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As museums worldwide embrace the digital age, the Pasadena Museum of History pioneers a new era of outreach with its Centennial Exposition, “100 Objects in 100 Days,” opening on Tuesday, April 23. By marrying tradition with technology, the museum seeks to redefine the boundaries of historical exploration, inviting audiences to embark on an immersive digital odyssey.
PMH said the project aims to spotlight the museum’s rich archival collections with daily posts on Facebook and Instagram starting on Tuesday, through which audiences can explore a diverse array of artifacts that encapsulate the region’s vibrant cultural heritage.
“Our exhibitions, Mansion tours, and programs are visible and well-known to the public, but the Museum’s vast collection of publications and documents, objects, and ephemera related to the history of Pasadena and the West San Gabriel Valley remain mostly secured in climate-controlled storage, except on the occasions when something is displayed in an exhibition or discovered by someone conducting research at PMH for personal or professional projects,” Jeanette O’Malley, Executive Director of the Pasadena Museum of History, said.
O’Malley said the Museum wants to shine a light on their holdings “to truly celebrate all that we have to offer and to highlight the importance of collecting, researching, interpreting, preserving, and protecting historic items so that we can share them now and in the future.”
The social media posts, accessible throughout each weekday until the museum’s founding anniversary on Sept. 9, promises to unveil a treasure trove of significant artifacts – from rare photographs to historical documents, each item accompanied by detailed posts providing insights into its historical significance.
About the process of selecting the 100 items, O’Malley said they asked staff members to individually create a personal list of 10 items they felt should be included.
“We also sought input from former staff members and volunteers,” she said. “Once that list was compiled, we categorized the items to see how well they covered all aspects of our holdings and then began filling in from there. The final list, we hoped, would be inclusive of all aspects of our collections while spotlighting unique items that have rarely been showcased.”
Despite the challenges posed by organizing an event of this scale under the constraints of digital presentation, museum officials are optimistic about its potential to enhance community engagement.
“We hope that as we build the project, more people will discover this series, begin following PMH, and realize the depth and breadth of our holdings,” O’Malley said. “We have noticed that once people find us online, they tend to look back at our older posts to see what they’ve been missing.”
The Museum’s Centennial Year offerings will continue throughout 2024, with a major exhibition, “Lights, Camera, Action! Hollywood Magic in Pasadena,” opening on June 8 highlighting Pasadena’s intrinsic role in the multidimensional world of filmmaking. On June 9, the Museum opens a free community-wide celebration, “Happy Birthday Pasadena: Silver Screen Extravaganza,” celebrating the City’s 138th anniversary.
“Both the community party and the exhibition will be crowd-pleasers in a big way,” O’Malley said. “Of course, we are looking forward to celebrating PMH’s milestone year formally, as well, with our Centennial Gala on Saturday, November 9. Details of that event will be available soon.”
For more information about the Pasadena Museum of History’s centennial, visit https://pasadenahistory.org/
To connect with PHM on social media, visit www.facebook.com/
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