CCAHA and Drexel Announce Conservation Technician Training Program
The Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts (CCAHA) is pleased to announce a new pilot initiative for conservation technician training, in collaboration with Drexel University’s Lenfest Center for Cultural Partnerships. In July, the project was awarded funding by the 21st Century Museum Professionals Program (21MP) of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). CCAHA and Drexel jointly proposed to create an alternative academic training pathway for careers in collections care at cultural heritage institutions, connecting students from Drexel’s Co-Op applied learning program with CCAHA's staff of experts.
“Drexel is the perfect partner for this initiative,” said CCAHA Executive Director Michelle Eisenberg. “They are leaders in experiential education, they have wonderful collections—from the Academy of Natural Sciences to the Atwater Kent Collection—and a multidisciplinary philosophy. We’re eager to explore together the potential for a more comprehensive, competency-based training pathway for conservation technicians.” Drexel’s collections have long engaged with CCAHA for conservation treatment and preservation-related projects.
Over the course of the pilot program, four Drexel undergraduates will participate in an experiential learning sequence in conservation technicianship and preventive care, supporting the preservation and digitization of objects from the Atwater Kent Collection at Drexel. The grant period will allow leadership from CCAHA and Drexel to explore an academic sequence, supplementing the Co-Op experience, to potentially propose as a Certificate at Drexel.
As the steward of the Atwater Kent Collection, Drexel is continuing the mission of the former Philadelphia History Museum: collecting, preserving, and interpreting a collection of 130,000+ objects amassed to tell the important stories of Philadelphia’s past and give context for the present. Drexel’s goal is to make this city history collection accessible as a “museum without walls”—for research, interpretive, and educational use—through an Online Collection, loan program, exhibitions, and public programming. In July 2024, Drexel opened Philadelphia Revealed: unpacking the attic in an exhibit space at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. This large, interactive display of over 600 authentic objects reflects 350 years of Philly history.
“The collections care needs of 21st century museums—from digitization to preventive work in the face of climate change—require a highly skilled, yet well-rounded workforce,” said Drexel’s Rosalind Remer, Executive Director of the Lenfest Center. “We understand the challenges for students seeking to pursue the full master’s degree training to become a conservator and have noted the calls for change presented by the Foundation for Advancement in Conservation.”
CCAHA has a decades-long track record of training emerging professionals through internships and fellowships, enabling graduate students to shadow staff with a wide range of expertise in conservation treatment, housing, and imaging. CCAHA’s involvement will ensure that Drexel undergraduate students receive a level of competency-based training and supervision that will offer an advantage if they choose to pursue careers in cultural heritage fields after graduation.
The initial round of placements is planned for a period from April to September 2025, with a second cohort scheduled for September 2025 to March 2026.