Curator's Club

Joining the Curator’s Club is a wonderful way to support ongoing preservation efforts for the museum’s collection, including objects from our geology, biology, and anthropology departments. Proceeds from each Curator’s Club donation go directly towards the preservation of collections objects, ensuring that these amazing pieces can be exhibited and enjoyed for years to come. With over 1.8 million objects, our collection serves as a unique educational tool for visitors, young and old, to learn more about the world around them.

Which Collections Objects are Supported by the Curator’s Club?

Nesiur’s Sarcophagus

• This sarcophagus held “Dayton’s mummy,” Nesiur’s, body when she was buried over 2700 years ago Deir el-Bahari.
• The sarcophagus is inscribed with a prayer in hieroglyphs, reading: “May the king give an offering to Osiris, the great god, lord of Abydos, that he may give provisions and food to Nesiur.”
• While in generally good condition for being nearly 3,000 years old, the sarcophagus has some cracks that compromise its stability. Joining the Curator’s Club will help pay for a conservator’s treatment, priced at around $1,000.

Ivory-Billed Woodpecker Taxidermy

• Ivory-Billed Woodpeckers are considered by the American Birding Association to be “definitely or probably extinct.”
• These specimens are an invaluable education tool, as they give researchers and visitors the sole opportunity to see what the Ivory-Billed Woodpeckers looked like in life, prior to their extinction. 
• Your contribution to the Curator’s Club will help cover $50 needed to purchase high-quality archival storage boxes to safely store our two Ivory-Billed Woodpecker specimens.

Damascus Sword

• This sword, made in Egypt, dates back to 1100-1700 CE. It is made of Damascus steel, a steel alloy with a high carbon content that is hard and strong but also flexible.
• The sword’s hilt and sheath feature a beautiful gold overlaid with engraved floral designs as well as gorgeous inlaid rubies and emeralds.
• Although the sword is in excellent condition for its age, there are sections of the sword which need polishing with gentle, high-quality silver polish. Joining the Curator’s Club will cover the $25 worth of supplies needed to restore this piece to beautiful, shiny glory!

Amethyst Geode

• Did you know that amethyst is just a purple variant of quartz? The mineral gets its gorgeous violet color from iron impurities.
• This piece of amethyst is piece of a geode - a hollow, spherical rock that often contain crystal formations on the interior.
• Minerals like this amazing amethyst are hard and strong but still need to be stored in a protective, soft environment to avoid breakage. A $150 contribution to the Curator’s Club will help cover the cost of a roll of soft, archival, polyethylene foam to help pad this priceless specimen.

Isotelus Maximus

• Did you know the Isotelus Maximus trilobite is the official Ohio state invertebrate fossil?
• After seeing an Isotelus on a field trip at the Dayton Museum of Natural History (now the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery), a group of third and fourth graders from the Dayton area began a campaign to make it the official Ohio state fossil. The movement gained support from Ohioans and on June 20, 1985 the Isotelus gained its official state fossil status!
• Joining the Curator’s Club will help us cover the $100 needed to purchase a digital humidity and temperature reader to monitor collections vaults’ and ensure our spaces are at the correct conditions to preserve fossils like this amazing Isotelus.

Taxidermy Polar Bears

• These polar bears have been a popular site to see at the museum since they were donated in the 1980s. 
• Although these specimens give visitors a chance to see how large a real polar bear is, they are also integral education tools to teach visitors about the arctic and all of its inhabitants.
• Our beloved polar bears are in need of conservation work done by a taxidermist to ensure they are preserved for future generations to enjoy. A contribution to the Curator’s Club helps to cover the $500 needed to hire a professional taxidermist.

Dayton’s Meteorite

• This small specimen might seem unassuming but it is actually a piece taken from a 52 pound meteorite that is said to have landed in Dayton, Ohio in 1892.
• It is a highly unusual specimen, containing an uncommonly large amount of nickel as well as two only-recently discovered phosphates: brianite and panethite.
• Curator’s Club members can help keep Dayton’s own meteorite safe in the city it first fell to the earth, as contributions will go towards new, secure cabinetry for our astronomy collection.