State Museum Volunteers, Inc.

Mission Statement

The mission of the Wyoming State Museum is to serve as an educational, historical, and cultural institution, whose goal is to collect, preserve, and interpret artifacts that reflect the human and natural history of Wyoming and the Rocky Mountain West.

The mission of the State Museum Volunteers, Inc., shall be to support the Wyoming State Museum in fulfilling its statewide role to collect, care for, exhibit and interpret its collection.

Description

The Wyoming State Museum was established in 1895 by the 3rd State Legislature. The museum’s functions are guided by state statute to collect, preserve, and interpret a diverse range of objects, including history, art, anthropology, and natural history. These collections represent Wyoming’s heritage, from prehistory to the present day.

Admission to the museum and its programs is free. The museum’s permanent exhibits trace Wyoming’s past, featuring human history, major industries, paleontology, wildlife, and landscapes. Temporary exhibits include a changing gallery that highlights different Wyoming artists.

Regular public programs offer a range of opportunities to engage with the museum. In addition to its on-site exhibits and programs, the museum provides traveling exhibits, virtual field trips, and off-site programs. These off-site experiences allow the museum to reach an additional 80,000 people every year.

From their inception over thirty years ago, the State Museum Volunteers, Inc. has been instrumental in assisting the education programs of the Wyoming State Museum. Their tie to the programming activities of the museum remains strong today. Volunteers at the Wyoming State Museum are an important link between the museum's professional services and the public it serves. In human terms, they represent the museum's mission to the public.