Items tagged with 'State Museum'

The Historic Woodstock Art Colony: The Arthur A. Anderson Collection at the State Museum

autumn hillside george ault new york state museum

"Autumn Hillside" by George Ault

The State Museum opens a new exhibit -- The Historic Woodstock Art Colony: The Arthur A. Anderson Collection -- this Saturday. It includes more more than 100 pieces from a donation of 1,500 works connected to the Woodstock Art Colony that were donated by Anderson last year.

Exhibit blurbage:

Long before the famous music festival in 1969, Woodstock, New York, was home to what is considered America's first intentionally created, year-round arts colony--founded in 1902 and still thriving over 100 years later. Collecting the remarkable range of work produced there was Anderson's focus for three decades, resulting in the largest comprehensive assemblage of its type. The artists represented in it reflect the diversity of those who came to Woodstock, including Birge Harrison, Konrad Cramer, George Bellows, Eugene Speicher, Peggy Bacon, Rolph Scarlett and Yasuo Kuniyoshi, among many others. Anderson donated his entire collection--some 1,500 objects by almost 200 artists--to the State Museum.

The new exhibit will be on display through the end of 2019.

There's an opening reception this Saturday, November 10 from 1-3 pm, with a historian/curator tour at 2 pm.

A new season of Brainfood for the Curious is starting up at the State Museum

NYS Museum mastodons State Education Building

One of the talks is about the history of the museum, which was once in the State Education Building. / photo: New York State Museum

The State Museum's Brainfood for the Curious series of short lunchtime talks returns for a new season next week.

The 20-minute talks feature a scientist, curator, or historian in the museum's Huxley Theater starting at 12:10 pm. Afterward the speaker sticks around for a short a Q&A period. You're welcome to bring your lunch.

Talk topics this time around range from auto racing to the Erie Canal to art to ethnography to history to ice age animals to snails.

Here's the quick-scan lineup for the new season...

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The Cornplanter pipe tomahawk

Cornplanter pipe tomahawk

It's currently on display in the the lobby behind the information desk.

We got a chance this week to stop in the State Museum and see an interesting artifact that's newly on display, Cornplanter's Pipe Tomahawk.

The piece was stolen from the museum sometime between 1947 and 1950, and only returned this past June by an anonymous donor. From the State Museum:

This tomahawk has particular significance--at one of several meetings between the U.S. and Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) leaders in the years 1792-1794, President George Washington gifted it to Gy-ant-waka, or Cornplanter, a respected Seneca leader, skilled diplomat, and eloquent speaker. On one side of the blade Cornplanter's name is engraved, and on the other side is the name John Andrus, possibly the maker. Pipe tomahawks emerged in the early 1700s and were commonly presented to Native American leaders by 18th-century colonial officials. They were considered prized objects because they could be used to smoke tobacco, a plant of cultural and spiritual significance to Indigenous people.
This pipe tomahawk was purchased around 1840 by Tonawanda Seneca Ely Parker from the widow of a Seneca named O-ya-weh-te, or Small Berry. Since the original handle, or haft, was missing, Parker replaced it to reflect what it once may have looked like, based on descriptions from Small Berry's widow. He also added a brass plate engraved with his name on bore end of the tomahawk's haft, just above the blade.

As with any object like this, it's kind of cool to examine and think about how it was probably once held by figures such as George Washington and a great Seneca leader. But maybe more importantly the object is a way to drop into the story of the past and get a better sense of it.

So let's follow a few the threads that connect here.

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The hills of Albany, almost 175 years ago

The work above is "View of Albany, NY From the East." It's a print, the original of which was created by the artist Edwin Whitefield in 1845. And it's part of the new exhibit at the State Museum, Art of the Erie Canal.

The print caught our eye while looking through the exhibit because 1) Albany (obviously) and 2) it depicts an Albany that hadn't quite totally spread west up the hills from the river. Those hills are obscured by buildings in so many images of the city.

Whitefield apparently had a thing for cities and wanted to document them for history. Among his other cities works is the aptly-titled "View of Troy, N.Y. From the West."

The print on display in Art of the Erie Canal is from the State Museum's collection. The image above is via the Yale University Art Gallery.

Tracing the histories of family cookbooks, and bicycles on the road to suffrage at the State Museum

circa 1900 bicycling ladies Schenectady

This photo -- of two women in the Schenectady area in the early 1900s -- is from the Larry Hart Collection at the Schenectady County Historical Society's Grems-Doolittle Library. That link is to a post on the library's blog about the wild early days of cycling in Schenectady.

Two upcoming State Museum talks that look interesting...

A Taste of Change
Food historian Peter G. Rose will be at the State Museum May 6 for a talk about family cookbooks. "Using her knowledge of Dutch customs and food history, [Rose] will discuss examples of such recipe/scrap-books, dating as far back as the late 17th century and ranging to the 20th century that contain Dutch recipes. They show the continued identification with the forebears, but also the gradual assimilation. This can apply to any other ethnicity as well. Photographs of pages in cookbooks as well as 17th-century paintings will illustrate the talk."

Rose is originally from The Netherlands and has written many books about the Dutch and their influence on the food and culture of the Hudson Valley. Her latest book is Delicious December: How the Dutch Brought Us Santa, Presents, and Treats. Sunday, May 6 at 2 pm -- free

Woman on a Wheel
State Parks historian Kjirsten Gustavson will be at the State Museum May 20 for a talk about women and the early history of bicycles. "Women astride their bicycles challenged cherished notions of femininity--everything from the concept of female dependence to their very appearance was about to change. Even Susan B. Anthony once said of the bicycle, "I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance." Join [Gustavson] for an illustrated talk on the way in which the bicycle helped to shape the modern woman and pave the way for suffrage."

Also: Gustavson will be there in her 1895 bicycle costume and you can join her for a bike ride. Sunday, May 20 at 1 pm -- free

Steuben Street Cafe at the State Museum

Steuben Street Cafe at State Museum 2018-03-29

Check it out: There's a dining option in the State Museum once again.

The Steuben Street Cafe opened March 1 in a space on the mezzanine, which overlooks the front lobby of the museum. It's tucked into a space in the back of the mezzanine, and with the seating that was already there out front by the overlook.

The cafe is a spin-off of the Steuben Street Market on Pearl Street downtown. And it offers a range of snacks, sandwiches, salads, soups, smoothies, and drinks, with an emphasis on local and healthier options.

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Canstruction 2018

Canstruction2018 Paddington

The annual CANstruction display has returned to the State Museum. Can-what?

CANstruction is an annual exhibit and design competition that connects talented architects, engineers, contractors, and students to imagine and create colossal structures built completely out of canned food items. The structures are on display on the fourth floor of the New York State Museum for two weeks, raising awareness of food insecurity in our region while highlighting the local talent of design firms. At the close of the exhibit, every can is donated to the Food Pantries for the Capital District to help feed families in the Capital Region.

This year's display has a "Bon Voyage" theme, and the structures play on the idea of travel in some way.

They'll be on display on the museum's terrace level through April 11.

Visitors can vote on their favorites by dropping canned goods into bins by each structure. The donations benefit the Food Pantries.

Here are a bunch of pics from this year's display...

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There was a coyote at the State Museum

State Museum coyote NYS Police

A photo posted by NYS Police on Twitter Tuesday.

