Megan Griffiths, conservation technician at the Gerald R. Ford Conservation Center, will discuss the history, recovery and ongoing conservation of the Steamboat Bertrand collection at noon today in the Sorrell Center, Room 2014.
The Durham Museum opened “Omaha’s Shipwreck: Remembering the Bertrand” on June 11. In partnership with the Desoto National Wildlife Refuge, and as a companion exhibition to Odyssey’s “SHIPWRECK! Pirates & Treasure,” The Durham Museum presents the story of the Steamboat Bertrand that sank in the Missouri River on April 1, 1865. Though no one was injured, the entire cargo was lost. Over 100 years later, the objects were recovered through underwater salvage and several are on loan to the Durham to highlight the Omaha area’s own shipwreck story.
At the presentation, Griffiths will review the history of the Bertrand excavation and original conservation treatment. The discussion will include a brief background on the field of conservation and how the project came to the Ford Center.
Griffiths received a B.A. in Art History from the University of Tulsa and worked as the Museum Educator for Children’s Programming at the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, OK. She earned a M.Litt. in Museum and Gallery Studies from the University of St. Andrews (Scotland) before coming to work in the Objects Lab at the Ford Center.