Connecticut
American Association of State and Local History 2017 Leadership in History Awards Winners for Connecticut were the Fairfield Museum and History Center for the exhibit Rising Tides: Fairfield's Coast, Past to Future and Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum for the exhibit The Stairs Below: The Mansion's Domestic Servants, 1868-1938.
Connecticut's Old State House was honored with a 2017 Service Award from the Connecticut Council for the Social Studies (CCSS). The Service Award recognizes individuals and organizations that have demonstrated dedicated and continuous service that further the goals of the CCSS. Connecticut's Old State House staff members from the Connecticut Public Affairs Network (CPAN), the non-profit that conducts educational & community programming at the Old State House and oversees the Connecticut's Kid Governor &Connecticut History Day programs, were presented with the award. Those individuals include Sally Whipple, Executive Director of Connecticut's Old State House, Brian Cofrancesco, Head of Education & Connecticut's Kid Governor, and Rebecca Taber-Conover, Head of Public Programs and Connecticut History Day.
For the second straight year in its two year existence the Connecticut's Kid Governor (CKG) program has been honored with a national award. Connecticut Secretary of the State Denise Merrill presented staff of the Connecticut Public Affairs Network (CPAN), the non-profit company that created the CKG program and conducts educational & community programming at Connecticut's Old State House, with a 2017 Medallion Award from the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS).
Taking a stand for women's rights, saving the environment and the end of communism were among the topics Connecticut students researched and presented at the annual 2017 National History Day (NHD) Contest at the University of Maryland in early June. The 68 students, all of whom participated in Connecticut History Day (CHD) this past school year, competed against nearly 3,000 students from across the country. The CHD program, which had over 5,000 student participants this year, is led by the Connecticut Public Affairs Network (CPAN) at Connecticut's Old State House and is one of 57 affiliate programs of NHD.
New London Maritime Society is very proud to announce the beginning of a major preservation project: restoring the 1833 Robert Mills US Custom House roof. NLMS president Ed Cubanski signed a contract with the architectural firm guzmãn|prüfer. The architects now will 1.) research the original 1833 roof design and 2.) prepare the new construction documents. The custom house roof has leaked 'in buckets' since 1836 - one year after it opened. And it still leaks. The new roof will fix this problem, once and for all, and also restore the roof as it was built by Robert Mills -- with four chimneys and a viewing platform. Signing this contract is the culmination of several years of work gaining grants: two CDBG Community Development Block Grants, and one matching grant from the CT Trust, and an additional six months of RFP development & selection by the NLMS Roof Committee, led by John Steffian, with the able assistance of Lloyd Beachy, architect Katie Scanlon, and NLMS director Susan Tamulevich. The three grants will cover 100% of the research and design process.
Maine
Presque Isle Historical Society dedicated its new museum, The Maysville Museum, on July 1. The site of the museum at 165 Caribou Road in Presque Isle is historically significant in that it served simultaneously as the Maysville Town Hall, Maysville Grange, and Maysville School. (Maysville was annexed by Presque Isle in 1883). The Historical Society acquired the property in 2011 with the intention of resurrecting the historical site to become a small museum. The cornerstone exhibits of the museum include: The Aroostook War, Presque Isle & the Civil War, Agri-CULTURE, and Presque Isle's Rural One-Room Schoolhouses. Smaller exhibits include vintage wedding gowns, Bisque Dolls and Frozen Charlotte, Presque Isle's antique souvenir picture plates, and more. Admission to the museum will be free and it will be open to the public several days a week from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations, governing body of Woodlawn is pleased to announce the receipt of a $50,000 grant from the Davis Family Foundation and $7,500 grant from the Fisher Charitable Foundation for the Campaign for Woodlawn. The Campaign for Woodlawn will re-establish the existing Carriage Barn at the historic estate. The facility will provide year-round space, allow Woodlawn to attract a larger, more diverse audience to the estate, and provide the Hancock County community with much needed function and event space. Woodlawn will also gain exhibit space for its collection as well as traveling exhibits from other museums and organizations. An expanded, year-round facility will allow for the continued growth of the Woodlawn School Program, which currently serves 1,300 students annually, free of charge.