A thing that happened Tuesday: A coyote -- an actual, living, wild coyote -- found its way up onto the terrace of the State Museum around noon.

State Police responded, and in turn called in the state Department of Environmental Conservation. DEC said that wildlife technicians tranquilized the coyote and took the animal to the agency's wildlife lab for evaluation. A DEC police lieutenant told the media it's not clear if the coyote was sick, but it had been become trapped and was scared. [@nyspolice] [@NYSDEC] [@bern_hogan]

Let's hope the coyote avoids the usual ending to the wild animal story arc. (RIP, Runaway Bison and Albany Bear.)

Coyotes among us
That a coyote would show up around the State Museum -- or anywhere in Albany -- is actually not that surprising. That it would end being noticed is more so.

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Women of Science at the New York State Museum

state museum from plazaHalf of the research and collections professionals at the State Museum are women, and on February 10 it has a whole day of events lined up to highlight the science and research in which these women are engaged. Blurbage:

In recognition of the U.N. International Day of Women and Girls in Science we bring you this program honoring the women working in a variety of scientific discliplines right here in downtown Albany. Lectures, "Ask the Scientist" sessions, and scientific activities will be happening throughout the day.
The day includes hands-on activities that allow YOU to be the scientist. Examine specimens from our collections and ask questions of the women working in science at the edge of human discovery and preserving the wealth of knowledge in museum collections. Cultural Anthropology, Bioarchaeology, Archeology, Malacology, Botany, Geology and Paleontology are some of the fields represented in this amazing all-day extravaganza!

If you follow that link above, there are details about the events, along with short profiles of many of the scientists who will be participating.

The events are from 10 am-4 pm on Saturday, February 10. It's free.

And now... 50 seconds of science


We've been enjoying these short videos the State Museum has been posting to Facebook and Twitter to highlight items from its huge collection.* There's a Science Tuesday series and a Humpday History series.

The one from today is embedded above. It's about carnivorous butterwort, which is hanging on in New York State. Yep, CARNIVOROUS BUTTERWORT. That sounds like something from Harry Potter.

A recent Humpday History video focused on the costumes worn by a dance team that danced with the Ziegfeld Follies and emigrated to upstate.

One of the things we like about these videos is how they're a calm interlude in the typical feed of outrage and despair. It's like ARGH!, RARR!, BLERG! --- (Here's something quiet about rocks. Yes, let's be chill and think about geology.) --- BLAR!, KERFUFFALUFFAGUS!

So, more like this, please.

By the way: New York State has 19 species (and one hybrid) of carnivorous plants, according to a paper posted by the NYS DEC.

Science Cafe
Speaking of the State Museum, its Science Cafe series returns to The Hollow January 23 for a talk titled "The First New Yorkers and Ice Age Landscapes."

* Much of the collection(s) is not on display. One example: so many bird things.

Russell Shorto at the State Museum

russell shorto revolution song

Author/historian Russell Shorto will be at the State Museum November 13 to talk about his new book, Revolution Song. Book blurbage:

In his epic new book, Revolution Song: A Story of American Freedom, author and historian Russell Shorto takes us back to the founding of the American nation, drawing on diaries, letters and autobiographies to explore six lives that cast the era in a fresh new light. These stories include an African man who freed himself and his family from slavery, a rebellious young woman who abandoned her abusive husband to chart her own course, and a certain Mr. Washington, who was admired for his social graces but harshly criticized for his often-disastrous military strategy.
Through these lives we understand that the revolution was fought over the meaning of individual freedom, a philosophical idea that became a force for violent change. A powerful narrative and a brilliant defense of American values, Revolution Song makes the compelling case that the American Revolution is still being fought today and that its ideals are worth defending.

We hear that one of the six lives profiled in the book is that of Albany's Abraham Yates, Jr.

Shorto's other books include The Island at The Center of the World (about Manhattan) and Amsterdam: A History of the World's Most Liberal City. He's a senior scholar at the New Netherland Institute.

The talk is this Monday, November 13 at 7 pm in the Huxley Theater. It's free to attend, but it sounds like the State Museum is expecting a crowd and it's encouraging people to pre-register for a seat: 518-486-3694.

Shorto photo: Keke Keukelaar

Here's a look at the big, new State Museum exhibit about the women's suffrage movement

Votes for Women suffrage exhibit at New York State Museum

This year marks the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage in New York State. To be specific, it was November 6, 1917 that New York voted 54-46 to grant women in the state the full right to vote.

The State Museum has a new exhibit opening this weekend that highlights the history of this turning point. Four years in the making, Votes for Women: Celebrating New York's Suffrage Centennial includes more than 250 artifacts and images related to the suffrage movement -- from Elizabeth Cady Stanton's writing desk to campaign paraphernalia to Susan B. Anthony's alligator purse.

What's maybe more interesting about Votes for Women is how it places the push for suffrage in New York in the wider historical context of social and political movements, on a timeline that stretches many decades both backward and forward from 1917.

We got a chance to see the exhibit Wednesday during a preview, and talk with the co-curators about how New York experienced this movement...

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Brain Food for the Curious returns for a new season at the State Museum this week

state museum from plaza

The State Museum's "Brainfood for the Curious" series of short lunchtime talks starts a new season this Tuesday, October 17.

A museum historian or scientist gives a 20-minute talk in the museum's Huxley Theater and then answers questions. The talks cover all sorts of topics, from history to fashion to geology to archaeology to biology. Each event starts at 12:10 pm. They're free.

Here's the schedule for the new season...

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Pushing the button one last time to start up the State Museum carousel

State Museum Carousel operator Ann Winnicki

Ann with her favorite carousel horse, Doc. (He only has three horseshoes.)

Back in 2001, Ann Winnicki was working in the State Museum's gift shop when her boss came to her with an unusual question: What would she think about being a carousel operator?

"And I said, 'There's no carousel here.' And he said there's going to be one on the fourth floor."

The State Museum had a circa 1915 carousel in storage and it was preparing to install it on the mezzanine level. Ann remembered seeing all the carousel's horses lined up in the gallery, waiting for their place on the circular platform. "I watched them build it."

Since then, the carousel has spun for hundreds of thousands of people. Winnicki has been pushing the button to start many of those rides. But this Thursday she'll push the button for the last time. She's retiring.

"I don't normally cry," she said this week, misting up. "It's very emotional."

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An ample amount of mastodon


We enjoyed this throwback pic shared by the State Museum from when the institution was still housed in the State Education Building. It had a good amount of mastodonage.

Here's the same scene from a different angle. The former museum space in the State Ed building looks like it was beautiful.

State Museum adds "significant" collection of art

Portrait of Martha by Eugene Speicher

"Martha" by Eugene Speicher, 1947, oil on canvas, The Historic Woodstock Arts Colony: Arthur A. Anderson Collection, New York State Museum. / photo: Eric R. Lapp

The State Museum announced Tuesday that it's acquired "a significant collection" of artwork from the Woodstock Art Colony: 1,500 works across different media from 170 artists from the early 20th century.

