DEAR FRIENDS OF THE MUSEUM, All around, 2014 was another very successful year for the Naval Undersea Museum! It was a year of continued growth, especially when you look at how much our wonderful staff and volunteer corps has grown. I am happy to tell you that in 2014 the Naval Undersea Museum operated at a very high level of professionalism and that our excellence has been confirmed by the Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) and the American Alliance of Museums (AAM). Multiple NUM staff members received awards in 2014 that highlight their dedication to professionalism in our field. Jennifer Heinzelman received the Meritorious Civilian Service Award, the second highest award a civilian can receive, from NHHC for her work in coordinating the acquisition, logistics, and delivery of DSRV Mystic to the museum. Mary Ryan and Jarrod Gahr both received challenge coins from the Museums Systems Office at NHHC for their collaboration on projects that benefited the Command as a whole. Jennifer Heinzelman, along with Danelle Eaton, Carolyn Lane, and Kathrine Young from the Puget Sound Navy Museum (PSNM), received a Team Award from NHHC for her work in preparing PSNM for AAM accreditation. Some staff at NUM also received On the Spot or Time Off awards from NHHC for various projects. The list of awards is incredible; many of them received national attention, and I am extremely proud of our fantastic staff! This past year the makeup within the Navy staff changed with the arrival of an Exhibit Manager at NUM. Steve Harvey came to us from the Seattle Aquarium as the new Exhibit Manager and Fabricator for both the Naval Undersea Museum and the Puget Sound Navy Museum. After a year without dedicated exhibit staff at the museum, Steve joining Jarrod on board was definitely a welcome breath of fresh air for us. Together, Steve and Jarrod make one heck of a powerhouse exhibit team. We are very fortunate to have them and all the rest of the hardworking staff who make the magic happen. Changes in exhibits, the public face of the museum, occupied the staff through much of 2014. The Naval Undersea Museum opened four new temporary exhibits in 2014. Curator Mary Ryan developed a new Every Picture Tells a Story series that refreshes the look of the galleries. The exhibit panels highlighting the kaiten were also installed. The opening of the temporary exhibit The Thresher Legacy: A Better, Safer Navy was the most noteworthy of these exhibits this year. This 1,500-squarefoot project was the first for our new exhibit team and they did a fantastic job with the project. The Curatorial and Exhibit staff also developed new exhibit content for both onsite and online exhibits that will open or go live throughout 2015. 2014 HIGHLIGHTS • Welcomed 57,933 visitors • Staged 57 education programs for 4,660 participants • Re-envisioned our exhibits, facility, and brand under a visioning contract • Added 957 new artifacts to the collection, including DSRV Mystic in October www.navalunderseamuseum.org • Developed and launched a major new education initiative, Navy STEM Days, in collaboration with PSNM and PSNS
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