Baltimore Community Museum sees progress

BALTIMORE – Change is necessary in order to progress, and the Baltimore Community Museum has seen plenty of progress in the past few months thanks to its new director.

Lauren Martin began working as the first officially appointed director of the museum March 2, and she says it is an honor to work there.

“It’s so interesting to work in a unique community museum like this one,” Martin said. She called the museum’s historical pieces a treasure, adding that this was the first small community that she had seen save so much of its heritage.

Martin has focused on the displays in the museum, not only how they are arranged, but also on their condition as well.

“We lowered the displays so that they were more handicap-accessible and so that children could look into them. Now we’re working on arranging the displays so that they flow a little better,” she said. The work doesn’t stop there, however. Martin plans to improve the preservation of many of the historical news clippings, as well as the older volumes of books the museum has.

In addition to preserving the historical documents, Martin plans to establish a research area the public can use to investigate the area’s history and “find their roots, or connect local names to the area.”

“For several years, the museum has served as the caretaker of documents concerning county history. The documents have always been available to the public, but I’m hoping that we can make the research area easier to use, and better for storage,” she said.

Besides the historical documents, the museum also contains remnants of Baltimore and the Baltimore area’s past, including industrial and farming equipment, replicas of tools from doctors’ offices, and older vehicles. Most of these exhibits were donated by local residents, including the military paraphernalia on display.

To improve visitors’ experience at the museum, Martin plans to create an official welcome area in the main wing. There, patrons will be able to sign up to volunteer, find volunteer information, and pledge donations. To make space for this entrance, Martin said she will start pulling materials that are on display right now, and create rotating exhibits.

“When I go through our inventory, I find something new every day. There’s just so much history here, it’s almost too much for one trip,” she said. By rotating exhibits, Martin hopes that will entice visitors to come by more than once, to see new displays. She also plans on more collaboration with other area museums.

The museum’s seasonal reopening will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. May 9. There will be a weaving demonstration, which could include use of the museum’s own floor loom, Martin said. Additionally, there will be a pottery lecture, as the museum has some pottery in its collection. Guest speakers like Jim Reed will be present as well, to give accounts of the Baltimore area. There will also be a community cookout. Admission is free to this event.

“We’re hoping this open house will help generate interest in the museum,” Martin said, adding that there will be new hours this season. The museum will be open every Sunday, except Mother’s Day, until December from 1 to 5 p.m. Starting the week of May 12, the museum will open every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 1 to 4 p.m. The museum is also open by appointment.

“The museum has had a low attendance rate. I’m working on raising interest, and we’ve just got to get the word out. There’s a lot of history here, and a lot to learn about,” Martin said.