‘old betsy’ makes multi-generational connections in Peoria

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Special thanks to Monica Reardon, Smithsonian Affiliations summer intern, for authoring the 2013 Smithsonian #MuseumDayLive! blog series.

The Peoria Riverfront Museum, located in Peoria, Illinois, focuses on interdisciplinary learning, ranging from art to science to history and then some.  The space includes a planetarium, a sculpture garden, art studios, gallery spaces, and more.  The museum even has a “Green Tour,” which showcases the museum’s sustainable aspects.  Most importantly, it plays a role in the community it is in.

"Old Betsy" at the Peoria Riverfront Museum.

“Old Betsy” at the Peoria Riverfront Museum.

In fact, this Affiliate found a piece of its own community’s history at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.  “Old Betsy,” a 1931 prototype of the first diesel engine mass-produced by Caterpillar, Inc. was brought back to Peoria.  The engine is now an iconic object in the museum’s display of local history, and in the telling of the story of local manufacturing and innovation.  On loan to the museum since 2012, visitors during Smithsonian Magazine Museum Day Live! can get a close-up look at the 3,500 pound “Old Betsy,” officially called Caterpillar Diesel Engine No. 1.

“Probably the most rewarding aspect of having “Old Betsy,” as the engine prototype has long been known, on display at Peoria Riverfront Museum is the reaction of retired Caterpillar, Inc. employees who see it. .They immediately comment on their memories of the engine when it was displayed at Cat” noted Kristan H. McKinsey, Curator at Peoria Riverfront Museum.  These memories can lead to “multi-generational conversations about a myriad of topics such as farming, invention, Caterpillar and this community.”

She adds “I hope that visitors might understand that museums play many roles in society, and “Old Betsy” demonstrates several of them.”

Is the Smithsonian in your neighborhood? Find out which other Affiliates are participating in #MuseumDayLive on September 28, 2013, here.

Check out a video from a local Peoria news station on the arrival of “Old Betsy” here- Historic piece comes to museum

Installing Old Betsy

“Old Betsy” arrives at the Peoria Riverfront Museum.

Small artifacts, big impact at the National Museum of American Jewish History

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Special thanks to Monica Reardon, Smithsonian Affiliations summer intern, for authoring the 2013 Smithsonian #MuseumDayLive! blog series.

An Affiliate since 2001, the National Museum of American Jewish History was established in 1976 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  The museum explores and interprets the American Jewish experience through exhibitions and public programs.  It tells the stories of Jews who migrated to America from around the world, eventually becoming today’s Jewish Americans.

Albert Einstein's Pipe. Photo courtesy National Museum of American History.

Albert Einstein’s Pipe. Photo courtesy National Museum of American History.

During Smithsonian Magazine Museum Day Live! this year, visitors can explore artifacts on loan from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, such as Albert Einstein’s pipe and a vial of Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine.  The artifacts have been on view since November 2010; both installed in the museum’s Only in America® Gallery/Hall of Fame.

Only in America® is an innovative combination of multimedia, original artifacts and interactive experiences.  It illustrates the choices, challenges and opportunities of eighteen Jewish Americans, which include Albert Einstein and Jonas Salk.  Ivy Weingram, associate curator, points out

“visitors to Only in America® have the opportunity to explore both the personal and professional sides of our honorees.  Some are represented through the iconic objects of their careers–Salk’s vaccine, Spielberg’s camera, Berlin’s piano–and others, like Einstein’s pipe, lend a personal touch to an otherwise monumental figure.”

Polio Vaccine Vial. Photo courtesy National Museum of American History.

Polio Vaccine Vial. Photo courtesy National Museum of American History.

Her favorite artifact of the exhibition would have to be the vial of polio vaccine.  “It is one of the smallest artifacts in the exhibition, but its impact is undoubtedly among the greatest. I always think about that as I pass it in the gallery–how tiny and easily overlooked it is, but where would the world be without it?”

