MU marks return of the Museum of Art and Archaeology and the Museum of Anthropology

After spending time in exile, the Museum of Art and Archaeology and the Museum of Anthropology are home at the University of Missouri campus, in the lower level of Ellis Library.

The space was once occupied by the State Historical Society of Missouri, but it now has its own building on Elm Street.

They both had been at Mizzou North, on the Business Loop, but university officials decided to demolish the building. The Museum of Art and Archaeology closed in summer 2021, while the Museum of Anthropology closed in October 2021.

The museums open May 3, though the Museum of Art and Archaeology from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday will pair works of art with fresh flower displays by local florists with Art in Bloom.

The Museum of Anthropology opening celebration is 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. May 2.

Regular museum hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and noon to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Admission is free.

Museum officials on Monday took reporters and photographers on tours of the renovated space.

"We've moved twice in 10 years," said Candace Sall, director of the Museum of Anthropology.

It's the only anthropology museum in the state, she said.

"We have teamed up with the tribal nations," Sall said. "They are sovereign governments."

The museum worked closely with the Osage nation on an exhibit, Sall said. It will feature explanations in Osage and English.

"We're lucky to have such a good relationship with the Osage nation," Sall said.

There's a child's notebook in another display dating to 1933. The child is learning English by translating verses of the Bible from the child's language, Inupiaq, to English. It's an example of the colonialism of the time, said Jessica Boldt, curator of collections in the Museum of Anthropology.

The anthropology museum contains no human remains or burial items, Boldt said.

There is a collection of ancient shoes from a Missouri cave. The oldest shoe on display is 5,000 years old, but the oldest in its collection is 8,000 years old, Boldt said.

All sixth-graders from Columbia Public Schools are going on tours through the museums at the end of their school year.

In the art and archaeology museum, there's a collection of Rembrandt prints on display through July 28, said museum director Dan Eck.

'We made our journey back to campus," Eck said.

Chemistry classes are performing research on some of the European art, said Rima Girnius, curator of European and American art history. The equipment the students use doesn't touch or damage the artwork and they use the MU Research Reactor for their analysis.

Benton Kidd is curator of antiquities in the Museum of Art and Archaeology. Its highlights include the intact Egyptian mummy shroud of Taathyr, daughter of Thatres, dating to 150 C.E.

There's also a headless clay figurine, dating to 6,000 B.C.E.

The collections from the Museum of Art and Archaeology started in Jesse Hall but were moved to Pickard Hall in 1976. That building was vacated in 2013.

Before opening in Mizzou North in 2017 to join the Museum of Art and Archaeology for the first time, the Museum of Anthropology was in Swallow Hall.

There is a museum store, with proceeds benefiting the museums. Another feature is an Art O Mat, a refurbished cigarette vending machine. With the $5 cost of a token, individuals can purchase an original artwork. Those proceeds benefit the museum and the artists.

"We hope to have some works of local artists soon" in the Art O Mat, said Marie Nau Hunter, deputy director of the Museum of Art and Archaeology.

Roger McKinney is the Tribune's education reporter. You can reach him at rmckinney@columbiatribune.com or 573-815-1719. He's on X at @rmckinney9.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Museums return to University of Missouri campus for reopening in May