BOULDER (KDVR) – The Museum of Boulder says it will collect memorial items for long-term preservation following the King Soopers grocery store mass shooting that left 10 people dead nearly a week ago.

Lori Preston, executive director for the Museum of Boulder, said they’re working with the Boulder Police Department and other city leaders to make sure the process is done correctly and with respect.

“Our goal is to provide and serve as a conduit for our community,” Preston said. “There are artifacts and special treasures and incredible stories. We feel like it’s really important to be the collector and preserver of some of those items, as we’ve done in Boulder’s history for 76 years.”

The memorial in front of King Soopers continues to grow. Thousands of bouquets, signs and other personal items have been left along the fence to honor the victims and to show support for the Boulder community.

Preston says they don’t plan to strip items from the memorial site, unless it’s to keep them from getting destroyed.

“We want to honor this time for our community members to go see the sites, but we also want to say that eventually once those sites come down or are destroyed by weather, that we will help be the preservers and the repository, basically,” Preston said.

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She said it’s too early in the process to know exactly what will become of the items they collect, but it’s possible they could eventually be displayed as a long-term healing tool.

“Will that look like an area of the museum where we highlight what has happened? Or will it eventually, in time, be something like an exhibit? That’s really for our community to determine,” Preston said.

Preston says they also plan to collect oral histories. Anyone who wishes to share a personal story or item for preservation is encouraged to contact the museum.