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Museum Committee Purpose |
The original focus of the museum committee was to form or affiliate with an insulator museum. Since this has not turned out to be feasible, a different focus has been taken using activities of insulator collectors at the Smithsonian Institution as a model.
At the Smithsonian, collectors have helped identify the insulators there, photographed insulators in the collection, provided a way to access these photographs through the NIA web site, and donated literature to the library. In the process, everyone had a great time looking at the insulators and sharing the experience. There are several museums that could benefit from this kind of involvement and I have a number of ideas to create a relationship between the museum and the NIA.
First, I would like to see a resurrection of the book donation project whereby collectors could donate new or older hobby books to museums to help with their library. A list of the books and their donor could be kept on the NIA web site so researchers would know where to find these materials and potential donors would know what material is needed at a particular museum. Once again, donors would receive a bar for their NIA badge.
Second, clubs or coordinated groups of individuals could schedule a day (or more) to visit a museum and identify/photograph their collection. Once this is done, the list could be added to the NIA web site and additions to the collection suggested, donated, or sold to the museum. For purchased items, the NIA could provide advice on how much to pay for the item and how to find it.
Third, the NIA could provide assistance on creating displays and educating the public. Perhaps the booklet, “What are Insulators” could be provided for free or cheaply to the museums to distribute to visitors.
I have talked with a regional manager of ComEd in Chicago about a company-sponsored, NIA-developed part of their Power House museum. The Minnetrista Cultural Center in Muncie, Indiana has been to some insulator shows, purchased some insulators for their collection, and received some donations through the involvement of a couple collectors and the NIA. The Harold Warp Pioneer Village in Minden, Nebraska has a small, unorganized collection of insulators and is eager for more information on the subject. There should be others soon.
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