00:00:05,840	S1:
Today we're here with Sarah, who is the director of the Wenham Museum.

00:00:12,800	What inspired the creation of this museum? Why does it exist? S2:
The Wenham Museum really came out of community pride in 1921. The Wenham Village Improvement Society purchased the house to preserve it and to share it with the public. That really laid the foundation for the museum. It was our first gallery space. Our first major artifact in the collection, and that housed, really sparked and set in motion everything that was to come later in 1922. We received the International Doll Collection, which really set us off as a collecting institution in the 1950s. We opened a library, which we are sitting in right now, and meeting spaces. That renovation really allowed us to think and dream bigger about what the museum could be. It turned us from a house museum or a historic house museum into a multi gallery dynamic museum we are now able to bring in more exhibitions, we're able to better care for the collections and we're able to welcome more families. It really was the turning point of what we could be in the future. The museum has around 60,000 objects that span from dolls to vintage trains. We have a beautiful textile and costume collection, and also historic photographs and documents that relate back to the history of the area.

00:01:35,200	S1:
What artifacts represent the museum?

00:01:37,080	S2:
Best international doll collection, of course, which started out our collection. Our collections. The vintage train collection. Families come back year after year to see our trains, and then everything else that really represents life in the area tells the story of home, life and family and childhood across different generations in our area. What makes the One a museum really special is that it speaks to multiple generations at the same time in one visit. Grandparents who visit and they see an object that strikes a memory back to their childhood. To an object that they see come in and they can really learn about history and embrace history in a fun, educational, and hands on manner. I am especially drawn to our textiles and our costume collection. Each garment of clothing is just a little time capsule with a lot of history to tell. We hope the community will join us later this summer and into the fall in this big celebration of America. I hope people remember that the Wenham Museum has been here for 100 years because the community cared. We have volunteers, over 700 member families who support us, and very generous donors for the museum to thrive in the next 100 years. It needs the community to continue caring for it. It's going to keep this place going.