Press release blurbage (links added):

Long before the famous music event in 1969, Woodstock was home to what is considered America's first intentional year-round arts colony: the historic Woodstock Art Colony, founded in 1902. Its artists have been the focus of collector and donor Arthur Anderson for three decades, resulting in the largest comprehensive art collection of its type. The artists in the collection reflect the diversity of the artists who came to Woodstock, including Birge Harrison, Robert Henri, George Bellows, Eugene Speicher, and Yasuo Kuniyoshi. Anderson recently donated the collection to the New York State Museum, where the collection will be transferred and permanently housed.
"The Woodstock Art Colony Collection highlights an important piece of New York's art history with both regional and national significance," said Board of Regents Chancellor Betty A. Rosa. "We're honored to now own these extraordinary artworks that reflect our art and cultural history and share them with the children and adults of New York State."

Here's a small sample of the works in the collection.

The portrait above, titled "Martha," is by Eugene Speicher. You might remember there was an exhibit of Speicher's work at the State Museum a few years back.

A Spirit of Sacrifice at the State Museum

NYS Museum WWI trench

The State Museum opened a new exhibit Friday -- A Spirit of Sacrifice: New York State in the First World War -- that commemorates the 100th anniversary of WWI. Exhibit blurbage:

A Spirit of Sacrifice examines how New York State and its citizens played a critical role in the United States' efforts during the war, and discusses its significance to understanding history today. Both on the battlefield and on the home front, through industrial production as well as civic participation and debate, New Yorkers had a considerable impact on the shaping of these events. By the end of the war, the Empire State would lead in the number of soldiers, tonnage of supplies, and money raised to support America's efforts.

We got a chance to check out the exhibit with curator Aaron Noble and exhibit designer Craig Gravina. Here are five bits about it...

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Canstruction 2017

Canstruction Marucho

The annual CANstruction display has returned to the State Museum. CANstruction?

CANstruction is an annual exhibit and design competition that connects talented architects, engineers, contractors, and students to imagine and create colossal structures built completely out of canned food items. The structures are on display on the fourth floor of the New York State Museum for two weeks, raising awareness of food insecurity in our region while highlighting the local talent of design firms. At the close of the exhibit, every can is donated to the Food Pantries for the Capital District to help feed families in the Capital Region.

It's always fun to check out what the teams have built. This year's theme is "Go Team," so they structures have sports and games themes. They'll be on display on the museum's terrace through March 22.

Visitors can vote on their favorites by dropping canned goods into bins by each structure. The donations benefit the Food Pantries.

Here are a bunch of pics from this year's display.

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Taking in The People's Art

Jackson_Pollock_Number_12

"Number 12" by Jackson Pollock

Let's look at some art. That sounds like a good idea today.

We got a chance this week to finally check out The People's Art at the State Museum this week. It's an exhibit of works from Empire State Plaza Art Collection. Blurbage (link added):

Beginning in 1965, Governor Nelson Rockefeller assembled a commission of art experts to select the works for the Plaza and personally signed off on each acquisition. The exhibition The People's Art: Selections from the Empire State Plaza Art Collection is a collaboration of the State Museum and the New York State Office of General Services. It features 20 works by 17 artists and includes paintings and sculpture by modern masters such as Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock, Helen Frankenthaler, Franz Kline, David Smith, and Alexander Calder.

There are a few more selections after the jump if you're curious about what's included. It's on display through the beginning of this September.

Between this exhibit, the new Ice Ages exhibit (which just opened), and Hudson Valley Ruins, it's a good time to stop by the State Museum if you haven't been in a while -- especially now that we're in the gloomy mid winter period (meteorological period rather than artistic).

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New online home for the Cohoes Mastodon

old New York State geological hall Cohoes Mastodon

Where the Cohoes Mastodon lived before the place it lived before the current State Museum. (Yep, so two places ago.)

The State Museum has launched a new mini website for the Cohoes Mastodon exhibit and it's worth a look.

The site is full of interesting facts and explainers about mastodons generally (they're not mammoths!), and the Cohoes Mastodon specifically -- including a biography of his relatively short, hungry life. And it's illustrated with a bunch of large-format photos and diagrams, some of them interactive.

The online exhibit also includes a section about the exhibit. (An exhibit exhibit?) And it's various homes since the mastodon skeleton was discovered in Cohoes 1886 at Harmony Mills. The photo above is from that section -- it's from the old Geological and Agricultural Hall that was once at State and Lodge.

Earlier on AOA: Ice Ages at the State Museum

Ice Ages at the State Museum

NYS Museum Ice Ages exhibit

The State Museum opened a new exhibit last week -- Ice Ages -- that is about... well... ice ages in New York. (Surprise!) It's back by the Cohoes Mastodon and worth a stop the next you're at the time museum. It'll be on display until the beginning of 2019.

We got a chance to check out the exhibit recently. And now let us quickly nerd out on a few things from it...

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"Kids Curate" at the State Museum

State Museum dog treadmill

Really, we just wanted to show this photo of the dog treadmill. We gotta get the backstory on this.

This is fun: The State Museum has opened voting for a "Kids Curate" exhibit set for February. Blurbage:

The ballot includes 15 objects from the State Museum's collections representing various areas including history, biology, paleontology, geology, and ethnography. The seven objects with the most votes will appear in a special exhibition on the 4th floor of the State Museum February 24 - 26, 2017. Children are encouraged to submit their comments on why they voted for a particular object; selected comments will be featured in the exhibition. ...
The Kids Curate exhibition in February 2017 will include the seven objects with the most votes as well as interactive, family-friendly programming. Curators, scientists, and historians will also be available to talk to children about the State Museum's history and science collections and how exhibitions are created. More information about Kids Curate will be announced in early 2017.

The ballot includes some fun items, including the dog treadmill pictured above. (There's also one piece of nightmare fuel.)

The voting is open through November 30.

The People's Art: Selections from the Empire State Plaza Art Collection

Smoker by Philip Guston ESP art collection

"Smoker" by Philip Guston is one of the works in the exhibit.

Opening this weekend at the State Museum: The People's Art: Selections from the Empire State Plaza Art Collection.

The exhibit features 20 works from the ESP's extensive modern art collection, including works by artists such as Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock, Helen Frankenthaler, Franz Kline, David Smith, and Alexander Calder. Blurbage:

The Empire State Plaza Art Collection has been heralded as one of the greatest collections of modern American art in any single public site. Beginning in 1965, following a procedure he established decades earlier during the construction of Rockefeller Center in Manhattan, Governor Nelson Rockefeller assembled a commission of art experts to select the works for the Plaza and personally signed off on each acquisition. Funds for the art purchases were allocated as a percentage of the construction cost of each building on the Plaza.

The exhibit will be on display until September of 2017.

By the way: If you stop by to see this exhibit, you might also want to take the short walk over the ESP concourse and see Magnetic Shift, a display of works by Phil Frost. It's at the Corning Tower Plaza and concourse levels. And opens October 31. It will be on display until next August.

State Museum's Science Cafe and Brainfood for the Curious are back

State Museum Science Cafe logo

A few upcoming events connected to the State Museum...

Science Cafe
The Science Cafe series at the City Beer Hall returns Monday, October 17 with a program about archaeology and the history of Albany. Michael Lucas, the State Museum's curator of historical archaeology, and Charles Gehring, director of the New Netherland Research Center, will be there for a discussion titled "Beverwijck, A 17th-c. Dutch Village, Above and Below Ground."

The event starts at 6 pm. Admission is free -- food and drink are not included. (And these events have been popular in the past, so it's worth showing up a little bit early if you want to grab a seat.)

