This paper discusses how a number of challenges are addressed in operating and maintaining a small university museum of scientifijic artifacts. The fijirst challenge is justifying the collection’s very existence. Why should this collec- tion exist or be on display? What are the motivations to save and display these artifacts? What unique and/or culturally important information do they represent? Over time the museum’s collection and exhibits have been tied into the Humboldt State University’s history and development as an important regional center of science and natural resources education; a related extensive web site has made the museum a resource for mid-twentieth-century instrument history.