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Cowlitz County Museum reports exhibits, education programs and community partnerships
Summary
The county museum director briefed commissioners on exhibits, free admission, a traveling- trunk education program for schools, a growing annual spring art show and the museum’s funding partnership with the Cowlitz County Historical Society.
Joseph (Joe), the county museum representative, told the commissioners the museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and that the museum’s operations are closely partnered with the Cowlitz County Historical Society.
Joe said the society provides about 55 percent of the funding for museum operations in a typical year and that the museum’s permanent and temporary exhibits—including a statewide traveling exhibit coordinated with the Washington secretary of state’s office—bring visitors and support membership growth for the society.
He described the museum’s permanent displays, noted a temporary exhibit titled “Browsing the Stacks” that will remain through about Thanksgiving, and said the collection contains about 37,000 artifacts. Joe also highlighted a recent spring art show produced in partnership with the Columbia Artists Association that sells local work (including an affordable 6-by-6 sale) and has expanded attendance and membership recruitment.
On education, Joe said museum staff run a traveling-trunk program that visits schools across the county to provide local-history curriculum materials for primarily second- through fourth-grade students; the museum also offers programs for junior high, high school and senior audiences. He said Danielle Robinson is the museum’s education-program lead.
Commissioners asked whether the museum’s outreach extends beyond Longview and Kelso; Joe said the traveling program covers the entire county and that the museum sometimes accepts out-of-county requests for a travel fee.
Why this matters: the museum’s free admission, countywide school programming and partnerships with the historical society and arts organizations connect heritage resources to schools and local audiences, and the revenue from art sales provides modest support for the historical society.
The presentation closed with thanks to commissioners; Joe offered to answer additional questions or provide more detail on operations as needed.
