The South Carolina State Museum has received its fourth Museums for America grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), securing $250,000 to further its digitization efforts. The grant will fund the photographing and 3-D scanning of 5,000 fossils from the museum’s extensive Natural History collection, which includes over 1.1 million specimens, objects, and artwork.
“This funding is vital in helping the State Museum achieve the goals of our Reimagine the Experience (RTE) campaign,” said Executive Director Amy Bartow-Melia. The grant will enhance the museum’s online collections search database and improve on-site exhibitions.
Curator of Natural History, Dr. Dave Cicimurri, emphasized the importance of making these fossils—many of which document South Carolina’s 520-million-year natural history—accessible online for researchers and the public.
Since 2018, the museum has digitized a variety of collections, including art, military, and science exhibits. The project has already inventoried over 20,000 items and taken more than 35,000 images, with over 52,000 users accessing the online database at scmuseum.org.