Brainfood for the Curious
The State Museum's "Brainfood for the Curious" series of lunchtime talks in the Huxley Theater starts back up against Tuesday, October 11. A museum historian or scientist gives a 20-minute talk and then answers questions. The talks cover all sorts of topics, from art to wedding dresses to politics to archaeology to biology. Each event starts at 12:10 pm.

Here's the schedule for the new season...

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Hudson Valley Ruins at the State Museum

Hudson Valley Ruins Robert Yasinsac Sing Sing

Sing Sing State Prison in Ossining, Westchester County, in 2004, by Robert Yasinsac

This could be interesting: A new exhibit -- Hudson Valley Ruins -- opens this Saturday at the State Museum. It includes more than 80 photographs by Robert Yasinsac and Thomas Rinaldi of "forgotten historic sites and cultural treasures in the Hudson River Valley." Blurbage:

The exhibition is based on Yasinsac and Rinaldi's 2006 book, Hudson Valley Ruins: Forgotten Landmarks of an American Landscape. In addition to great river estates, the book and exhibition profiles sites meaningful to everyday life in the Valley: churches, hotels, commercial and civic buildings, mills, and train stations. The exhibition explores many of these abandoned places and also revisits several sites that have changed in the past ten years since the book's publication.
Working together since meeting in 1999, Yasinsac and Rinaldi have photographed more than 500 sites throughout the region. First photographing sites around their childhood homes, they gradually worked farther afield, eventually expanding their scope to cover the entire region between Yonkers and the Capital District. Driven by a sense of urgency to document sites of architectural or cultural significance that seemed poised to disappear, the pair also found beauty in the picturesque decay of these places.

There are a few more photos from the exhibit after the jump.

It will be on display at the State Museum through the end of 2017.

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Science Cafe at City Beer Hall: evolution

State Museum Science Cafe logo

The State Museum has set up another Science Cafe event at the City Beer Hall for May 12.

This time around the topic is evolution and the guest speaker will be Lisa Amati, the state paleontologist and the museum's curator of invertebrate paleontology. Craig Gravina, an exhibit designer for the museum (and, of course, also a beer historian and occasional AOA collaborator), will again serve as host for the informal discussion.

We hear Amati's short talk will center on evolution as an observable phenomenon, and its connection to examples such as antibiotic resistance and mosquitos adapting to the environment of the London Tube. After the talk, there will be Q&A with the crowd. (And we suspect Craig has a few fun questions of his own to ask...)

Here's a NYT profile of Amati and her research from last summer.

The Science Cafe event at the City Beer Hall is Thursday, May 12 at 6 pm. It's free to attend (food and drink not included). The first event was packed, so it's probably worth getting there a little early to grab a good spot.

The Atlas of Inland Fishes of New York

Inland Fishes of New York 2016 cover

There are 181 native and introduced freshwater fish species in New York State.

That's one of the many, many bits in a huge new catalog of the state's fish released this week as part of joint effort by the New York State Museum and the state Department of Environmental Conservation. It's the first such publication in three decades.

The book is available to download for free as a pdf from the State Museum website.

The Atlas of Inland Fishes of New York is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. It includes photos or illustrations of each of the state's different fish species, along with maps depicting where the fish have been found both in the past and present. As the atlas preface notes of New York: "its freshwater fish species represent one of the richest and most scientifically fascinating ichthyofaunas in the Northeastern United States."*

It's fascinating to flip through the atlas, gawking at some of the wildly-colored or shaped fish, and seeing how they compare or contrast with other similar fish. It's also interesting to see the geographic ranges of each species plotted -- how some species live only in a few river corridors, others are confined to specific watersheds, and others are pretty much everywhere.

And if nothing else, some of the names are great: Gizzard Shad, Central Stoneroller, Northern Redbelly Dace, Tonguetied Minnow, Rosyface Shiner, Bigeye Chub, Northern Hog Sucker, Threespine Stickleback, Pumpkinseed, Tesselated Darter, and so on...

* "Scientifically fascinating ichthyofaunas" really should be some sort of state marketing slogan.

Imaging the American West at the State Museum

Paul Manship sculpture Indian Hunter and his Dog from The Met

"Indian Hunter and his Dog" by Paul Manship. / photo: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Opening this weekend at the State Museum: Imaging the American West: Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

It includes 48 works from the collection of The Met. Blurbage:

In the decades just before and after the turn of the 20th century, paintings and sculptures depicting majestic landscapes, Native Americans, cowboys and cavalry, and animals of the plains and the mountains served as visual metaphors for the Old West. Imaging the American West explores the aesthetic and cultural impulses behind the creation of artworks with American western themes so popular with audiences then and now.
The exhibition covers works dating from about 1850 to 1930 and centers on four specific themes: the land, Native Americans, wildlife, and cowboys. Artists represented in the exhibition include Albert Bierstadt, Paul Manship, Georgia O'Keeffe, Frederic Remington, and Charles M. Russell. The exhibition offers a fresh look at the multifaceted roles played by these artists in creating interpretations of western life and scenery, whether those interpretations are based on fact, fiction, or, most often, something in-between.

It will be on display at the State Museum through July 17.

By the way: The State Museum recently got a new website and it's a big upgrade. An example: check out the "ongoing exhibits" page.

The Influence of the Dutch on the American Kitchen at the State Museum

Joachim Bueckelaer's Well-Stocked Kitchen

Joachim Beuckelaer's "The Well-Stocked Kitchen" from 1565.

Food historian Peter G. Rose will be at the State Museum for a talk about how the colonial Dutch influence American cooking. Blurbage:

This PowerPoint presentation is based on a 17th-century Dutch gardening- and cookbook, which features a calendar for gardening activities and a cookbook that explains how to use the fruits and vegetables grown in the garden to best advantage. The 400-year old book with its contemporary theme helps in understanding the kitchen gardens of the early Dutch settlers of the Hudson Valley and gives insight in our colonial diet. Illustrations include etchings from the book; works by the Dutch masters such as kitchen scenes by Joachim Beuckelaer; market stalls by Quiringh van Brekelenkam and Pieter Cornelis van Rijck; as well as sumptuous still lifes by Abraham van Beyeren.

Rose is originally from The Netherlands and has written many books about the Dutch and their influence on the food and culture of the Hudson Valley. Her latest book is Delicious December: How the Dutch Brought Us Santa, Presents, and Treats.

The talk is in the State Museum's Huxley Theater at 1 pm on Sunday, April 3. It's free.

Earlier on AOA:
+ What did Albany eat in the 18th century?
+ Baking that Albany Cake

Canstruction 2016

Canstructoin 2016 whack-a-mole

The annual Canstruction exhibit is now on display at the State Museum. It'll be up in the fourth floor terrace gallery through March 30.

The exhibit is a fundraiser for The Food Pantries for The Capital District. Teams of architects, designers, and students build structures almost entirely out of canned or non-perishable food items. And then visitors can vote for their favorites by dropping canned goods into bins by each structure. All the food ends up being donated to the Food Pantries.

The structures are always fun to see. This year's theme is "play," so many of the structures draw inspiration from games or play places. And a few incorporate motion.

A bunch of photos are after the jump. But if you have a chance to stop by in person over the next few weeks, it's worth it to see how they're constructed (and you can make a donation).

