The U of A Museum collections just became more accessible than ever before.
From the first computer on campus to a meteorite that fell near Fayetteville in 1934, the museum houses a highly varied collection of more than 7.5 million objects encapsulating archeology, history, ethnology, geology and zoology.
A new online resource will feature these collections.
Museum staff and volunteers have established an online museum database available to the public. The database is hosted through Omeka, a platform for sharing digital collections and creating media-rich online exhibits.
“The database will transform how people explore and utilize the collections,” said Laurel Lamb, curator and project lead. “Until recently, only an internal database existed. Staff acted as a go-between for researchers and that database. While staff will happily continue to assist researchers as always, placing those search tools in the hands of the public as well will expand and enhance usage.”
The new database is core to supporting the museum’s work, which is dedicated to preserving and sharing Earth’s diverse cultural and natural history inclusively for Arkansans and all through active research, education and outreach. In establishing the database, Lamb said the term “all” has been at the forefront of her mind.
“Whether you’re browsing highlights of the museum for curiosity’s sake or narrowing specific objects for a research project, it has been developed for a wide range of purposes and users,” Lamb said.
The U of A campus community is especially encouraged to access this resource. Since its early origins as a teaching collection in the 1870s, the museum has long hosted U of A students and faculty. Within the first month of the fall semester, three separate art history classes have already visited the collections to study cultural materials from around the world. Providing digital access to the objects through the database will enhance such experiences.
The resource will foster new users as well. For instance, students can engage in unique and unexpected research experiences while faculty members can find inspiration for their classes through tangible materials that enhance learning.
Lamb said two students have already incorporated the database within projects.
Freshman data science major Ruth Walters began volunteering at the museum over the summer. She assisted with reviewing and revising database entries. Over time, she noticed the museum holds a significant cone snail collection. She honed her focus on these specimen entries and created an accompanying digital exhibit with photographs that link back to specific database entries.
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