warfare helicopters opened, guest curated by pilot cdr Jeffrey Barta. The Curatorial and Exhibit staff also developed new exhibit content for both onsite and online exhibits that will open or go live throughout 2016. Artifacts are the heart of our organization, and improvements in collections management continued throughout the year. Even though the Collections Managers are usually out of public view, they are absolutely essential to the functioning of the museums. They manage approximately 52,000 artifacts, large and small, in the collections. In 2015, they eliminated 16% of artifact backlog and completed major improvements in the 3rd floor small artifact storage area, collections storage, artifact conservation, integrated pest management, security, and archival management. num’s acquisition of the launching plaques of dsrvs Mystic and Avalon, the Anthony Dunn collection of Trieste ii (dsv-1) material, a one-of-a-kind dsrv Mystic qualification book, and a rare collection of oceanography films are the noteworthy treasures added to our collections. Education programs, outreach, and special events continue to draw people to the Naval Undersea Museum and are where we receive our repeat visitation. num made great strides in strengthening its position as a steam center for the Navy in 2015. Our successes with Engineers Discover “E” Day, Science Saturdays, Navy stem Days, and many more programs demonstrate the public’s interest in and appreciation of the museum. num’s collaboration with the Puget Sound Navy Museum, the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Keyport, and the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility to launch the Navy stem Days program in 2014 and 2015 school year, in particular, has been a resounding success for the museum, local school districts, and the Navy. num served nearly 7,000 students and families through on and offsite programming in 2015. The Naval Undersea Museum also supported over 20,000 active duty Navy personnel and civilians through hosting ceremonies, meetings, and events in 2015. No recounting of the museum’s accomplishments would be accurate without a rousing acknowledgement of the volunteers who support our work in so many ways every day of the year. The museum’s volunteer staff is more than 60 strong and includes some of the friendliest and most accomplished people you will ever meet. They provide the quality that our visitors and the Navy recognize and appreciate. In 2015, the Naval Undersea Museum welcomed nine new volunteers. We also said thank you and farewell to volunteers Jennifer Dornbusch, Stan Marks, and Dorothy Ward. My staff and I could not operate the museums without the loyal, consistent, and dependable support of our superb volunteers. I look forward to 2016, knowing that the Naval Undersea Museum will continue to prosper with the strong support of the public, the volunteer staff, our private non-profit foundation, and the u.s. Navy. All the best, Lindy Dosher NAVAL UNDERSEA MUSEUM 2015 ANNUAL REPORT
6 Publizr Home