West Volusia Historical Society, Museums, and Memorial Garden [FL]

Description

The West Volusia Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of West Volusia County, Florida. To this end, the society operates the 1886 DeLand House Museum, Robert M. Conrad Research and Educational Center, the 1922 DeLand Memorial Hospital, and the Lue Gim Gong Memorial Gardens. The hospital was used for medical purposes until 1948. A separate building behind the main structure served the local African American population. The hospital addresses medical history and African American life, as well as housing collections of elephant figurines, historic toys, and military artifacts. The grounds include two gardens, one of which is devoted to offering a sensory experience for visually and physically impaired visitors. The Lue Gim Gong Memorial Gardens honor Lue Gim Gong (1860-1925), creator of a number of grapefruit and orange varieties.

The DeLand House Museum offers period rooms. The Conrad Center offers exhibits, oral histories, and a research library. The DeLand Memorial Hospital offers period rooms, exhibits, and gardens. The society also offers outreach speakers, a memorial to Lue Gim Gong, and access to his grave site.

Minnesota Transportation Museum [MN, WI]

Description

The Minnesota Transportation Museum presents the history of human travel. The museum consists of three sites. The Jackson Street Roundhouse, once a maintenance building for steam engines, presents the railway histories of St. Paul, Minneapolis, and the greater Upper Midwest. This site also serves as the home of the museum's classic busses. The Osceola and St. Croix Valley Railway in Osceola, Wisconsin provides the chance to ride a train. The museum also operates Minneapolis' historic Minnehaha or "Princess" Depot.

The museum offers interactive exhibits; train, caboose, and bus rides; and the opportunity to watch restoration work in progress.

Hemingway Home and Museum [FL]

Description

The Hemingway Home and Museum commemorates the life of Pulitzer and Nobel Prize-winning author and journalist Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961). The 1851 Spanish Colonial home served as Hemingway's personal residence for more than ten years. A Farewell to Arms was completed in Key West for publication in 1929. Many of the home furnishings and hunting trophies on display belonged to Hemingway, and the more than 60 cats are descended from his own pets. Hemingway's work is characterized by simple sentences, understatement, and stoic characters. Examples of his writings include The Old Man and the Sea and For Whom the Bell Tolls.

The site offers period rooms, guided tours, and an abundance of cats.

Howard County Center of African American Culture [MD]

Description

The Howard County Center of African American Culture presents local and national African American history. The site includes both period rooms depicting typical 19th-century African American residential settings in Howard County, Maryland and exhibits celebrating the inventions and artwork created by African Americans.

The center offers period rooms and exhibits.

Kelley House Museum [CA]

Description

The Kelley House Museum presents the history of the logging and shipping industries in and the Victorian architecture of the Mendocino Coast, California. The museum is located within an 1861 residence. Permanent exhibits include artifacts from the 1850 wreck of the Frolic, a clipper ship involved in the international opium trade.

The museum offers exhibits, guided walking tours, gardens, and archival access. Archival access is by appointment only.

Historic Dumfries Virginia and the Weems-Botts Museum

Description

Historic Dumphries Virginia seeks to preserve and share the history of Dumfries, Virginia. To this end, the organization operates the Weems-Botts Museum. This museum preserves the at least 250-year-old home of Parson Weems, the author who popularized a number of legends about George Washington, including the cherry tree tale. The home later served as the residence of Benjamin Botts, who successfully defended Aaron Burr during his treason trial.

The museum offers period rooms and research opportunities. A fee is required in order to pursue research.

Women's Basketball Hall of Fame [TN]

Description

The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame presents the history and modern state of women's basketball—at all levels of play and prominence. Collection highlights include the 1901 rulebook and a jersey worn by Georgeann Wells, first female player to score a dunk at the collegiate level.

The hall offers exhibits, a 15-minute introductory video, self-guided tours, audio recordings of famous coaches giving pre-game and halftime talks, basketball courts, an athletic playground, and a hall of honor. Educational programs are offered for kindergarten through fifth grade students; and focus on nutrition, sportsmanship, and exercise.