Massachusetts
Initially accredited in 2008, the Nantucket Historical Association's (NHA) Whaling Museum has again achieved accreditation by the American Alliance of Museums, the highest national recognition afforded the nation's museums. Accreditation signifies excellence to the museum community, to governments, funders, outside agencies, and to the museum-going public. All museums must undergo a re-accreditation review at least every ten years to maintain accredited status.
The Springfield Museums opened the Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum on June 3 as the Cat in the Hat himself threw open the door and beckoned the crowd to join him in his new home, a museum dedicated to the Springfield native and Cat in the Hat creator, Theodor Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss.
American Association of State and Local History 2017 Leadership in History Awards went to The Paul Revere Memorial Association's Education and Visitor Center and Cambridge Historical Society for the Housing for All Symposium. The Leadership in History Award of Merit will be presented in Austin Texas on September 8, 2017.
The Paul Revere Memorial Association's Education and Visitor Center has also been awarded a Boston Preservation Alliance 2017 Preservation Achievement Award. The awards will be presented on September 19th in the evening at Fenway Park.
The Beverly Historical Society launched the organization's new brand, Historic Beverly, and tagline, "3 houses, 5 centuries, 1000s of stories." This change was the result of much research and discussion, involving board, staff, volunteers, and the community. They have also introduced a new and completely redesigned website, HistoricBeverly.net. In addition to including more robust content, expanded program listings and a larger shop section, the site includes a searchable database to the collection.
The EcoTarium has received a $600,000 grant awarded by the Yawkey Foundations Board of Trustees. The grant designates $500,000 toward Phase Two of the EcoTarium's Third Century Plan Campaign project, Wild Cat Station, and $100,000 to support ongoing operations.
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum completed an ambitious restoration project to its Raphael Room where many famous works of art hang, objects and textiles that have been restored and conserved are being moved into place in the gallery. The entire three-year project required extensive research into Mrs. Gardner's installation of the room and consists of restoration to many artworks and objects, replacing fabric wall coverings, lighting, and flooring. Funding for the Raphael Room Restoration has been generously provided by the Amelia Peabody Charitable Fund, as well as the Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund, a program for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, administered through a collaborative arrangement between MassDevelopment and the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Sarah and Josh Greenhill also have generously supported this Restoration.
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum also received a prestigious three-year $500,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support an ambitious, new multi-disciplinary initiative that re-imagines the Museum's historic spaces and collections in connection with the contemporary arts practice of living artists. The museum aims to reclaim the full territory of Isabella Stewart Gardner's bold vision of uniting art forms to catalyze new work and new experiences.
Lexington Historical Society's new exhibit #Alarmed! 18th Century Social Media explores how news went viral 250 years ago, and lets visitors imagine how colonials might have made use of our modern media tools to kick start a revolution. Located on the second floor of the tavern and open with a regular admission ticket seven days a week, the exhibit contains nearly a dozen interactive activities. The exhibit team of Susan Bennett, Rick Byer, Stacey Fraser, and Lauren Kennedy hopes that visitors engage with the exhibit in both analog and digital ways.
The Museums on the Green was a recipient of a Collections Assessment for Preservation (CAP) Grant, provided by the American Institute for Conservation (AIC) and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Two $ 3700.00 grants will be provided to hire two people to assess the collections and to improve collections care. The assessors will be on-site for two days in September 2017 and will provide written records to the Falmouth Historical Society for their use and reference.
To encourage families to make healthy food choices and enjoy meals together, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation has joined forces with Boston Children's Museum and Boston Public Market to present "Fresh Fridays," a series of free outdoor events at the Museum this July. Fresh Fridays will feature demonstrations of kid-friendly recipes, a farm stand offering free locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables where kids can "shop," and music.
The Nantucket Historical Association (NHA) is pleased to announce that it is the recipient of a significant gift of important and rare Nantucket artifacts from the collection of Bob and Nina Hellman. Many of these artifacts relate to the island's whaling history, including rare whaling harpoons, lances, and spades made on Nantucket by Gustavus Gifford, Elisha Parker, Charles A. Folger, and Samuel Brown Folger; a stock certificate from the Nantucket Marine Camel Company; the journal of a voyage aboard the whaleship Maria (1832-36), a watercolor painting from 1803 of the whaleship Edward of Dunkirk; and a poster for an 1894 train and boat excursion from Boston to Nantucket on the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad.
