Mather's museum celebrates 50 years

Hidden among the houses lining the intersection of Ninth Street and Indiana Avenue is a small concrete building, which is home to thousands of culturally significant objects from around the world.

The Mather’s Museum of World Cultures is a rarity amongst college campuses.

Jason Jackson, director of the Mather’s museum, said there are probably only 10 to 20 university museums that do the same thing.

Celebrating its 50th year anniversary, the museum preserves and displays artifacts from the world’s different cultures. The intent is for students, faculty and the community to be able to see objects from countries they wouldn’t know about otherwise.

“The museum relates to one of the goals that Herman B Wells emphasized,” Jackson said. “It brings the world to Bloomington. It serves the University’s interest in world cultures.”

Apart from bringing different cultures to the Bloomington campus, the Mather’s museum also provides a place for research and training.

“All of the efforts of the museum are designed to learn new things,” Jackson said. “It also trains students with valuable skills. Many of the students go on to become museum officials.”

Jackson himself was once a student working for the museum and now has moved up. He became the director in early January, after returning to IU to work.

“I’ve been connected to the museum for about 20 years,” he said. “I was a student here, but now I get to be the director. It was unexpected.”

Jackson has been helping to arrange the many events to take place this year as the 50th anniversary celebration continues. Activities will include a variety of exhibits and events.

“There will be chances to meet the faculty and talk in depth about the collections,” said Judith Kirk, assistant director of Mather’s. “April 28 an exhibit called “Treasures of Mather’s” will open, and that will launch a series of events.”

The celebration of the semi-centennial fits in with the objective of the museum which is to help others learn about the people who made or used the tools displayed, Kirk said.
For students interested in using the Mather’s museum, Jackson said there is much more to do than just view the materials.

“Come to the events,” he said. “It could be a concert, a lecture or an exhibit opening. The exhibits can also be used to fulfill class requirements. We have all kinds of objects that connect to all kinds of classes. Also, come and research. Make an appointment, and study something that hasn’t been done before.”

Jackson said many of the things contained in the museum are artifacts not available on many other college campuses.

“You can’t study something up close on OnCourse,” he said. “We’ll give you a pair of white gloves, and you can see for yourself.”