News at Allen Hall

A Note from the Interim Director:
Paul Stavast

It has been an exciting semester.  We received a grant for $134,000 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to research our beautiful Casas Grandes collection from Chihuahua, Arizona and New Mexico. We are using the grant to publish a catalogue, put up an exhibition, and create an interactive online exhibit.  As usual, the project will provide students with quality museum experience well above what is offered at other institutions.  This semester we hired six students to write catalog entries. The students are performing above our expectations.  As a result, we are ahead of schedule and may be able to research neighboring cultures.

We are making incredible progress in improving the quality of our collections.  We plan to complete several long-term projects over the next few months.  With the additional students the 3rd floor is a busier place. It is wonderful to have the
collection storage rooms bustling with activity.

On a different note, Dr. Marti Allen left her position (Aug. 31st) as director to take the position of director at Arkansas State University Museum.  We appreciate all that she accomplished over the last 15 years and wish her luck in her new position.

The October Date Night

by Katie Criddle

The Date Night on October 24th went great! Thirty-four students attended. Everyone gave positive feedback. For those who aren’t sure what a date night is, let me give you a little preview. Date Night is an evening when we cater to couples, giving couples an opportunity to learn about
different cultures in a fun way, while on a date.  We have had successful Date Nights in the past, but this time we decided to step it up a notch and do more of an exclusive event.  Couples purchased tickets for the event.  We then used the proceeds to provide a light meal as part of the event to make it a complete date experience.

The theme was, "Treasures of our Past and Present," because couples were able too learn about artifacts from the past, while with their "treasured" date.

The evening started off with a tour, given by Collections Aide, Tammy Messick, and Museum Curator, Glenna Nielsen. After the tour, each group was given a treasure hunt, to search for letters throughout the exhibits and unscramble a secret message. The first team to complete their treasure hunt won a prize.  The light dinner followed.

We are panning on hosting more Date Nights, at least one each semester.  Watch for fliers announcing the next one.

A big thank you goes to the BYU Fine Arts Department for donating eight tickets to a Fine Arts Department production as treasure hunt prizes.

North Creek 2006
By Mark Bodily

Have you noticed the smell of fingernail polish in the lower halls of the museum lately? If you were to follow your nose, it would lead you down the hall to where the artifacts are being labeled from North Creek.

North Creek is a rock shelter located near Escalante, Utah. Dr. Joel Janetski has been excavating at North Creek for the past couple of years, and has dug down to a depth of about 3 meters (aprox. 10 feet) below ground level. This site is significant because it contains Fremont, Archaic, and Paleoarchaic Indian occupations with radiocarbon dates going back to roughly 10 thousand years ago. In addition to Dr. Janetski’s research, North Creek will produce several Master’s thesis.

August was the big month of excavating at North Creek this year. Dave Yoder (from UNLV) headed a crew that exposed an Archaic use surface, and Dr. Janetski headed the excavation and supervised a crew that dug down into the Palearchaic Indian occupation. On the last day in the field, in the last square, the last scrape of the trowel turned up a stemmed projectile point. This find was the climax of the excavation and will be used to strengthen the argument that the site contains the earliest occupation on the Northern Colorado Plateau.

Dr. Janetski plans on heading back to North Creek next year and dig even deeper. In the mean time, when you walk through the halls of the museum and smell that fingernail polish, you will now know that North Creek is at work!

The Museum's New Cultural Shows
By Tammy Messick

The MPC now offers free "Cultural Shows" every Thursday night at 6 pm.  Tell your friends to spread the word. The shows provide visitors with a hands-on learning experience. Each cultural show highlights a culture found in our exhibits such as Mesoamerica or the Southwest.  After a brief explanation of the region, participants pick up and inspect replicas of pottery, projectile points, and figurines from the particular region.

My favorite item from the Mesoamerican show is the replica of the Mayan ball court vase displayed in the exhibit.  As visitors handle the vase, we discuss what it would be like to be a Mayan playing this curious game.

These cultural shows allow me to share my interest in cultures with the community.  I feel strongly that the museum has a lot to offer.  Its wide variety of collections from countries all over the world sets the stage for interesting discussions.

In addition to its collections, the Museum of Peoples and Cultures’ unique emphasis on student participation allows for innovation and creativity in all aspects of the museum.  As a student starting this new program, I hope to parallel these qualities in the weekly cultural shows.