What's New
The Interior Museum’s collection documents the work of the Department of the Interior and includes objects relating to key issues and events in the agency’s history. COVID-19 has impacted the people and places of Interior in myriad ways, and with that comes an opportunity to collect artifacts reflecting the Departmental response. These pieces will serve as touchstones to help contextualize these unprecedented times for future generations. Shown here are the two newest additions to the museum’s collection: cloth face masks sewn by the Bureau of Land Management’s Great Basin Smokejumpers.
Based at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, these firefighters parachute to remote wildland fires. The sewing skills they master in caring for their gear and mending parachutes have found an unexpected additional outlet due to COVID-19. Throughout spring 2020, crew members have used any spare moments in their busy schedules to sew face coverings to help prevent virus spread. Assembled and distributed in accordance with CDC guidelines, these cotton masks have parachute cord for ties. Since March, the Boise Smokejumpers have generously donated more than 8,000 masks to their greater community and to Department of the Interior employees.
 The Interior Museum continues to be temporarily closed until further notice, with no gallery access, building tours, or in-person public programs. Updates will be posted to the museum’s website and on Twitter and Facebook (@InteriorMuseum). We invite you to discover some of our collections highlights and digital exhibitions online and hope you will explore more than 50 past public lectures available on our YouTube channel.
Collections Spotlight
Zuni polychrome jar, circa 1900
U.S. Department of the Interior Museum, INTR 00924
With National Pollinator Week being celebrated later this month, we’re sharing this colorful butterfly found in the design of one our Zuni polychrome vessels. This piece also features painted dragonflies, plus three sculpted frogs peering out from the rim. In the late 1800s, Zuni potters began adding three-dimensional applied figures to jars made for sale, correctly anticipating that railway tourists newly visiting the American Southwest would find them appealingly collectible.
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