Robert C. Williams Paper Museum facts for kids
 |
|
 |
|
| Established | 1939 |
|---|---|
| Location | 500 10th Street NW Atlanta, United States |
| Type | Paper museum |
| Public transit access | Midtown station |
The Robert C. Williams Paper Museum is a cool place in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It's located at the Georgia Institute of Technology. This museum is all about the amazing history of paper and how it's made. It has the biggest collection of paper and paper-related items in the whole world! You can see old papers, tools, machines, and even special watermarks. The museum also shows changing art exhibits made from paper. Plus, there's a permanent exhibit that explains the science and technology behind papermaking.
Contents
The Museum's Story
How It Started
The museum first opened in 1939. It was originally called the Dard Hunter Paper Museum. A man named Dard Hunter created it. He loved papermaking and filled the museum with many items showing this art.
The first home for the museum was at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Not many people visited it there. So, it moved to a smaller building on the MIT campus.
Moving to Wisconsin
In 1954, the museum got a new home. It moved to the Institute of Paper Chemistry in Appleton, Wisconsin. Dard Hunter became the museum's curator, which means he was in charge of its collections. He kept this job until he passed away in 1966.
Coming to Atlanta
In 1989, the Institute of Paper Chemistry moved to Atlanta, Georgia. It was renamed the Institute of Paper Science and Technology. The Dard Hunter Collection, which was the museum's main collection, moved with it. There's even a group called Friends of Dard Hunter that helps promote hand papermaking.
In the spring of 1993, the museum opened again in Atlanta. It was renamed the American Museum of Papermaking. The museum kept growing, and it even started a program to send exhibits to other places.
A New Name and Growth
In 1996, the museum received a big gift from the James River Corporation. Because of this, the museum's name changed again. It became the Robert C. Williams Paper Museum. This new name honored Robert C. Williams. He was a co-founder of the James River Corporation. He had also studied at the Institute of Paper Chemistry.
In 2005, the museum added more space for exhibits. This was made possible by a gift from the Mead-Witter Foundation. The new area was named the George W. Mead Education Center.