Battleship Cove’s recent merge with the Maritime Museum at Fall River gave the museum an opportunity to rebrand itself. One ticket now grants access to both the Battleship Cove and the Maritime Museum of Fall River. There are also tickets for access to just the Maritime Museum, as well as membership passes at a discounted price.
The Berkshire Museum has unveiled a $60 million plan to reinvent itself as Western Massachusetts’ premier science and history museum. The $60 million master plan is comprised of two parts: a $20 million architectural overhaul of the museum, and a new $40 million endowment to provide the museum with financial security, Shields said – so that it can be around for another 100 years. The majority of the plan will be funded by the sale of 40 objects from the museum’s collection of 40,000 items – including two Norman Rockwell paintings – that have been deemed no longer essential to the museum’s programming. The museum received $2.5 million from the Feigenbaum Foundation to help further the transition. The Berkshire Museum has launched a $10 million strategic plan campaign to fund the rest.
Long-Lost Sword Owned by Leader of Black Civil War Unit Found
The Massachusetts Historical Society is happy to unveil a recent acquisition to the collection. On July 12, the Society announced the acquisition of a significant collection of Shaw and Minturn family papers, photographs, art, and artifacts. The most remarkable item in the collection is the officer’s sword carried by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment – the first Northern regiment composed of free black volunteers. One hundred fifty-four years ago, Shaw carried the weapon during the failed assault on Fort Wagner, Morris Island, South Carolina. With sword in-hand, Shaw was shot in the chest while mounting the parapet and was killed. The sword and other personal effects were stolen from his body during the night and presumed lost.
Massachusetts Cultural Council Cultural Facilities Fund 2017 awards recipients: Bidwell House, Boston Children's Museum, Cape Ann Museum, Edith Wharton Restoration, Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Harvard Semitic Museum (part of Harvard Museums of Science & Culture), Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Museum of Science, Zoo New England, Norman B. Leventhal Map Center, Heritage Museums & Gardens, House of the Seven Gables, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Martha’s Vineyard Museum, Old Colony Historical Society, Old Sturbridge, Fitchburg Art Museum, Rotch-Duff-Jones House & Garden, Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute, The Ecotarium, The Norman Rockwell Museum, and Ventfort Hall Association.
Rhode Island
American Association of State and Local History 2017 Leadership in History Award in Rhode Island went to Little Compton Historical Society for the project If Jane Should Want to Be Sold: Stories of Enslavement, Indenture and Freedom in Little Compton, Rhode Island.
The Rhode Island Historical Society has announced that it will make its standard educational tours, including those with special needs accommodations, free to Rhode Island schools, home school families, and other learning organizations. Starting July 1, the RIHS's History Free for All initiative will offer, at no cost, field trips to its museums and facilities for classes and groups from preschool through higher education. This expansion of resources at the RIHS, which fosters historical literacy through immersive experiences, has been made possible by recent major donations, including an anonymous bequest. Previously, standard tours have cost $3 per student at the John Brown House Museum, $6 per student at the Museum of Work & Culture, and a flat rate of $100 at the Robinson Research Center. In addition, the RIHS has established the Klyberg Educational Access Fund, made possible by a bequest from former director Albert T. Klyberg, who passed away in January. The fund will award grants of up to $400 to Title I-designated schools to help underwrite the cost of bus transportation to RIHS sites.
Lincoln's Hearthside House and the Hannaway Blacksmith Shop has been recognized by Yankee Magazine Editor's Choice Award in their Best in New England 2017 selection. The announcement was made in the May/June issue of the magazine in which state-by-state listings included best places to eat, where to stay, and what to do. Hearthside House and Hannaway Shop were listed in the "Best Historical Experience" in Rhode Island.
With the sad news of the closing of the American Textile History Museum in Lowell, Massachusetts comes the good news that all the weaving equipment that Francis Talbot left to the Museum upon her passing in 1975 is being donated back to Hearthside. Her will specified that the collection would go to her nephew William Talbot should something happen to the Museum. In turn, William has signed the entire collection over to Hearthside, as was his wish ever since he first discovered that his grandparents' house had been turned into a museum.
