The Buffalo Bill Center of the West’s Cody Firearms Museum brought international firearms experts and museum professionals to Cody, Wyoming, for a firearms symposium in July 2017, Arsenals of History: Firearms and Museums in the 21st Century. The two-day event took place immediately after the Winchester Arms Collectors Association Annual Show in Cody.
The two-day symposium opened July 17, 2017, in the Center’s Coe Auditorium; sessions that day were open to the public and free. The July 18 program was open to and designed specifically for the museum community and required advanced registration through Cody Firearms Museum Assistant Curator Danny Michael.
“Museums with firearm collections face unique challenges and interpretive questions,” said Ashley Hlebinsky, the Robert W. Woodruff Curator of the Cody Firearms Museum. “This symposium brings together authorities in the field to begin creating practical guidelines for museums with firearms.”
Hlebinsky recently received the prestigious Grits Gresham Shooting Sports Communicator Award, awarded annually at the Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade Show (SHOT Show) in Las Vegas. She, along with Michael, organized the symposium. They both served as presenters along with several additional experts from museums across the country and Britain that maintain firearm collections.
Day 1, July 17, free and open to the public, featured speakers and session leaders from the following institutions: Cody Firearms Museum, National Rifle Association’s Museums Division (Fairfax, VA), Autry Museum of the American West (Los Angeles), Springfield (MA) Armory National Historic Site, United States Marshals Museum (Fort Smith, AR), Art Institute of Chicago, Smithsonian Institution National Firearms Collection (Washington, DC), Colonial Williamsburg (VA), Royal Armouries Museum (United Kingdom), and Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York).
A highlight of the July 17 program was the participation of Anne Strainchamps, host of the radio show To the Best of Our Knowledge, which airs on both Wisconsin Public Radio and National Public Radio. She moderated a lunchtime session on remaining neutral with firearms that was broadcast using Facebook Live! Hlebinsky and Michael are also well-versed in Facebook Live! and do a weekly video series from the vaults and galleries of the Cody Firearms Museum.
Day 2, July 18, open only to museum professionals seeking to advance their knowledge and expertise in working with firearms in museum collections. Cost for the day was $15, and advanced registration was required to attend. Sessions took place in the Center’s Education Classrooms and lunch on July 18 is included.
Discussion topics and session moderators for July 18 included:
- Firearms Perception with Historic Arms, Richard Moll, Autry Museum of the American West
- Education, Public Access, and Answering the Press, Ashley Hlebinsky, Cody Firearms Museum
- Shooting the Collection, Jonathan Ferguson, Royal Armouries Museum
- Legal Issues for Museums with Firearms, David Kennedy, United States Marshals Museum
- Conservation, Storage, and Handling, Beverly Perkins, Center of the West
- Online Accessibility of Collections, Danny Michael, Cody Firearms Museum
- Forming an Association and Publishing, Ashley Hlebinsky
Since 1917, the award-winning Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming, has devoted itself to sharing the story of the authentic American West. The Center is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution. For additional information, visit centerofthewest.org or the Center’s Facebook page.
