New Online Program Brings County History Museum Collection to Your Fingertips

By Bay City News Service:

Thanks to the Internet, the vast collection of San Mateo County History Museum's artifacts tracing the history of the Peninsula from its Native American inhabitants to today, can now be viewed online, museum officials announced on Tuesday.

The museum, located at 2200 Broadway St. in Redwood City, houses a wide range of exhibits, from the county's suburban development and entrepreneurial achievements, to ethnic experiences and natural resources.

Organizers of the new online exhibit said that like most museums, only a small portion of the collection is on display in the museum's galleries, with thousands of objects and archival items kept in secure storage until they are needed for exhibition or research purposes. This new online program will allow museum patrons to potentially view 15,000 three-dimensional objects and 200,000 archival items.

The first 500 items in the museum's collection are now available via a searchable program called PastPerfect-Online, and can be viewed at historysmc.pastperfect-online.com.

Museum officials said the initial 500 entries are only a start, and that the rest will appear as the museum continues to marshal resources toward the effort.

Current posted collections include a Charles Parsons model ship collection, the San Mateo County Sports Hall of Fame, and most of the museum's horse-drawn vehicle collection.

The museum's exhibit galleries are open everyday except Monday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.

The research library is accessible Tuesday through Thursday from 10 a.m. until noon and then 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. and on Sundays from noon until 4 p.m.