Donating Artifacts

The Waukesha County Historical Society & Museum's Artifact Collection is made up of significant objects, which clearly and directly adhere to the purpose of the museum. Objects accessioned into the permanent collection are catalogued, documented, preserved, and managed according to prescribed procedures meeting current professional museum standards.

For a description of what we collect, view our Collections Policy or call Collections & Exhibits at 262-521-2859 est. 225.

Donation Procedures

Donors are encouraged to contact the Museum's Director of Collections & Exhibits when they have potential artifact donations. Scheduled appointments are necessary to review potential donations. At the time of review by the Director of or of Collections & Exhibits, determination may be made as to whether to accept or refuse the donation based on the collection management policy. If more time is needed to review the potential donation, a temporary custody receipt will be necessary. The Director of Collections & Exhibits will make a determination within 14 days unless otherwise stated. Objects or items left at the Museum for the purpose of such determination are at the donor's risk. Notification will be made to the owner of potential donations. If accepted by the Museum, a certificate of gift will be filled out and standard donation procedures followed. If the Museum refuses the donation, the donor will be contacted immediately by phone or letter with the reason for refusal. Donor will be given 90 days in which to retrieve his/her object(s). If Donor does not retrieve object(s) in 90 days, a second attempt will be made to contact the Donor. Object(s) left unclaimed after 90 days will be considered abandoned property and may be disposed of by the Director of Collections & Exhibits or the Executive Director in accordance with state laws pertaining to same (Wisconsin 1993 Act 18).

Contact

Donations to the Collections Department can be arranged by contacting our Director of Collections & Exhibits, Elisabeth Engel, at eengel@wchsm.org or 262-521-2859 ext. 225 to schedule an appointment time.