Falmouth Historical Society [MA]

Description

The Falmouth Historical Society operates a selection of museums, which preserve and share the history of Falmouth, Massachusetts. Two 18th–century houses display fine art, furniture, and other decorative arts; while exhibits discuss pre–Civil War medical practice, the 1800's whaling industry, and the life of Katharine Lee Bates (1859–1929), author of "America, the Beautiful." The area surrounding the structures contains three gardens—one a Colonial–style flower garden—and a green which has been used for Colonial militia practice.

The society offers period rooms; exhibits; guided walking tours; trolley tours on maritime life and agricultural life; hands-on children's activities; and archives, including maritime log books.

American Jazz Museum [MO]

Description

The American Jazz Museum showcases the sights and sounds of a uniquely American art form through interactive exhibits and films; the Changing Gallery; the Blue Room jazz club; and the Gem Theater, a 500-seat performing arts center. The collections include artifacts related to jazz greats Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, and Charlie Parker, as well as over 100 recordings. Other highlights include the Charlie Parker Memorial and a major collection of more than 5,000 jazz films.

The museum offers exhibits, films, performances, educational programming, and 16 interactive listening and mixing stations.

Stumptown Historical Society [MT]

Description

The Stumptown Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of the Flathead Valley and Whitefish, Montana. The society operates a museum, housed within a working railway depot, built 1927. Collections include railroad and community artifacts.

The museum offers exhibits, and the website contains a number of historical photographs.

National Museum of Roller Skating [NE]

Description

The National Museum of Roller Skating contains the largest collection of historical roller skates, dating to 1819, in the world. It also contains patents, medals, trophies, photographs, artwork, films and videotapes, costumes, library and archival materials, and roller skating memorabilia. The museum holds approximately 1,500 volumes of roller skating books and periodicals, including over 125 titles (American and foreign) in its periodical collection. The archives also includes over 8,000 photographs; personal papers of individuals prominent in roller skating from 1800 to the present; programs and archival material for local, regional, national, and international roller skating competitions; and miscellaneous articles and images related to roller skating.

The museum offers exhibits and films.

Jacobsburg Historical Society [PA]

Description

The Jacobsburg Historical Society preserves and interprets the historical Henry family estate, early industrial properties, and the family's gun and iron making heritage. Henrys not only produced firearms for all U.S. major conflicts from the Revolutionary War through the Civil War, but they were also the primary suppliers of rifles for the largest American business enterprise of the early 19th century, John Jacob Astor's American Fur Company. The Henry firearm became the most prominent weapon of the western frontier due to its durability, accuracy, and relatively low cost. The society operates the Pennsylvania Long Rifle Museum; the 1832 John Joseph Henry House; and the Nicholas Hawk Gun Shop, a reconstruction of an 1802 structure.

The society offers visitor center exhibits, a historic house museum, living history encampments, school programs, a monthly community lecture series, a youth history day camp, a number of publications, and early American gunsmithing courses.

Historic St. Mary's City [MD]

Description

Historic St. Mary's City presents the first capital of Maryland and fourth permanent British New World settlement via living history interpretation. Sites include the reconstructed 1676 State House, the square-rigger Maryland Dove, a working tobacco plantation, and a Yaocomaco Native American settlement. St. Mary's is an early example of government supported freedom of religion.

The museum offers exhibits, interpretive signage, an audio tour, self-guided tours, four hour school tours which complement state educational standards, hands-on activities, and picnic areas. Reservations are required for school and group tours. The website offers a virtual tour and children's activities.