Garth and Jerri Frehner Museum of Natural History

The Garth and Jerri Frehner Museum of Natural History at Southern Utah University will enhance the museum’s capacity for collections care, operational efficiency, and community engagement by investing in the professional development of key staff members. Staff will attend professional conferences and participate in workshops and presentations about best practices for collections management. Further education will be supplemented by online coursework on collections care and preservation. Staff will also create an objects-based course for undergraduate student staff to prepare students for future careers in the museum field. The project will result in lasting improvements in staff skills, institutional knowledge, and established preservation practices that will enhance the natural history museum’s capacity for both student engagement and collections management.