The shiny new display cases will open up a whole new world for visitors to the Chilliwack Museum.
Chilliwack Museum and Archives took delivery of their new state-of-the-art display cases last Thursday.
“The main thing is they have amazing conservation capabilities to ensure we can protect our artifacts,” said Matthew Francis, executive director of the Museum.
They’ve needed the upgrade on their display cases for years, but it took some time and effort to complete all the fundraising.
READ MORE: The case for new display cases
“It takes us to a new level as a museum,” Francis. “So in that sense a bit of a dream come to true in our quest to allow Chilliwack to see its historic objects and belongings on display with pride.”
The total cost for 19 glass display cases is $142,000, and that constitutes the largest purchase that the Chilliwack Museum and Historical Society has ever made, with funding from the federal government, City of Chilliwack, the Chilliwack Foundation, and private donors.
The glass cases are modular, custom-built, and of the highest quality. They are designed to protect the objects on display against light degradation, and environmental conditions, and come with sophisticated locking mechanisms.
“The cases allow us to open up a window on a world, including the people, the places, the moments and the memories in Chilliwack,” said Francis. “We want to thank our funders and the community for the very strong support.”
The museum has more than 10,000 objects in its permanent collection.
“We have only been able to exhibit about one per cent of the collection, but with these cases we will be able to show much more.”
The display units were shipped from Quebec City from a company called Zone Display Cases, with a special crew to install them. Francis was happily overseeing the installation of the new cases on Thursday, with Zone reps Vincent Nimbo, Stéphanie Bilodeau and Gabriel Collet.
READ MORE: Archives expanded years ago
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