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Native Peoples of Hudson Valley at the State Museum

Mahican leader Etow Oh KoamThis place has a long history -- Henry Hudson sailed up the river in 1609. But the history of this place extends before that, of course, with the many Native Americans who lived here. So this event next week might be an interesting way to learn a little bit more about that history.

From the blurbage for "Native Peoples of Hudson Valley" at the State Museum on Wednesday, November 18:

At this time of year people often refer to the role of Native Americans in the founding of what became the United States of America. These origin stories, however, combine fact and myth. come learn about the actual history of Native peoples in the Hudson Valley from Archaelogist Michael Lucas and Jon Lothrop at a special [Albany] City Hall Rotunda Event at the Nw York State Museum. All Museum galliers will be open to the public until 7:00 p.m. following the presentation and Michael and Jon will be available in exhibit areas to answer visitors' questions.

The event starts at 5 pm (it looks like the talk starts at 5:30 pm), and it's free.

That portrait on the right is of the Mahican chief Etow Oh Koam -- it was painted during a visit he and three Mohawk leaders made to England in 1710.

Brain Food for the Curious at State Museum

state museum from plazaSometimes it's a good idea to get away from your office, or wherever you work, during lunch if you can. And sometimes it helps to have an actual reason to do so.

So, if you're around downtown Albany, you might be interested in this upcoming series at the State Museum: "Brain Food for the Curious" is a series of short lunchtime talks by State Museum scientists. Topics range from how birds in the state are responding to climate change, to household archaeology, to slavery in the Hudson Valley, to sabertooth cats.

Each talk is in the museums Huxley Theater. They start at 12:10 pm and last 20 minutes, followed by a Q&A. So, you can probably duck out right after the talk portion if you need to get back. And they're free.

A condensed schedule is after the jump.

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State Museum to get large makeover

state museum renovation A State of Change exhibit

A rendering of the "A State of Change" exhibit, one of a handful of planned new exhibit spaces.

The State Museum announced Monday that it's planning a renovation that will involve 35,000 square feet of new exhibits, as well as more flexible space and updated interactive technology.

The $14 million project is set to be completed in phases over four years. The museum will remain open during the renovation (though various spaces will be closed at times for work).

Here are a few more details, as well as renderings of the planned new exhibits...

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The Empire State Plaza at 50

Empire State Plaza under construction 1968

A photo from the New York State Archives of the ESP under construction in 1968. (It's from a slide show at that first link below, which includes a bunch of interesting archival photos.)

This summer will be the 50th anniversary of the official corner stone being placed for the Empire State Plaza, and there's a series of events an exhibitions lined up to commemorate the anniversary.

The State Museum will open a new exhibit -- "The Empire State Plaza at 50" -- in June. Blurbage:

Scheduled to open on June 21, 2015 and run through January 17, 2016, this special exhibit will tell the story of the Plaza's construction and evolution. Located in the main lobby and west corridor of the museum, it will include art, photographs, digital displays, original sketches by architects, and examples of the architectural elements that make up the Plaza and where they came from. Visitors to the exhibit will discover how such a massive complex is heated in the winter and cooled in the summer, what the "Rule of 30" is and how it was incorporated into the design of the Plaza, and hear the stories of those who worked on the project.

The ESP is a remarkable, interesting, and unavoidable subject in this area's history. We hope the exhibit, and related events, examine and highlight not just its grandeur, but also its complications and tradeoffs.

Here's a condensed schedule of other events planned for the commemoration:

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Canstruction 2015

Canstruction 2015 Emmet from The LEGO Movie

The annual Canstruction exhibit opened this week at the State Museum. It'll be on display through April 16.

The exhibit is a fundraiser for The Food Pantries for The Capital District. Teams of architects, designers, and students build structures almost entirely out of canned goods. And then visitors can favor on their favorites by dropping canned goods into bins by each structure. All the food ends up being donated to the Food Pantries.

The structures are fun to see. And this year's exhibit -- the theme is "heroes" -- is no exception.

A bunch of photos are after the jump. But if you have a chance to stop by in person over the next few weeks, it's worth it to see how they're constructed (and you can make a donation).

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"America's Quiet Revolutionaries"

shaker worship illustration state museum

A circa 1840 illustration of a Shaker worship ceremony.

Over the weekend the State Museum opened a "major" new exhibit that could be worth a look: "The Shakers: America's Quiet Revolutionaries."

The exhibit includes hundreds of historic images and artifacts from regional institutions the Shaker Heritage Society, Hancock Shaker Village, and the Shaker Museum | Mount Lebanon. Exhibit blurbage:

The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, better known as the Shakers, is the most significant communal religious society in American history.
In the 1770s, the Shakers launched a revolution parallel to that of the American colonists against British rule. As the Shakers sought religious freedom, their spiritual beliefs and communal lifestyle set them in opposition to society. Later their product innovations and marketing skill seemed "revolutionary" to the outside world.
Today, the Shakers are recognized for their tremendous influence on American cultural identity through their social, commercial and technological innovations, decorative arts, and design.
Thematically divided into six areas, the exhibition shows how the Shakers' unique model of an equal society challenged the norms of the "outside world."

As you might know, this region was the site of the first Shaker communities in America -- the very first being the Watervliet Shaker community (on land that's now in Colonie). Influential Shaker leader Ann Lee is buried there.

The exhibit also includes a series of talks, tours, and other events. This Saturday, November 22, there's a free gallery tour with exhibitor co-curator Lisa Seymour at 1 pm.

The State Museum exhibit runs through March 6, 2016.

image: D. W. Kellogg and Co. / New York State Museum

StoryCorps at State Museum

storycorps logoThe StoryCorps oral history project will be at the State Museum October 10-12. The project is asking for submissions from people who'd like to record. Blurbage:

Interview someone you love and care about....or a person want to get to know better. Submit a short story explaining why you would like to be chosen for a StoryCorps® interview slot.
A StoryCorps® interview is a meaningful conversation (approximately 40 minutes) between two people - brother and sister, grandchild and grandparent, two friends - who know each other and want to record their special relationship, their shared history or a significant event in their lives. It's an opportunity to ask the questions that matter and preserve your stories for future generations.

(You might recognize StoryCorps from the segments on NPR's Morning Edition. Or, as they also might be called: That time you were listening to the radio on the way to work and ended up crying a little bit.)

There are additional, important details at that link about how to submit a story. The deadline is midnight October 2 (this Thursday).

That Saturday -- October 11 -- is Family Heritage Day at the State Museum, presented by the Archives Partnership Trust, NYS Archives, State Museum, and State Library. The day includes a bunch of programs and activities about researching and preserving family histories.

This part of the State Museum is for the birds

curator of birds jeremy kirchman

State Museum curator of birds Jeremy Kirchman with a snowy owl specimen.

What's on display at any one time at State Museum is just small slice of all the items in the museum's collection. And because the State Museum is almost two centuries old -- it's the oldest state museum in the country -- there are a lot of things in that collection.

So we were happy to get the chance this week to get a behind-the-scenes look at the museum's large bird collection with its curator of birds, Jeremy Kirchman. He's giving a talk this Sunday about the passenger pigeon -- a current exhibit at the museum commemorates the bird's extinction a hundred years ago.

OK, let's get to the photo tour -- and a quick chat about museums as data sets, global warming, extinction, and some reasons to be hopeful.