The Newport Historical Society is in the midst of transforming what it does and how it does it. While the NHS will always focus on its mission as a steward of Newport's past, it is sharpening its identity as a leader in the field and practice of public history. Through a series of new and expanded initiatives, the NHS will be active in making provocative connections between public history, academic developments, and current affairs through community conversations, living history events, innovative historical interpretation, and practitioner masterclasses. Initiatives are:
The Buchanan Burnham Visiting Scholars program, which leverages expertise without taxing institutional budgets or bandwidth. This program is comprised of Visiting Curators, including prominent public historian Dr. Taylor Stoermer, who are mature scholars who been secured in targeted fields such as Native American history, architectural history, living history, and public history; Buchanan Burnham Fellows, who are graduate students in a number of related disciplines; and undergraduate interns, all of whom contribute to the scholarship and interpretive work needed to keep our discussions relevant and founded on the latest scholarship.
History Space (with the Rhode Island Historical Society), which focuses on the practice and content of public history through living history programs, the fostering of traditional trades and crafts, and seminars for the public and the field. The inclusion of additional partners is planned, and we expect to create opportunities for partner institutions to leverage resources and project mutual priorities, creating fresh, synergistic perspectives to shape the future of public history in New England and beyond. Its next community conversation, bringing together scholars and the public, is set to explore "Myth, Memory, History, and Heritage" in the fall. On July 15th, "1777 Newport" is an interactive set of living history programs designed to challenge the way guests think about the experience of the American Revolution, just as we celebrate the artisanal skills that keep that experience alive. We invite other collaborators throughout the region to join us as we build History Space as a network of forward-thinking practitioners who want to create sustainable, robust public history.
The International Tennis Hall of Fame has earned a prestigious designation as an official Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. Through this affiliation the Hall of Fame will have special access to the Smithsonian's network of exhibitions, education initiatives, research expertise and resources for use in developing new exhibitions, programs, and educational experiences.
The South County History Center recently receive a $2,000 grant from the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities for Eternal Rest: Death, Mourning, and Memorials Program Series. Funds support four public events exploring historical practices of mourning, burial, and memorialization in Rhode Island. The project connects scholars, archeologists, reenactors, and historic grave sites with the public for a collective reflection on the historic means and methods of interment and preservation of memory.
New Hampshire
The New Hampshire Telephone Museum in Warner NH is a participant in "Over There, Over Here: WWI and Life in NH Communities," a yearlong exhibition created in recognition of the 100th anniversary of the USA's entry into World War 1. It is a collaboration of 13 organizations comprised of 6 historical societies, 4 museums, and 3 libraries. The idea was conceived when the group - known as the MUSE Group (MUseums Sharing Experiences) - was holding one of their monthly meetings. The group was initially formed as a way for local museum directors to share ideas and resources and to discuss common nonprofit and museum related issues. That soon grew into doing collaborative exhibitions, this year's being the largest so far. The exhibition is funded in part by grants from the NH Humanities and the World War 1 and America initiative and consists of 8 exhibits and over 30 events. It will wrap up on November 10 with a final presentation that will tie together all of the previous events of the year. For more information visit the exhibition website OverThereOverHere.com.
Vermont
The Montshire Museum of Science unveiled a new look earlier this summer as part of a larger strategic plan to enhance museum-goers' experience. Discovering the joy of science is at the heart of the Montshire mission; refining the brand identity and communications strategies helps to deliver this message in a clear voice that rallies around the wonder of science. The Museum partnered with Burlington-based branding firm Place Creative Company to research, design, and implement a new visual identity that reflects the Museum's mission, strategy, team, and exhibits. The logo is comprised of three colorful triangles that represent the passion of the Museum community (red), the Museum's natural and wooded landscape (green), and its unique location along the Connecticut River (blue). Combined, these vibrant triangles evoke an energy of optimism, excitement, and discovery.
The Montshire Museum of Science opened two new exhibitions this summer. Discovering the Natural World allows visitors to learn about plants and animals by using authentic tools of scientific research. Visitors can sort and identify seeds, classify animal skeletons, use a microscope, and go on an animal scavenger hunt. Solve It! is a hands-on exhibition that contains over 30 hands-on puzzles and games. Both beginners and experts can hone their math and problem-solving skills through these mental challenges. With these two additions, the Montshire's second floor mezzanine now holds exhibitions that were created exclusively at the Museum.