Donations
Additions from the community continually enhance our collection. If you have an object(s) you would like the City of Waterloo Museum to consider for donation to our collection, please contact museum@waterloo.ca or call 519-885-8828.
The City of Waterloo Museum will not accept a donation if conditions are attached to the offer.
The manager/curator reviews donations and determines the items’ suitability relative to the mandate of the City of Waterloo Museum. The manager/curator also reviews the condition of the item and examines the existing collection to see if there are examples of similar items, which already have been collected. If the item meets the Museum's criteria, the item is accepted into the collection.
All objects proposed for acquisition will be assessed based on the following criteria:
- Condition: Consideration is taken of the physical condition of object(s) and the amount of conservation or restoration needed. Objects in poor condition will not be accepted unless they are rare or of particular significance to our collections.
- Relevance: Objects will only be acquired if they support the mission of the City of Waterloo Museum. If we are unable to accept your donation, we will attempt to refer you to another museum or archive that may be interested in acquiring your object(s).
- Documentation: Consideration will be given to the provenance of an object and contextual information regarding the make and function of the object. All this information is critical to collections management.
If an artifact is wanted for the Museum’s collection, the donor will be informed and requested to sign an Object Acquisition form. Endorsement of the form transfers legal ownership of the object(s) to the Museum and to the City of Waterloo.
The process of capturing and preserving our history is never complete, nor is the history itself written in stone. We are always grateful to you for pointing out any errors you may notice. Too often the years go by and the opportunity to make corrections slips away.
Last updated on July 24, 2024
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