The objective of the Curatorial Program is to utilize the resources belonging and accessible to the Vermont Ski Museum to create visually stimulating, historically in-depth exhibits that fulfill the mission to Collect, Preserve and Celebrate Vermont’s Skiing History. The two main resources available to the Museum are its collections and the community. The Museum staff and Board take their responsibility of holding the collection in public trust very seriously. Outlined below are reasons you should consider donating your old ski equipment, clothing, brochures, art work, or other memorabilia to the Vermont Ski Museum.

The VSM’s entire collection is divided into seven areas: ski equipment, ski clothing, mechanical equipment, Vermont Ski Area/Ski Vermont items, 10th Mountain Division, fine art, and related Library and Archival materials. Most of the material dates from the late nineteenth century to the present.

Since the Museum began collecting in 2002, the collection has more than doubled. There are currently over 5200 items catalogued. This number does not account for the fact that most ski equipment comes in pairs, so most likely there are nearly 7500 individual items preserved by the Vermont Ski Museum. Ski equipment includes about 275 pairs of boots, 400 pairs of skis, 100 pairs of poles, 55 pairs of climbing skins, and 60 loose bindings for both cross country and downhill skiing, and the carrying equipment - bags, boot trees, and ski racks. Mechanical equipment, the smallest collection at about 75, is large items necessary for the operations of ski areas such as snow making equipment, lifts, communication equipment, and race timing devices. Most of this is the first timing equipment, including the first electronic eye that starts and stops timing based on motion, used in Vermont, perhaps in the United States. Vermont Ski Areas collection contains location-specific items. There have been over 130 ski areas in Vermont; currently the Museum is trying to document the 110 areas defined as “lost” or closed. Items range from trail signs to ashtrays to chandeliers. In November 2003, the Museum inducted the over 250 10th Mountain Division members from Vermont into the Vermont Ski Museum Hall of Fame. This collection more than doubled during the research and installation of the accompanying exhibit Vermont and the 10th Mountain Division. It includes early fleece, climbing equipment, WWII rations, medals, and archival material. The fine art collection holds original paintings, drawings, and sculpture and posters and graphics by Vermonters or of Vermont locations and events. The Library and Archives represents a large portion of the Museum’s holdings, including over 550 books, 350 magazines, 75 postcards, 50 instructional booklets, 200 pamphlets related to Vermont ski areas and some original photography and film footage.

Collections as a Resource: To maintain the collections for research and exhibit, the Museum prioritizes:

•Preserving the collections: In the first year, the Museum received a grant from the Vermont Museum and Gallery Alliance to conduct a general survey of collections exhibit and storage. From the findings, the Museum has received grants to add UV protected interior window panes to the original two-story windows thereby reducing light damage, to reconfigure three exhibit cases to exhibit smaller items safely, and to put locking glass doors on exhibit cases to house and expanding library. Two NEH grants provided a plan for the collections storage in the attic and then for metal shelving to correctly house the boot collection.

•Rotating exhibits: Currently the Museum changes five exhibits each year. The goal is to encourage people to return to the Museum and for them to believe that history can be relevant to the present and future and also can be fun. The Curator also adds new acquisitions in pertinent place.

•Responsibly expanding the collection: With a Collections Policy, a Disaster Preparedness Plan, and an Integrated Pest Management Plan, the Museum is in a good place to add to the collections.

•Making the collections accessible: Improved storage has also made the collections more accessible but there is much to be done before the information can be accessed researchers in the Museum or on the Web. Researchers are always welcome and should make an appointment with the Curator to view relevant items.

If you have items you are interested in donating to the Museum, please contact the Curator to discuss the specifics of your donation.

Vermont Ski Museum

Film Archive and Oral Histories Initiative

The Museum visualizes developing an integrated electronic information system that will ultimately connect visitors, both physical and virtual, to collections and exhibits. One component is the continued restoration and digital reformatting of precious historical Vermont ski films. Another is to continue to collect oral histories from athletes, pioneers, and contributors, and to make these resources available in a format usable by the Museum and the general public.

Through a generous grant of one of the Museum’s early sponsors, sophisticated analogue and digital film equipment has been acquired by the Museum. This equipment has allowed the Museum to make oral histories an important part of exhibit development and programming. The Museum continues to produce a 10 minute film about the annual Hall of Fame Inductees and to collect oral histories at the Featured Ski Area Memory Night.

The Museum will focus on:

•Continued collection, storage, cataloguing, and conversion of rare historical ski films;
•Development of filmed skiing histories, especially relating to the histories of those persons being inducted into the Vermont Ski Museum Hall of Fame;
•Collecting the background information and visual effects to use in film presentations.

Please consider donating 8 or 16 mm films or VHS tapes to the Museum. DVD versions will be made available to donors. For more information, please contact the Museum.