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Canstruction 2014

canstruction little engine that could

"I think I can..."

The annual Canstruction exhibit is back at the State Museum. It opened Wednesday and will be on display through April 24.

Canstruction? The exhibit is a fundraiser for The Food Pantries of The Capital District. Design teams work to build large displays almost entirely out of canned goods. Visitors to the exhibit can vote on their favorite structure by dropping canned goods in collection bins. The overall goal is to collect 50,000 cans and $50k. (You can also donate online.)

The theme for this year's exhibit is "Welcome to Storytown," so the exhibits all have storybook-type themes.

After the jump, photos from this year's exhibit. But it's more check them out in person because you can see how they're canstructed.

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Listening to Martin Luther King Jr., half a century later

Check it out: The State Museum has posted the audio from a 1962 speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation at an event in NYC.

The audio of the speech was turned up recently during the State Museum's ongoing effort to digitize its huge collection of objects and artifacts, according to a NYSED press release. The audio is believed to be the only known recording of the speech. (Can you imagine pulling a reel of tape from a dusty box, popping it on a reel-to-reel machine, and then hearing that distinctive voice emanate from the speaker? What a find.)

There's a mini-site set up for the audio and related documents. Among the docs: a scan of the marked-up text up of King's script.

The State Museum has posted the audio as a YouTube video matched with that marked-up script. It's one thing to read the text, it's a whole other to actually hear King deliver the 26 minute speech with his famous cadence and intonation. And the script -- with its many additions, subtractions, and mark-ups -- adds another dimension.

It's really worth watching when you have a chance.

Marguerite Holloway and The Measure of Manhattan at the State Museum

measure of manhattan book coverSounds interesting: Marguerite Holloway, author of The Measure of Manhattan, will be at the State Museum Thursday evening as part of the NYS Writers Institute visiting writers series.

The Measure of Manhattan is a biography of John Randel, Jr, an Albany native who laid out the street grid for Manhattan. Blurbage:

Born and raised in Albany, renowned for his brilliance, Randel was also infamous in his own day for eccentricity, egotism, and a knack for making enemies. He was a significant pioneer of the art and science of surveying, as well as an engineer who created surveying devices, designed an early elevated subway, laid out a controversial alternative route for the Erie Canal, and sounded the Hudson River from Albany to New York City in order to make maps and aid navigation. One of the many delights of Holloway's book is that it also reveals, for modern readers, the original landscape of Manhattan in its natural state before it was "tamed" by Randel's grid.

Holloway is a science journalist and heads up the science and environmental journalism program at Columbia.

The talk starts at 8 pm on Thursday (April 11) in the State Museum's Clark Auditorium. It's free.

Canstruction 2013

Canstruction 2013 Albert Einstein

E = mcan2

This year's Canstruction display opened Thursday at the State Museum. It's a benefit for the Food Pantries for the Capital District and it's pretty much what it sounds like -- large structures built out of canned goods or other non-perishable items, by local architecture, engineering and construction firms and design students. All the items are donated after the display.

This year's theme is "Can You Imagine." (Oh, yes, there will be can puns.)

The annual display is a fun stop in the museum, and worth a look if you're around there, especially to see how the structures were built. Some of them are very clever. There are also bins around the display to collect non-perishable items (you can vote for your favorite via can).

The display runs through April 11. It's on the fourth floor mezzanine.

Here are photos of this year's display...

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Drawing: New York in Bloom & brunch at City Beer Hall

New York in Bloom -old car.jpg

It's spring (sort of) at the New York State Museum this weekend

The drawing is now closed.

Yep, it's still winter, but the New York in Bloom flower show at the State Museum is this weekend, -- so spring can't be too far away.

The New York in Bloom show is an annual fund raiser for the museum's after-school programs and features more than 100 floral displays by florists, floral enthusiasts, garden club members, community groups and student groups.

AOA is giving away five pairs of combination tickets that will get the winners into the flower show and the annual Gem, Mineral and Fossil show and sale, also going on this weekend at the museum. The tickets can be used either Saturday or Sunday.

But, wait, there's more: one grand prize winner also gets brunch for two at the nearby City Beer Hall.

To enter the drawing, please answer the following question in the comments:

New York in Bloom is a local harbinger of spring. What are you looking forward to this spring in the Capital Region?

We'll draw the winners at random.

New York in Bloom is this Friday (February 22), Saturday (February 23) and Sunday (February 24) from 10 am-5 pm. Tickets are $5. The Gem Show is Saturday and Sunday and combination tickets to the flower show and the gem show are $8.

Important: All comments must be submitted by noon on Thursday February 21, 2013 to be entered in the drawing. You must answer the question to be part of the drawing. One entry per person, please. You must enter a valid email address (that you check regularly) with your comment. The winner will be notified via email by 5 pm on Thursday and must respond by 10 am on Friday, February 22.

Image: New York State Museum

Farewell, George Washington

nys library washington farewell addressThis weekend at the State Museum: From New York to the White House, New York Residents Who Became President, which runs Friday-Sunday. Blurbage:

The exhibition will include several important artifacts from the George Washington Collection at the New York State Library, including an original draft of George Washington's Farewell Address, penned in his hand, which was sent to Alexander Hamilton for comment and revision on May 15, 1796. It was rescued from the fire that ravaged the State Capitol in 1911. One of Washington's dress swords will also be on display. According to Washington family tradition, the sword was presented to Washington by Frederick the Great, King of Prussia. The sword was purchased by the State of New York directly from Washington's family in 1871 and is depicted in the Washington portrait that hangs in the United States House of Representatives.

Speaking of presidential documents... Abraham Lincoln's preliminary Emancipation Proclamation will also be on display on the second floor of the Capitol this Friday and Saturday.

Gordon Parks: You can rack up a triple-exhibit score if you also stop by the Gordon Parks photography exhibit at the State Museum.

Oh, and by the way: the State Museum is closed on President's Day. (Mondays are its usual closed day.)

photo: New York State Library

Gordon Parks photos at State Museum

gordon_parks_street_scene-_two_children_walking_harlem_ny_1943.jpg

"Street Scene: Two children walking, Harlem, NY, 1943" by Gordon Parks

Opening January 26 at the State Museum: Gordon Parks: 100 Moments, an exhibit of work by the renowned photographer and director. The collection includes one of Parks' most famous photos -- a take on Grant Wood's "American Gothic" (backstory) -- as well as images that weren't previously exhibited.

From a Parks bio at his foundation's website:

Born into poverty and segregation in Kansas in 1912, Parks was drawn to photography as a young man when he saw images of migrant workers published in a magazine. After buying a camera at a pawnshop, he taught himself how to use it and despite his lack of professional training, he found employment with the Farm Security Administration (F.S.A.), which was then chronicling the nation's social conditions. Parks quickly developed a style that would make him one of the most celebrated photographers of his age, allowing him to break the color line in professional photography while creating remarkably expressive images that consistently explored the social and economic impact of racism.

Parks would go on to become Life magazine's first African-American staff photographer, documenting many famous figures of the 20th century.

Also: he directed the movie Shaft.

The exhibit will be on display at the State Museum through May 19.

photo: Gordon Parks, "Street Scene: Two children walking, Harlem, NY, 1943" - Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress LC-USW3-023994-E

Gawking at the state's moon rock

state museum moon rock closeup

Here are a couple of large-format photos if you're so inclined.

