Peabody Essex Museum [MA]

Description

The Peabody Essex Museum is an art museum, which seeks to engage visitors' interest in the cultural, historical, and human aspects which the works convey through their context of creation. Museum galleries include American decorative arts, Native American contemporary and traditional art, Korean art, Chinese art for use in China and for export, Japanese art for use in Japan and for export, Asian arts on paper, Indian art for use in India and for export, Oceanic art, maritime art, and photography. The museum also operates Yin Yu Tang, a Qing dynasty (1644-1911) home from Anhui Province, China.

The museum offers traditional and interactive exhibits, hands-on art activities, themed guided tours, self-guided tours, 14 curriculum-based programs for students, programs for educators, family programs, a restaurant, and a cafe. Student programs are available with focuses on American art and culture, Asian art and culture, and the visual arts. The website offers Asia, Chinese aesthetics, and Salem witch trials curricula; a teacher's guide to the American collections; slide shows of select current exhibits; images of collection highlights; and a virtual tour of Yin Yu Tang.

The Art and Nature Center will be closed until June 20, 2009 for the installation of a new exhibit. The galleries housing Intersections, Native American Art in a New Light are closed until August 2009.

Old World Wisconsin [WI]

Description

Old World Wisconsin is a large living history museum that showcases the lives of early Wisconsin settlers. Old World Wisconsin is home to several seperate attractions, including working historic farms as well as a carefully reconstructed historic village.

Old World Wisconsin offers guided tours, workshops, hands on historical activities, field trip programs, summer camps, and special events. The website offers visitor information and an events calendar.

Crockett Tavern Museum [TN]

Description

The Crockett Tavern Museum is located in Morristown, TN, on the site of Davy Crockett's birthplace. The museum is focused on chronicling the life and times of famed explorer and pioneer Davy Crockett, and features a variety of pioneer and Davy Crockett historical artifacts.

The museum offers guided tours and historical exhibits. The website offers visitor information, a history of the museum, and a brief biography of Crockett.

Aspen Historical Society [CO]

Description

The Aspen Historical Society is dedicated to preserving the rich cultural and historical heritage of the Aspen Valley, from its original Indian inhabitants up through its modern-day status as one of the world's premier skiing destinations. The society operates seven historic sites, ranging from mining ghost towns to historic house museums.

The society offers guided tours of its museums and historic sites, research resources, field trip programs, a traveling trunk program, and special events. The website offers visitor information, access to the society's archives, lesson plans for teachers, a calendar of events, and detailed historical information about Aspen.

Old Dillard Museum [FL]

Description

The Old Dillard Museum presents the history of Fort Lauderdale, Florida; the African American experience in Broward County; the Old Dillard community; and jazz. The museum is housed within the 1924 Old Dillard School, a segregated school for African Americans. Artifacts are local, African, Native American, and Caribbean in provenance. Particular attention is given to Julian “Cannonball” Adderly (1928-1975), jazz saxophonist.

The museum offers exhibits, hands-on activities, guided tours, films, lectures, conferences, classes, and workshops.

Catalina Island Museum [CA]

Description

The Catalina Island Museum presents 7,000 years of the history of Santa Catalina Island. Permanent exhibit topics include the Gabrielinos, resort history, sport fishing, media history, Avalon's casino, the Chinese junk Ning Po, steamships, and ranching. The museum collections consist of more than 150,000 artifacts. Collection highlights include Catalina tiles and Gabrielino artifacts.

The museum offers exhibits, Avalon walking tours, customizable lectures and tours, student tours, and a research center. An appointment and two weeks notice is required for archival or collections access.

Poverty Point State Historic Site [LA]

Description

The 200-acre Poverty Point State Historic Site preserves Native American earthworks dating from between 1650 and 500 BC. The mounds of a 3/4-mile diameter partial octagon, six rows deep, are believed to have served as shelter foundations. Goods from throughout the United States suggest that the inhabitants were part of an extensive trade network. A museum is located on site.

The site offers exhibits, guided tours, tram tours, educational programs a 2.6-mile hiking trail, and a picnic area. The website offers a link to an informative video.

Minisink Valley Historical Society and the Fort Decker Museum of History [NY]

Description

The Minisink Valley Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of the Minisink Valley which stretches across New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. To this end, the society operates the Fort Decker Museum of History. The structure was originally built in 1760 as a defensive center against Native American attack and as a trading post.

The society offers archival access, exhibits, and 50-minute outreach slide presentations. Appointments are required for archival access. Slide presentation topics include author Stephen Crane, the Delaware and Hudson Canal, artist John Newton Howitt, cemetery history, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt, and the bluestone industry. The website offers a small collection of music and historical photographs.

Boiling Springs State Park [OK]

Description

The Boiling Springs State Park is famous for its cool springs which bubble up through the white sands of the Northern Canadian River. In addition to the springs, the state park is home to a small forest, which highlights the park's status as an oasis in the western Oklahoma plains.

The park offers outdoor activities and events which highlight the park's heritage. The website offers basic visitor information.

Fort Robinson Museum [NE]

Description

From Crazy Horse to the cavalry to the K-9 Corps, Fort Robinson played host to them all. Visitors to the site can experience the long and varied history of this outpost on the Plains. The museum at Fort Robinson is located in the 1905 post headquarters building. Museum exhibits trace the history from the post's role guarding the Red Cloud Agency (1874–77) through the housing of World War II German POWs (1943–46). Among the many fascinating objects in the museum's exhibits are the only known dog kennel from the K-9 Corps of World War II; marksmanship medals earned by Caleb Benson, a Buffalo Soldier at Fort Robinson between 1902 and 1909; and 19th-century Sioux objects related to the Red Cloud Agency. Visitors can explore more than a dozen historic structures and sites such as the 1904 blacksmith shop, the 1908 veterinary hospital, the 1887 officers' quarters, the 1875 guardhouse and adjutant's office, and the old post cemetery.

The site offers exhibits, tours, research library access, and occasional recreational and educational events.