March 4, 2011
The West Virginia Division of Culture and History in partnership with the West Virginia University history department and the Marshall County Historical Society’s Cockayne Farmstead Preservation Project will sponsor two collections care and management workshops to be led by conservator Helen Alten at Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex in Moundsville.
The first workshop is free and will take place on Saturday, March 12 from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Alten will provide basic information on methods and techniques of managing a museum’s collections and various agents of deterioration. This classroom-based workshop is geared toward students, museum professionals and volunteers.
Seating for this workshop is limited and reservations are required. To make a reservation, contact Tom Tarowsky at (304) 845-1411.
The second workshop will be held on Saturday, May 14, beginning at 9 a.m. This session will be a hands-on workshop at which participants will apply archival storage methods and build an archival storage box.
Class size for this workshop is limited to 12 and reservations are required. There is a $125 fee to cover specialized materials and supplies needed for the class. For more information about this workshop or to register, contact Melissa Bingmann at (304) 293-2421.
“Grave Creek Mound is happy to be a partner in this series of workshops to benefit the West Virginia museum community,” said David Rotenizer, site manager. “They promise to be informative and educational workshops.”
Alten is the director of Northern States Conservation Center and its chief objects conservator. For nearly 30 years she has been involved in objects conservation, starting as a pre-program intern at the Oriental Institute in Chicago and the University Museum of the University of Pennsylvania. She has a degree in archaeological conservation and materials science from the Institute of Archaeology at the University of London in England. She currently conducts conservation treatments and operates a conservation center in Charleston, W.Va. and St. Paul, Minn.
Operated by the West Virginia Division of Culture and History, Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex features the largest conical burial mound in the New World which ranks as one of the largest earthen mortuary mounds anywhere in the world. A massive undertaking, construction of the mound by the Adena people took place in successive stages from 250-150 B.C. and required the movement of 57,000 tons of earth, approximately three million individual basket loads.
Exhibits and displays in the Delf Norona Museum interpret what is known about the lives of these prehistoric people and the construction of the mound. The complex also has a new wing which houses the West Virginia Archaeological Research and Curation Facility, as well as a study room for researchers and a library. The museum is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. It is closed on Mondays. Access to the mound and gift shop closes 30 minutes before the museum.
The West Virginia Division of Culture and History is an agency within the West Virginia Department of Education and the Arts with Kay Goodwin, Cabinet Secretary. The Division, led by Commissioner Randall Reid-Smith, brings together the past, present and future through programs and services focusing on archives and history, arts, historic preservation and museums. For more information about the Division’s programs, events and sites, visit www.wvculture.org. The Division of Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
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