The State Museum placed its moon rock on display today in the main lobby. So we stopped by to have a look.

The rock is really just a shard. And stripped of context, it would just elicit a "Huh?" But there is something cool about seeing a piece of the moon. If anything, it traveled a long way to get here.

The state's moon rock is from the Apollo 17 mission -- the last to visit the surface of the moon. It's part of a larger rock ("sample 70017") that two astronauts on the mission -- Eugene Cernan and Ronald Evans -- dedicated to all the young people of Earth. (Groovy, right? Hey, it was the 70s.) Upon their return, Richard Nixon had the rock broken up and the fragments distributed to 135 countries and the 50 US states. The rocks became known as "Goodwill moon rocks." Many of them have gone missing at various points -- New Jersey apparently just flat out lost its rock.

It was kind of fun watching people stop by the exhibit today to gawk at the rock -- especially when a guy engaged one of the security guards in an impromptu discussion of planetary geology.

The rock will be on display until February 10.

Capturing the Adirondacks

seneca ray stoddard canoe nysm

"The Way it Looks from the Stern Seat"

An exhibit of work by early 1900s Adirondack photographer Seneca Ray Stoddard opened Friday at the State Museum. Blurbage:

Seneca Ray Stoddard: Capturing the Adirondacks is open through February 24, 2013 in Crossroads Gallery. It includes over 100 of Stoddard's photographs, an Adirondack guideboat, freight boat, camera, copies of Stoddard's books and several of his paintings. There also are several Stoddard photos of the Statue of Liberty and Liberty Island. These and other items come from the State Museum's collection of more than 500 Stoddard prints and also from the collections of the New York State Library and the Chapman Historical Museum in Glens Falls.

The museum says it's the first time it's exhibited these photos from its collection. It's also created a mini-site online to highlight the photos -- definitely worth a look.

Stoddard himself is an interesting story. He was born in Wilton in 1844, and started his career as an ornamental painter at a railroad car factory in Green Island. Stoddard was one of the first people to photograph the Adirondacks, using a method that sounds like a tremendous hassle. His photos and guidebooks played a big part in making the Adirondacks a tourist destination.

It's interesting to us think about what motivates someone to basically drag an entire dark room through the Adirondacks. It makes sense. There's something about photographing a place and telling other people you were there that's a very strong draw -- even today. Facebook, Flickr, and Instagram are full of place photos. It's just a lot easier now.

We wonder what he would have done with an iPhone.

photo: Seneca Ray Stoddard via New York State Museum

New York's (now lost) native parrot

carolina parakeet audubon

From an 1825 illustration by John James Audubon.

As strange as it might sound, there were once parrots -- parakeets, specifically -- that were native to New York State. The range of the Carolina Parakeet stretched as far north as the Great Lakes, and there are historical reports of them in Albany.

They were brightly colored. They were loud. And by the late 1800s, they were gone from here. After the early 1900s, they were extinct.

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Tickets for A Taste of Albany 2012

taste of albany 2011 bennett campbell

From last year's A Taste of Albany at the State Museum.

Drawing's closed! Winner's been emailed!

The annual A Taste of Albany is May 3 at the State Museum. The fundraiser for the Interfaith Partnership for the Homeless will include samples of food from more than 30 Capital Region restaurants. We have a pair of tickets for the event and we'd like to give them away -- maybe even to you.

To enter the drawing, please answer this question in the comments:

What's the one local food, dish, taste, or food experience that says "spring" to you?

We'll pull one winner at random from the comments.

A Taste of Albany is from 6-8 pm on May 3 (that's a Thursday). Tickets start at $60 ($50 if you're under 30). We've heard from organizers that this year's event is heading for another sell out.

The tasting is in the terrace gallery of the State Museum -- maybe you can ride the carousel.

Important: All comments must be submitted by noon on Thursday (April 26, 2012) to be entered in the drawing. One entry per person, please. You must enter a valid email address (that you check regularly) with your comment (seriously, we want to give you the tickets). The winner will be notified via email by 3 pm on Thursday and must respond by noon on Friday (April 27, 2012).

photo: Bennett Campbell

Canstruction 2012

toucan

A touCAN.

The second annual Canstruction exhibit at the State Museum opened this week. It's a benefit for the Food Pantries for the Capital District in which teams from local architecture, engineering, construction firms (and schools) build sculptures made of canned goods. The exhibit -- on the 4th floor -- runs through April 26. After it's over, all the cans are donated.

This year's exhibit has a zoo theme -- so all the sculptures are animals. There were a lot of fun, clever entries. There's a quick photo tour after the jump.

If you have a chance to check out the exhibit in person, it's worth a stop. Many of the sculptures are (even) more impressive in person -- and it's fun to look at the details up close.

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Next stop for Roland Kays: Raleigh

fisher weighingWe were disappointed to see recently that State Museum curator of mammals Roland Kays was leaving the institution. As the TU reported, morale at the museum is low and many researchers are leaving as a result, Kays among them (be sure to read chrisck's comment).

Kays is one of our favorite local nerds. He researches how wildlife adapt to urban environments. And the conversation we had with him about fishers in the Pine Bush is still one of our favorite AOA posts (that's him weighing a tranquilized fisher in the photo). Also: he was one of the organizers of the popular Cooking the Tree of Life series at the State Museum. The guy even races unicycles.

So, we emailed him to find out what's next. He emailed back:

[Y]es, sad to be leaving the Albany area, but excited about new opportunities at the new Nature Research Center I'm moving to in Raleigh, NC. I'll also be a Prof at NC State. Dr. Jeremy Kirchman will continue the Cooking the Tree of Life at the NYSM, and I'll also start it up down in Raleigh.

Kays says he's also working on a project that will involve non-scientists running camera traps that report images to a wildlife database. He says that could be up and running this summer and he's hoping it will include some sites here in the Capital Region. We'll see if we can get more details as the project's closer to being ready.

photo via Roland Kays

John Crispin's Willard suitcase project

This is remarkable: photographer John Crispin is documenting suitcases -- and their contents -- from a long-closed state mental facility that have been preserved at the State Museum. He explains on his Kickstarter page:

In 1995, the New York State Museum was moving items out of the Willard Psychiatric Center in Willard, NY which was being closed by the State Office of Mental Health. It would eventually become a state-run drug rehabilitation center. Craig Williams and his staff became aware of an attic full of suitcases in the pathology lab building. The cases were put into storage when their owners were admitted to Willard sometime between 1910 and the 1960s. And since the facility was set up to help people with chronic mental illness, these folks never left. An exhibit of a small selection of the cases was produced by the Museum and was on display in Albany in 2003. It was very moving to read the stories of these people, and to see objects from their lives before they became residents of Willard.
I have been given the incredible opportunity to photograph these cases and their contents. To me, they open a small window into the lives of some of the people who lived at the facility.

He explains more in the video embedded above. His Kickstarter project has already reached its funding goal -- and then some.

Crispin has been posting some of the images from this project on a blog. The collections of items are beautiful in a way.

Crispin says on Kickstarter the State Museum has more than 400 suitcases in its collection. A handful of them were on display at the museum in 2004, and later became a traveling exhibit (exhibit website). There was also a book that came out of the exhibit, The Lives They Left Behind: Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic . [Village Voice] [USA Today]

(Thanks, Jess!)

