A tin boar's head mask from Mexico. Photo by Lauren Fuka.

Since the summer of 2016, movers have carefully packed millions of artifacts at Ruthven and Kipke, loaded them onto trucks, and unpacked them at their new home at the Research Museums Center (formerly called Varsity Drive) in south Ann Arbor. We have kept track of the progress with bimonthly updates—this is one of the last in the series, as the move is nearing completion.

In the heart of winter, during days with single-digit temperatures, movers continued to pack up artifacts from Kipke for their relocation to the Research Museums Center (RMC). Collection manager Lauren Fuka provided an update on the move’s progress.

“The move is starting to wind down, and I am finally able to count what is left to be packed by the number of shelves instead of number of cabinets,” she wrote. “Just 68 shelves of artifacts to go!”

Those last shelves are full of artifacts that need special mounts and packaging, Fuka explained.

“Since our last update, the Corrigan team has continued packing and moving the ethnographic collections from Kipke to RMC. It includes a lot of large and oddly shaped artifacts, like snowshoes, model canoes, shields, and masks.”

Fuka expects the move to wrap up soon. “We will hopefully be finished with the move in mid-February.” 

A helmet-like mask from the Malagan culture of Papua New Guinea. Photo by Lauren Fuka.