American Mountaineering Center museum design unfolds facility intended to be foremost of its kind

By Kristy Judd

The American Mountaineering Museum––scheduled to open in early 2003 and to serve more than 50,000 visitors in its first year––will teach mountaineering history, showcase extraordinary mountaineering artifacts, inspire visitors to conserve our precious mountains, and educate citizens and tourists about mountain hazards, ecology, recreational issues, science, literature, and art.

Interpretive exhibits are being designed by the Washington, D.C., based Quatrefoil Associates. Quatrefoil possesses an outstanding track record of successful exhibit design and was the winner of the American Association of Museums 2001 MUSE Gold Award in Media and Technology for Interpretation and Education in Art. In addition, our new collaboration with the National Geographic Society will bring some of the Society’s most dynamic and exciting film, archival, and photographic resources to the museum.

In early November, Quatrefoil spent two days with our architects, our fund-raisers, and our joint AAC/CMC Museum Design Committee. At the end of their visit, we were excited and ready to tackle the jobs in front of us.

While most of you still see an “empty and tattered gymnasium,” we on the museum committee are beginning to get a sense of what we are creating. Through the aid of both drawings and three-dimensional models, Quatrefoil is bringing our museum to life.

Telling the story of the mountains

The museum will tell the colorful and exciting story of the mountains and mountaineering––brimming with tales of “boom or bust,” fortunes sought, waves of immigration, diverse cultural mosaics, railroading, mining, religion, expeditions, and climbing. It tells the story of the American spirit and how mountaineering helped shape American achievement, excellence, and independence.

The museum’s stellar interactive exhibits will also establish and promote the American Mountaineering Museum as an educational resource through its excellent array of artifacts, exhibits, public programming, and special events; advance an understanding and appreciation of mountaineering’s history and contemporary issues; advance an appreciation of the arts, sciences, and literature associated with mountaineering and mountains; stimulate public interest in, and educate people about, mountaineering and mountains; advance an understanding of issues affecting mountains and promote conservation ethics; tell the story about the human experiences associated with the history of mountaineering; and preserve important mountaineering artifacts and stories.

Showing the story

The museum will include extraordinary artifacts from historic climbs of the past few centuries and will feature a stunning, two hundred square-foot scale model of Mount Everest, developed by H. Bradford Washburn and highlighted on the PBS series NOVA. In addition, the museum will be a state of the art, comprehensive, teaching facility––adding to the American Mountaineering Center’s role as a significant attraction in Colorado.

Some of the featured items for the Museum include stunning visuals of the “Mountains of the World;” the Washburn model—a focal point of the exhibit area; National Geographic–donated graphics, videos, and photographs; a timeline multimedia panel that outlines the History of Mountaineering; a climbing wall that allows visitors to learn how climbing clothing and equipment have evolved through the years; “Then and Now” tactile exhibits to feel and see historical and modern climbing gear; touch screen interactive computer displays that allow visitors to select video clips that match their interests; stereo viewers, testimonials, and a rescue system model; and “virtual” experiences and a contemplative mini-theater.

What’s next?

The CMC members on the museum committee are Russ Hayes, Jan Robertson, John Polli, Rolf Asphaug, and Sherry Richardson. They are actively involved in all phases of the creation of the museum. Our immediate challenge is two-fold: designing the Colorado Section and launching our fund-raising campaign.

The goal is to present accurate, interesting, and compelling information using all the resources available.

A secondary goal is successful fundraising. The committee will be launching a corporate sponsorship program before year-end. The committee can use your help in its efforts. If you work for or are “well connected” with a company you think might be interested in being a part of our museum, please contact our CMC executive director Kristy Judd. She will coordinate a contact between them and the fund-raising team.

The committee hopes to have the museum open by the beginning of 2003. Members who visit the center will be able to experience its unfolding firsthand. For members outside the metro area, the committee will also communicate through T&T with up-to-date design photos, graphics, and articles.