Halloween Cooking the Tree of Life

state museum moon photo illustrationThe popular Cooking the Tree of Life series at the State Museum is making a Halloween cameo next week with "the food origins of monster myths." From the blurbage:

Vampires, witches and zombies have terrified and entertained us for eons, but where did they originate? Could it be something they ate? Museum Curator and Mad Scientist Dr. Roland Kays gives the scientific back story to three of these spooky stories of human-food interactions while the Food Network's Chef David Britton cooks up samples using the same ingredients. Come learn something new and sample some unique food-the experience will change you.

It starts at 7 pm on October 26. It's $5 (reservations, call Peggy Steinback at 474-1569 or email nysmpp@mail.nysed.gov). Also: "Come in costume for an extra treat!"

Tickets for A Taste of Albany

state museum from plaza

"Watch the sunset from the New York State Museum Terrace Gallery and taste Albany!"

Update update: Congrats to Mike -- he's the winner!

Update: The drawing's closed! The winner's been notified!

A Taste of Albany is coming up May 12 at the State Museum. From the blurbage: "Guests enjoy tastes from 40 of the Capital Region's best restaurants and chefs, live entertainment, live and silent auctions and great conversation."

AOA has two tickets for A Taste of Albany -- and we'd like to give them away, maybe to you. To enter the drawing, answer this question in the comments:

What's your favorite taste memory from when you were a kid?

Yep, we went a little Proustian there. We'll draw one winner at random.

A Taste of Albany is a benefit for Interfaith Partnership for the Homeless. It's from 6-8 pm on May 12 (that's a Thursday). Tickets start at $60 ($50 if you're under 30).

Important: All comments must be submitted by noon on Tuesday (May 3, 2011) to be entered in the drawing. One entry per person, please. You must enter a valid email address (that you check regularly) with your comment. The winner will be notified via email by 5 pm on Tuesday and must respond by 5 pm on Wednesday (May 4, 2011).

Canstruction

canstruction chick sculptureThis could be fun to check out if you're near the State Museum the next few weeks: Canstruction.

From the blurbage: "As part of a competition to benefit the Food Pantries of the Capital District, nine teams of local architecture, engineering, and design firms, as well as design students, will build 10 x 10 x 8 canned food sculptures that will be on display at the New York State Museum." (After the exhibition, the cans will be donated to the Food Pantries for the Capital District.)

Here are some sculptures built in past years in other cities.

Teams will start constructing their creations this afternoon in the museum's fourth floor gallery. They'll be on display for the public starting Thursday, running through April 28.

Cooking the Tree of Life 2011

tree of life logoThe popular Cooking the Tree of Life series will be back at the State Museum this February. The series -- which pairs chefs with biologist sous chefs -- is a commemoration of Charles Darwin's birth.

This year's topics: pork, potatoes, beer (well, yeast). Hard to go wrong there. (We've heard you have a better chance or scoring samples if you get there a little early and sit near the front.)

The schedule is after the jump.

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Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation on display Sunday at the State Museum

preliminary emancipation proclamation

I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States of America, and Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy thereof, do hereby proclaim and declare...

A manuscript copy of Abraham Lincoln's Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation will be on display this Sunday at the New York State Library. The rare display is part of the library's "Forever Free: Abraham Lincoln's Journey to Emancipation" exhibit, which runs through October 14.

From the library blurb:

The Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation has been part of the New York State Library's collection since 1865, when it was purchased by the New York State Legislature following the assassination of President Lincoln. The document is the manuscript copy of the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation issued on September 22, 1862, declaring that all persons held as slaves within states still in rebellion against the United States on January 1, 1863 "shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free." It is written in Lincoln's handwriting with notes by Secretary of State William Seward and portions of the printed Articles of War are pasted into the document.

The document will be in the State Museum's Huxley Theater from 9:30 am - 5 pm. It's free.

(Thanks, Sarah!)

image via New York State Library

Capital District Soap Box Derby

soap box derbyMight be fun to check out: the Capital District Soap Box Derby is this weekend on Madison Ave outside the New York State Museum. Kids will "gravity race" in three divisions for a chance to compete at the "world" championship in Akron, Ohio later this summer.

When we think of "soap box derby," all the pictures that flash in our head are in black and white. The whole thing seems so retro. As it happens, the wheels almost fell off the sport last year, but it got something very modern: a bailout.

Also, another modern (and cool) thing about it: girls were the winners of four of the six divisions at the championship last year.

The races here in Albany start at 9 am on Saturday.

photo: Capital District Soap Box Derby

Cooking the Tree of Life returns

tree of life logoThe State Museum's culinary celebration of Charles Darwin's birthday is coming up in February. From the museum's site:

The ingredients in the food we eat every day are some of the most extreme examples of evolution, from ridiculously hot peppers, to super sweet grasses, to flightless birds. In celebration of the 201st anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth, the State Museum presents three cooking demonstrations that highlight the extreme evolution of domestic food. Each demonstration teams a local chef with a biologist sous chef, and the two prepare the meal together, giving both a culinary and scientific perspective on the main ingredients.

Here's a clip from last year's series.

This year's lineup includes peppers (evolution of capsaicin), sugars (the sweet tooth), and birds (big-breasted dinosaur descendants).

The talks/demostrations are each Wednesday in February at 7 pm. They're free.

We've heard they're a lot of fun (be sure to sit close to the front for samples).

Out of the archives for just a day

flushing remonstranceThe New York State Museum will be displaying the Flushing Remonstrance on Sunday, the 352nd anniversary of its signing.

The document was a request from residents of what's now Queens for an exemption to the ban on Quaker practice in the colony of New Amsterdam. It's considered a pre-cursor to the religious freedom provision in the 1st Amendment of the US Constitution.

This pdf includes images of the document, which was partially burned during the 1911 state Capitol fire. Here's an English translation.

thumbnail via Thirteen and the NYYM

State flu shot mandate cancelled, charges over ESP man cave, Paterson says Obama Admin cost state $1 billion, a big year for lady bugs

The state Department of Health has rescinded the flu shot mandate for health care workers. The DOH says there isn't enough vaccine to go around and the state would rather see the vax go to at-risk populations (young people, pregnant women). The Paterson Administration said the move was not related to the group of lawsuits filed over the mandate. [TU] [NYT] [NYDN]

The two men accused of being involved with the alleged "man cave" in the ESP have been hit with a bunch of charges that make the cave sound like some sort of stoner's paradise. Both men have pleaded not guilty. The attorney for one of the men said they were "shocked" to face charges over the cave "when there was actually a more publicized and egregious waste of tax money last spring as our state Senate sat around proud doing nothing while Rome burned." [Daily Politics] [AP/Troy Record] [TU]

A special meeting of the Troy city council turned into a bit of display as Democrats refused to show up and people ended up yelling at each other in front of TV cameras. Harry Tutunjian had called the meeting in an attempt to suspend three Democratic appointees accused of being involved with recent case of alleged voter fraud. [Troy Record] [TU]

Two alternate jurors from the Adrian Thomas trial say they would have voted "not guilty." [Fox23]

(there's more)

The Scoop

For a decade All Over Albany was a place for interested and interesting people in New York's Capital Region. It was kind of like having a smart, savvy friend who could help you find out what's up. AOA stopped publishing at the end of 2018.

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