ANN ARBOR—Rare Egyptian mummy masks, watercolor paintings of ancient Roman frescoes and a spectacular Tiffany chandelier are just some of the treasures on display at the University of Michigan’s 12 museums during the 2009-10 theme year, “Meaningful Objects: Museums in the Academy.”

Sponsored by U-M’s College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, the theme year celebrates the contributions of the university’s museums to the intellectual, cultural and social life at U-M and in southeastern Michigan. Most of the events are free and many are open to the public.

The theme year gives students, faculty and community members a chance to discover the world-class collections at the university’s museums, galleries and gardens while exploring the importance of museums worldwide. With the re-opening of the Museum of Art last spring and the Kelsey Museum of Archeology in November, patrons will also be able see objects in the new galleries that have been in storage for decades.

Through courses, public lectures, tours, exhibits and other events, the theme year explores the cultural richness and unique potentials of university museums as sites of critical reflection, cultural engagement, innovative research, life-long learning and personal fulfillment, according to Carla Sinopoli, professor of anthropology, director and curator of Asian archaeology of the Museum of Anthropology, and chair of the theme year.

“The spectacular new public gathering spaces and exhibitions at the Museum of Art and Kelsey Museum and the educational and family-oriented exhibitions and events at the Exhibit Museum of Natural History bring the university and the community together in unique and valuable ways,” Sinopoli said.

“Our research museums, with their large natural science, anthropological and archaeological collections are centers of cutting edge research and give students opportunities for hands-on engagement with the evidence scholars use to understand our planet and our past. We look forward to re-introducing the community to museums they know already and showing them ones they have yet to discover.”

Highlights include:

• U-M’s Museum of Art, the Institute for Humanities Gallery and the Cranbrook Museum of Art and Cranbrook Institute of Science in Bloomfield Hills will present coordinated exhibits of museum-themed images by photographer Richard Barnes Sept. 12-Jan. 3.
• The Gaffield Children’s Garden grand opening at the Matthaei Botanical Garden featuring a butterfly garden, fairy and troll knoll, water play area, builder’s garden and more, will be 1-4 p.m. Sept. 13.
• The Kelsey Museum of Archeology will open its new William E. Upjohn Exhibit Wing Nov. 1. A public reception will be held 2-5 p.m.
• The Exhibit Museum of Natural History will feature two new exhibits, both opening on Sept. 25. “Collecting for Science” will highlight the collections and scientific contributions of the research museums of anthropology, paleontology and zoology and the herbarium and run through May 31. “Archaeology!” an ongoing exhibit, will highlight U-M archaeological research around the globe.
• Behind the Scenes Days: Research areas in many U-M museums, archives and libraries normally closed to the public will be open 5-8 p.m. Oct. 9 and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Oct. 10.
• Lecture series: Four free public lecture series will address the challenges and potentials of 21st century museums.
• The Wednesday Night Museums series features distinguished scholars from a range of disciplines and museums settings. Rick West, founding director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, will deliver the kickoff lecture at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 30 in the Helmut Stern Auditorium in the Museum of Art
• Translating Knowledge: Global Perspectives on Museum and Community considers strategies for engaging communities in the process of interpreting their histories and cultures in the museum. It features 10 international scholars during the yearlong series, whose work offers new models for confronting challenges of representation in museums and cultural institutions.
• The final two lecture series highlight U-M’s own museum professionals, providing overviews of museum careers, “A Day at the Museum”, and the challenges of conserving our precious cultural and natural heritage, “Conservation Detectives.”
• Students will have a chance to explore the world of museums with the launching of a new interdisciplinary undergraduate minor in museum studies in the fall, featuring more than 30 courses with museum-related content, according to Raymond Silverman, director of the Museum Studies Program and interim co-director of the Museum of Art.

“The museum theme year dovetails nicely with the first full academic year since the Museum of Art re-opened after its expansion and restoration,” said Silverman. “With its expanded galleries, open storage spaces, classrooms, special exhibitions, visual, performing, film and literary arts programming designed to animate the collections, the museum truly comes into its own this year. It is a dynamic meeting place for the arts, where teaching and learning, social and cultural opportunities abound.”

• The LSA Summer Reads program invites students and the larger community to join in reading the award-winning book “Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder,” an engaging book about Los Angeles’ intriguing Museum of Jurassic Technology, where all is not as it appears to be. Author Lawrence Weschler will deliver a free public lecture at the Power Center at 4:30 p.m. Sept. 15.

“I hope the lecture series, exhibitions, behind the scenes tours, courses and other events will challenge, educate, entertain and make us think, all the things that a visit to a museum should accomplish,” Sinopoli said.

Related Links:

• LSA theme semester