In the Dean of Archaeology Office

Contributed by Lainie Schultz

In January of this year, Peabody Institute staff were kicked out of the Peabody Institute building as the start of renovations loomed near. Fortunately, construction elsewhere at Phillips Academy meant that the Dean of Students moved into new digs, leaving available their suite in the basement of George Washington Hall to claim as our temporary-own. A Goldilocks fit, the space had five desks available for five Peabody folk, plus a bonus meeting room for meetings.

Or – could it be a meeting room for classes? Lore tells of Peabody staff moving into the School Room on the Abbot Academy campus for the first phase of building renovations. To continue teaching classes, staff valiantly packed up boxes of collections, carrying them from classroom to classroom along with all their teaching supplies: gloves, ethafoam, trays, and, goodness help them, laptops.

I wasn’t at the Peabody yet, so I have only heard the tale. It sounded very impressive and intrepid and like quite the adventure, and every lazy bone in my body knew I wanted nothing to do with it. And so, with my colleagues, I began carefully planning every piece of furniture we would bring over to our GW bonus room, with every permutation of every collections activity thought out. We measured twice and cut once, determined to make this suite available for teaching.

There is nothing more satisfying than a carefully considered plan that actually goes exactly as intended. Is it sometimes maybe slightly cramped? Yes. Does it always work? Yes. Am I a little smug? Oh, heck, yes.

Trying our hands (and waists and legs) at some new instruments with MUS410 Your Musical Brain.

Meeting the Inuit who met the Vikings with HSS100B Sojourns Across a Connected World.

Prepping for the ceramics studio with ART302 Clay and the Ancestral Pot. (What? Room to stand up and walk around? Incredible.)

Imagining the world of the New Testament with PHR330 New Testament.

Want to see more? Come on by! We accept you.

Building Renovations: The Sequel

Contributed by Marla Taylor

What happens when a project is successful but doesn’t quite resolve the larger storyline or need?  A sequel!

I share with you – Peabody Building Renovations: the Sequel.

The first phase of the work, completed in early 2024, focused on improving collections care.  This included new shelving, an HVAC system, updated security, and an elevator in the building. To facilitate this, the entire collection had to be moved to temporary storage and back again. Phase I was a huge amount of work for all of the Peabody staff and I can confidently say that the collection is now in a better environment than it was before.

This next phase will largely ignore the collections spaces and instead focus on updating classrooms, creating offices, and modernizing systems. By using the space more efficiently, we will create two additional classrooms for use by Peabody educators or PA faculty.  Staff members will have discrete office spaces and there will be room to grow.

One of the biggest improvements will be the addition of an HVAC system to the classrooms and office spaces.  As someone who has worked in these spaces for as long as I have, I would have to say that this is the part that I am looking forward to the most.  Currently, it can be really hot in the summer (over 80 degrees in the classroom) and quite chilly in the winter.  We all have our methods to deal with the discomfort, but I am excited to have air conditioning!

All of this of course comes with some disruption to our regular activities.  Staff will once again be moved to a temporary location and access to the collection will be restricted.

As of December 1st, Peabody collections will be largely unavailable and classroom spaces will be out of commission.  Repatriation work and collections inquiries from Tribal communities will be prioritized but other access will be restricted.  Please contact me, mtaylor@andover.edu, with any questions or requests.

PA classes may be taught in a modified format with limited collections based on availability.  Please contact Lainie Schultz, Curator of Education, to request a class.

The Peabody should be back in commission by September of 2026.  I will be able to share periodic updates on the process through the blog and we are so excited to welcome you into our updated space next year.  Stay tuned!

If you are interested in supporting Phase 2, please contact Jen Pieroni, Director for Advancement Initiatives, Office of Academy Resources.