As one walks to class on the third floor of the Behavioral Arts Building, one passes a dark, gloomy room, which appears to be another old storage room. However, if one takes a closer look at the sign on the brown, sturdy door, the room is meant to store more than just dust and pieces of wood.
After a slow process of cleaning up and planning, Dr. David Blair Gibson, anthropology and museum studies professor with the help of student volunteers, has unveiled a photo exhibit documenting a faculty trip to China in the Anthropology Museum, which is located on the third floor of the Arts and Behavioral Sciences building.
“It is important to keep the museum clean to provide awareness and show that anthropology has many things to offer,” Benny Guzman, 23, anthropology major, said. “The museum provides many different avenues from which one can learn about different cultures.”
Gibson put up a new exhibit for the spring and sought the help of student volunteers like Guzman for clean up after his fall Introduction to Museum Studies class failed to complete their tasks.
“I was very disappointed with the students in the fall semester class. They were the worst group I have ever had,” Gibson said. “This spring I have been very distracted in my other classes with putting together an exhibit myself and gathering student volunteers.”
The students in the fall class took down the previous year’s exhibit and the loaned items were returned. By the time it came time to design and install a new exhibit, only one student remained and the others dropped out.
“The students last semester were not ready for the responsibility that comes with the class,” Jesse Jennewein, 19, Anthropology Club president and Anthropology Museum employee, said. “It is a task that requires a lot of dedication and time.”
The origins of the Anthropology Museum date back to the 1960s. Walter Foster, a former EC professor, had an interest in museums, so he began teaching a class in museum studies. Then in the 1970s, the campus began going through a period of expansion. Foster pressed to have a space dedicated to the museum studies classes and that is how the museum originated as an institution.
“At the beginning of spring semester, there is usually an exhibit in place,” Guzman said. “We’re half-way through the semester and it is still not ready.”
Last semester, a leader of a group of faculty members who went to China suggested that an exhibit of photos from their trip be created.
“The photographs are up and the labels have been written for them,” Gibson said.
Along with that exhibit, a small Polynesian exhibit is also in the works. Among the places featured will be Hawaii, Samoa, and Tonga.
“I am very pleased with the students that have volunteered,” Gibson said. “They have received experience of what it is like to work in the anthropology field.”
The Polynesian exhibit displays are being arranged, while the photo exhibit is open for the public.
“It is never a good idea to not have a museum up and running,” Gibson said. “The campus misses out on the mental enrichment one achieves from a cultural exhibit.”
