The Joseph Moore Museum is a vital contributor to the education of both Earlham College students as well as the public of Wayne County, Indiana and beyond. The museum and its collections provide the opportunity for experiential learning through hands-on activities and research while maintaining a valuable asset for scientists around the world.
The JMM also provides many teaching opportunities for professors and their classes at Earlham College. Courses from all divisions on campus have used our exhibits and collections, such as Ecological Biology, Biodiversity, History of the Ancient Mediterranean, Natural History Museum Curation, Drawing I, Vertebrate Zoology and French 102. A minimum of 300 college students come to the museum or use our collections in courses each year.
Museums around the world are working together to make data from specimens readily available to scientists and the general public. By combining the world’s collections in databases accessible via the internet we are able to have a better understanding of flora and fauna of the world, and how it has changed over time. We can also identify gaps in our knowledge and better target our collecting.
In 2014 JMM received a three year grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to digitize the bird, mammal, and herpetology collections. These funds are supporting student and faculty training and work that will allow us to make our collection information available online.