ABOUT THE COLLECTION
EVIDENCE OF WONDER: A LIVING ARCHIVE
PURPOSE
Evidence of Wonder is a digital, living community archive from the curious. It documents and celebrates how adults practice wonder and joy through play, connection, collecting, and creating. It brings our personal records together and gives them a home for shared memory. This archive preserves what actually lights us up and keeps us going. We focus on the in‑between. The everyday stuff that makes it all worth it. The wonky, the fun, the strange, and the rabbit holes of pleasure that are just as much our stories.
COLLECTING SCOPE
Generally, we collect materials that document adult experiences of wonder, joy, play, and connection. We focus on digitized versions of physical items and their personal stories.
We welcome a wide range of materials with historical distance and memory. That includes historical materials (pre 2015) Yes, that was ten years ago, and contemporary items that show use, annotation, or lived experience. See below for a non exhaustive list to use as both reference and inspiration!
Making & Creating
Hobby guides and manuals: cookery, gardening, camping, mountaineering, fishing, sewing, knitting, embroidery, woodworking, leatherwork, pottery
How-to booklets and instructional cards: parlor games, card tricks, party games, home entertaining
Craft zines, patterns, swap-meet materials, project instructions
Recipe cards, family recipe notebooks, clipped recipes, handwritten cooking notes
Dream books, astrology charts, numerology pamphlets, tarot guides
Handmade items: embroidery samples, knitting swatches, crochet squares, quilting blocks, woodwork samples, carved items
Creative works: zines, poetry chapbooks, mini-comics, artist postcards, junk journals, scrapbooking
Gathering & Play
Personal correspondence: letters to friends and loved ones, postcards with personal notes
Event materials from family reunions picnics, block parties, game nights, cook-offs, community festivals, step shows, parades, holiday parties,
Board and card games, commercial sets, custom/house-made games, localized or family variants, rule books, score sheets, house rules, puzzles, custom card games and play decks
Club materials: membership cards, rosters, welcome packets, newsletters, school clubs, mutual aid socials
Meetup flyers: game nights, reading circles, sewing bees, creative gatherings
Photos of gatherings
Apparel and accessories tied to joyful events: reunion tees, club jackets, hats with event embroidery
Exploring & Discovery
Travel diaries and logs: road trips, bus trips, train journeys, cruise ephemera
Brochures: beach and resort pamphlets, city guides, museum guides, exhibit guides
Maps and itineraries: theme park maps, bus or metro maps used for outings, hand-drawn route maps
Camping logs, hiking maps, mountaineering accounts, fishing licenses used for leisure
Resort and lodging memorabilia: key cards, matchbooks, luggage tags, coasters, napkins, menus, brochures
Tickets and passes: amusement parks, fairs, carnivals, concerts, skating rinks, arcades, museums
Photographs of leisure and adventure: amusement parks, beaches, resorts, skating rinks, arcades, bowling alleys, road trips
Pins, patches, badges, buttons, ribbons, pennants
Out of Scope
We focus on materials that reflect adult experiences of wonder and joy. We generally don't collect:
Children's materials (unless part of an adult's ongoing joyful or wondrous practice)
Current promotional materials or readily available mass-market media (unless they show rich personal use or annotation)
Corporate or institutional records (unless repurposed for personal wonder)
Functional items without evidence of wonder (unused blank notebooks, standard office supplies)
Items without personal story, context, annotation, or use
Show us what delights you!