First Arab-American Museum
CHALLENGE
Dearborn, Michigan, is home to the Arab American National Museum, which opened in May 2005 as the first museum in the U.S. to showcase the culture of one of the nation’s largest Middle-Eastern populations:
- The museum’s 38,500 square-foot design prioritized exhibits
- Classrooms
- Public programming over collection storage
Curator Sarah Blannett noted the difficulty of securing funding for storage space. When tasked with selecting a storage system, Blannett consulted other local museums and identified Spacesaver and Casper Corporation as top choices. The challenge was to create storage for diverse artifacts, including textiles, art, and historical objects, while also planning for future acquisitions. Working with sales specialist Jim Casper, they developed a custom system to meet the museum’s unique needs.
SOLUTION
Blannett selected a powered high-density mobile storage system by Spacesaver to maximize the museum’s limited space, customizing it with hanging rods, drawers, and adjustable shelving for various artifacts. The system doubled available space by eliminating aisle gaps. The museum chose this state-of-the-art system to reflect its pride in being the first in the U.S. Additionally, Delta Designs Ltd. provided drawers for storing media memorabilia and movie posters. At the same time, an entire wall was dedicated to rolled textiles. The system is designed for 2-3 years of collection growth, offers flexibility for future adjustments, and is located at the museum’s lowest level. Though not publicly accessible, the storage area can be viewed through a tour window. Blannett praised the system for its space-saving capabilities, calling it invaluable to the museum’s operations.
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