In April 2001, the Chippewa Valley Museum received a major National Heritage Preservation grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The grant will result in large-scale nuts-and-bolts improvements within the museum.

The preservation grant offers $324,787 in outright funds to the museum and must be matched with cash or in-kind contributions. CVM’s matching contributions will come from gifts to the museum’s 25th Anniversary Capital Campaign and the value of staff and volunteer time spent in implementing the massive three-year project.

CVM was the only Wisconsin museum to receive a grant in that year from the NEH Division of Preservation and Access. Exactly 200 institutions nationwide applied for preservation grants in this round, and only 66, or one-third, were funded.

“These are very competitive grants,” said NEH spokesman Jim Turner. “We fund all kinds of institutions -- museums, universities, archives. The kind of institution we fund is not as important as which institution makes the best case. We fund merit.”

According to Laura Word of the NEH, the panelists who reviewed the grant applications were impressed with CVM’s innovative use of collections and impressive standards for collections care. She said the panelists viewed the preservation efforts outlined in CVM’s grant proposal as the “logical next step” for the museum.
NEH heritage preservation grants fund improvements that preserve humanities collections and make them more available to the public. Projects funded in this round ranged from microfilming documents to rehousing archeological artifacts.

At CVM, this grant is helping to fund such behind-the-scenes improvements as mobile storage units that allow the most efficient use of artifact storage space, specialized mounts that keep artifacts safe while in storage, and systems for better climate control throughout the museum.

The museum maintains very sensitive collections, which are currently under threat on many fronts, including water damage and changes in humidity. The grant will also fund a building-wide fire-suppression system.

Matching funds provided by the museum will be used for a rubberized membrane roofing system. The original roofing for the museum, built in two stages in 1974 and 1982, is made up of pre-engineered panels. These form ridges especially susceptible to ice damming and corrosion.

Inside the building, a “cool attic” developed between the outer metal roof and the interior ceilings when the suspended tiles were topped with heavy insulation batts to save energy. During the coldest periods of winter, warm moist air inevitably escaped through the batts, condensed against the cold metal upper roof, and “rained” back down through the ceilings. These episodes threatened collections and sensitive equipment in several parts of the building. Condensation has been controlled with stopgap measures that circumvent the existing insulation system, resulting in excessive energy use.

“We have artifacts from before the Civil War era on up to the present,” said museum director Susan McLeod. “These are irreplaceable parts of our heritage, things made and used by the people who’ve lived in the Chippewa Valley. This grant will help us keep these safe for generations to come.”