The UW Geological Museum to Reopen as a Pseudomuseum

According to this new article (and another) the University of Wyoming Geological Museum will be reopening....sort of. Private funding will allow for the hiring of a part-time security guard to allow the museum exhibits to be open to the public...part-time. This appears to be a ploy on the part of university administration to attempt to placate the large public and professional outcry resulting from the initial decision to close the museum and lay off all staff including the curator.

Museums are places of learning and the curatorial position is an integral part of the learning process. Essentially the curator is a specialist who interacts with the public and the professional community promoting understanding of the resources under their care. Without this specialist interaction the museum exhibits are essentially nothing but curiosities and visitors will gain little regarding understanding and appreciation of these fossils and their significance. The university administration should realize that a part-time security guard cannot serve this purpose and eventually they will have to hire a specialist to run the museum. In the meantime their short-sightedness has cost the fine specialist they already had his job and cheated future visitors his knowledge and passion of the fossils of Wyoming.

Nice try UW, but again you have missed the point and as a result education and outreach suffers.