During the 2018 BYU Museum Camp, camp-goers dropped several artifacts…to learn the importance of artifact care!

The artifact drop (think of an egg drop but with festive ceramic holiday decorations from the Dollar Tree) was just one of the many activities that individuals were able to participate in during the camp. While not all artifacts survived the drop, campers learned preservation techniques and the importance of proper artifact storage.

As one camper shared, BYU Museum Camp allowed youth to do lots of “museum stuff”.

Camp participants got a special behind-the-scenes look at each of BYU’s four campus museums. They replicated fossil and worked with paleontologists in the lab at the Paleontology Museum, learned about building and planning exhibits at the Museum of Art and the L. Tom Perry Special Collections, and learned more about Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum collections behind closed doors.

Throughout the camp, youth were able to create and build their own exhibit displays at the Museum of Peoples and Cultures. The first session of campers titled their exhibit “Before Bach” and displayed a number of musical instrument artifacts from the museums.The second session of campers made their final exhibit on animals from around the world.

Museum Camp provided youth with an interest in the museums, art, paleontology, anthropology or biology with experience in the museum world as they learned new skills and challenged their creativity. For many campers, this experience motivated them to consider working in museums in the future.

“I think this would be a great college job!” shared one camper.

Another camper shared that her dream job is to work in a classical art museum.

BYU is passionate about providing experiential learning opportunities to all of its students. At Museum Camp, BYU staff extend experiential learning to youth in the community as well. Museum Camp provides an opportunity to share BYU knowledge and resources with potential students and even the chance to occasionally drop some artifacts.

The Museum of Peoples and Cultures hosts a variety of events and activities in addition to Museum Camps, including date nights, family home evening activities, as well as special summer programs and events. For more information on MPC events and activities, please contact mpc@byu.edu.

The Museum of People and Cultures is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The museum is open to the public and general admission is free except for specified programs and events.