John Woodman Higgins Armory Museum Inc.

John Woodman Higgins Armory Museum proposes to partner with the Worcester Polytechnic Institute to create the Metals Conservation Summer Institute (MCSI), an objects conservation program with a focus on metals conservation. This project consists of a pilot two-week summer institute in 2004, followed by additional institutes in 2005 and 2006. The MCSI will meet an identified need in the museum field for metals conservation instruction. A nationally and internationally recognized faculty of experts will use the museum's collections and the Institute's facilities to develop and teach a conservation curriculum. The project will cement a strong and enduring collaboration between the two institutions, and will lead to the establishment of a regular summer conservation program and eventually, a graduate degree program.