Virtual Exhibitions

Dear Friends;

Thank you for your concern over the Barnum Museum! We worked diligently on Friday of last week to secure the items within the Museum and to board up the windows in preparation. The beautiful etched glass globes of the chandeliers came down and the remaining paintings were safely stored. Even Baby Bridgeport was wrapped and secured against Mother Nature. Thankfully, the Museum lost power for only a brief period and sustained no known damage at this time. The staff could use your best wishes as some are still without power and that makes for a difficult day at work, I’m sure you know.

If you have been driving by lately you would notice that we have construction cones, a large construction van, and now a dumpster outside our door. Thankfully, the scaffolding company came to put up the dome scaffolding before the storm and perhaps that helped to secure us against the winds. In addition, we are moving forward with taking down the old insulation in the ceiling of the third floor so that the structural engineers can get a decent look at how the tornado affected the dome’s structure. We’ve been very busy amidst the storm!

If you are able and are interested in helping institutions across the state of Connecticut who were damaged by Hurricane Irene please check with your local museums and the New England Museum Association’s website www.nemanet.org. I am sure volunteers are needed for a variety of tasks as the clean up continues.

Best,

Melissa Houston

Museum Registrar