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avatar for Gretchen Anderson

Gretchen Anderson

Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Conservator
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Gretchen E. Anderson has been the conservator at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CM) since 2009, where she is responsible for the care of 22 million natural history specimens and objects. Prior to that she was the conservator at the Science Museum of Minnesota for 30 years. Her specialties include preventive conservation practices with a focus on sustainable environmental management and integrated pest management; safe storage practices; moving collections; examination, documentation and treatment of objects and natural history specimens. At the Science Museum of Minnesota, she initiated the conservation department in 1989, creating innovative storage methods, and developing techniques for moving the museum collection to a new facility in 1999. She continues that work today, with the Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s amazing collection.
She has always been dedicated to sharing her knowledge through a wide variety of means including training interns, teaching classes and leading public programs. She has taught in the classroom and online, currently working through Museum Study LLC.
At the Science Museum of Minnesota, she developed public programming, including a visible lab, training volunteer guides and video to explain preventive conservation and conservation in general to the public. She continues this practice at CM by conserving collections that are on exhibit in the public view when possible.
Gretchen is an active member in the American Institute for Conservation and the Society for the Preservation of Natural History. Her publications include Moving the Mountain (co-author) and articles on Integrated Pest Management, mount