges and high schools, as well as to recruit interns and volunteers. Educational outreach is central to the project.
The exhibition is a great example of a collaboration between the departments of Conservation, Anthropology, Exhibits and Education, with full support of the museum’s director. They were involved in the development of the idea, the building of the space and the lab, as well as the efficient running of the exhibition and associated educational programs. Aspects of collection care, safe storage, mounting, and integrated pest management, among others, are additionally presented and addressed in this space. General collection care is a central theme of the exhibition and of the work in the conservation lab.
The visible lab was a long-term dream of Gretchen Anderson, the Head of Conservation at CMNH, after working in a similar lab at the Science Museum in Minneapolis. Conservators and conservation technician, interns and volunteers are currently working on the preparation of Ancient Egyptian artefacts for the new exhibit called Egypt on the Nile, planned to open in the fall 2026. Aside from this focus project, the team supports all the museum’s departments with their specific conservation needs.
The Stories We Keep visible conservation lab in the middle of an exhibit is a hub, a place of collaboration with other departments, such as Ornithology, Herpetology and Paleontology, and has been a great educational tool to share with the public and build communities, and a connector between the public and the museum professionals.
This paper will present the genesis of the project and the evolution into a spotlight on conservation. It will describe the conservation lab, the collaborations across the museum, and all the exchanges that the project has fostered. The paper will express successes and challenges of such a space, and future evolutions of the exhibition.
