$348K Grant Awarded To Museum Of Early Trades And Crafts In Madison

MADISON, NJ — The National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded the Museum of Early Trades and Crafts (METC) a grant for its project to build a viewable storage facility.

The museum has been awarded $348,731 for this project, which includes the construction of a viewable storage facility, allowing the museum to rehouse and better preserve its existing collections while also providing greater public access.

The grant falls under the National Endowment for the Humanities grant category of "Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections."

"The Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections program helps cultural institutions meet the complex challenge of preserving large and diverse holdings of humanities materials for future generations by supporting sustainable conservation measures that mitigate deterioration, prolong the useful life of collections, and support institutional resilience: the ability to anticipate and respond to disasters resulting from natural or human activity," the National Endowment for the Humanities said.

The project will be completed under the direction of Early Trades and Crafts Executive Director Deborah Farrar Starker, according to officials.

The National Endowment for the Humanities is a federal agency that was established in 1965 and is one of the nation's largest funders of humanities programs. Since its creation, the National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded more than $5.6 billion for humanities projects through more than 64,000 grants.

The Museum of Early Trades and Crafts is a non-profit educational institution dedicated to connecting people's lives and stories while building a bridge from the past to the future, METC said.

METC is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and from noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday, but is closed on Mondays and major holidays.