“The Vault,” July 19 through December 31

Exhibit: Saturday, July 19, through Wednesday, December 31

Grand Opening: Saturday, July 19, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Putnam Museum & Science Center, 1717 West 12th Street, Davenport IA

A massive display of one of the venue's six collections storerooms, the long-awaited open-storage locale The Vault will be officially viewable at Davenport's Putnam Museum & Science Center beginning July 19. its shelves featuring countless pieces of fine China dinner sets, 16th-century saddles, a ship wheel, turn-of-the-century furniture, and a full-sized shrine.

Where there were once walls, Putnam visitors can now, via The Vault, see through floor-to-ceiling glass shelves that come out into the exhibit hall. Guests are invited to search through the more than 250,000 item collections database using interactive tablets, which can sort by country, date, object, and more. Additionally, visitors can design their own Digital Exhibit with the objects displayed in The Vault.
The Putnam: Re-Imagined Capital Campaign that began nearly 10 years ago as a Masterplan is now reaching its conclusion. The major renovation project started with breaking through walls to allow for more accessible routes into the museum. Two long-time exhibits, Rivers, Prairie, & People and the East Asian Gallery, now Common Ground: Our Voice, Our Stories and the World Culture Gallery, saw major updates in inclusivity, modernization, and expansiveness. The World Culture Gallery has additional space for temporary exhibits, and currently hosts The Indigenous Roots of Mexican Americans alongside its permanent displays.

The creation of Quad City Innovators was included in the Capital Campaign, which required complete renovation of what was once the Hall of Gems & Minerals and part of the Palmer Gallery.
The crown jewel of the project is The Vault, which marks the end of major changes brought on by the Capital Campaign. The unique, innovative open storage allows parts of the museum’s 250,000 item collection into public view, with large glass cases and visible shelving. Throughout the exhibit, there are interactives that allow visitors to search the database for objects that have come from around the world and create their own exhibit.

“The Vault is an incredible, unique feature that brings one of our collection storerooms into view for the public.” says Cindy Diehl Yang, the President and CEO of The Putnam Museum & Science Center. “This is one of the final pieces in our years-long Capital Campaign, which invited donors to Re-Imagine the Putnam Museum. We’ve broken down walls to add doors and we’ve created new, permanent exhibit spaces while updating older ones. This has been such a massive team effort, and I’m impressed by all the work put forth by our staff, community partners, contractors, and the Board of Trustees for making this happen.”
Other areas of the museum that have been remodeled and updated since the start of the Re-Imagined Capital Campaign include The Science Center, Black Earth | Big River, The Fab Lab, the Grand Lobby including Ticketing & the Museum Store and an added Activity Room.

“The Capital Campaign is wrapping up and we are so excited to be able to offer so many new experiences and interactives to our community.” the Vice President of Museum Experiences, Kelly Lao, said about the updates. “The Science Center had a major renovation and is such a blast to explore at any age. Also, there are new ‘Imagine Yourself’ stations throughout the building which guide guests through different paths to learn how people contribute to museums. Our exhibits team has really pulled through to make this all possible, and we can’t wait to share the Re-Imagined Putnam Museum with everyone.”

The grand opening for The Vault will take place at the Davenport museum during normal 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. hours on Saturday, July 19, and it will also be open to Putnam members through July 18. For the public, entrance is free with $10-12 general admission, and more information is available by calling (563)324-1933 and visiting Putnam.org.