Weingram would love for visitors to be able to make connections between their own lives and the achievements and contributions of the 18 individuals.  “The laws of our land, the songwriting that has influenced generations of American music, over a century of innovations in American Judaism, game-changing sports heroes, scientific discovery–all are represented in Only in America®. Where do you feel their impact? How have they affected the way you live your life every day? How do you perpetuate their legacy?”

Is the Smithsonian in your neighborhood? Find out which other Affiliates are participating in #MuseumDayLive on September 28, 2013, here.

Welcome to the Smithsonian, @Plimoth #mishoon

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Hand-made paddles to go along with the mishoon.

Today, September 6, 2013, Smithsonian Affiliate Plimoth Plantation delivered a traditional Mashpee Wampanoag #mishoon to the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. (What is a mishoon? Read our previous blogs here and here) In a special ceremony at the Cultural Resources Center in Suitland, Maryland, Plimoth, Wampanoag, and Smithsonian staff came together and celebrated the gift of the mishoon to the collection.

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These amazing guys from the Wampanoag Indigenous Program at Plimoth Plantation created the mishoon that was gifted to the Smithsonian.

every time i visit your museum, bling bling

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Special thanks to Monica Reardon, Smithsonian Affiliations summer intern, for authoring the 2013 Smithsonian #MuseumDayLive! blog series.

Housed in an historic bank building on Wall Street in New York City, the Museum of American Finance is dedicated to preserving, exhibiting and teaching about American finance and financial history.  The founder, John Herzog, began with two exhibits in a U.S. Custom House in 1988.  Since then, this independent, non-profit museum has gradually expanded in exhibits and programs to what it is today, including becoming a Smithsonian Affiliate in 2001.

Monopoly Game Pieces

Monopoly Game Pieces

The museum currently has on display a unique piece on long-term loan from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. Visitors during Smithsonian Museum Day Live! can get up close to a golden, bejeweled Monopoly set worth $2 million, created by jeweler Sidney Mobell.  The board and pieces are solid 18-karat gold and encrusted with 165 precious gemstones including diamonds, rubies and emeralds.  Bling Bling!! Even the dice are blinged-out with 42 full-cut diamonds marking the number dots on the die.

“We have quite a few finance-related board games in our collection, and games are a great way to introduce basic financial concepts to visitors. It made sense to borrow the Monopoly set for display,” noted Becky Laughner, Director of Exhibits & Archives.

The “eye-catching” Monopoly set attracts a variety of visitors from grade-school students to bank executives.  “We display many paper documents, and the Monopoly set could not be more different, while still assisting us in teaching financial history and promoting financial literacy.”

Laughner hopes that the game helps visitors “to understand that learning about finance can be fun and interesting.”  She adds,

“We hope visitors leave [the Museum] with a better understanding of money, finance and US history, and we realize that these topics are common threads that run through almost every aspect of our lives.”

Is the Smithsonian in your neighborhood? Find out which other Affiliates are participating in #MuseumDayLive on September 28, 2013, here.

Monopoly Board Game

Monopoly Board Game

Plimoth Plantation creates mishoon for Smithsonian museum

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On September 6, 2013, Plimoth Plantation (Plymouth, Mass.) will donate a mishoon to the National Museum of the American Indian. Created this past spring by the Wampanoag Indigenous Program (WIP) at Plimoth Plantation, members of the WIP will present the mishoon and accompanying paddles to NMAI in a special gift ceremony at the museum’s Cultural Resources Center in Suitland, Maryland.

“As a museum dedicated to the history and culture of Native American communities, we’re delighted to welcome a creation like this one that represents a living tradition among the Wampanoag,” says Kevin Gover (Pawnee) Director, National Museum of the American Indian.

So what is a mishoon?  During the 17th century, the mishoon–a traditional Native American canoe–was the most common boat in North American waters. A typical 17th-century mishoon was created from a giant tree and capable of carrying 40 men. The mishoon being accepted into the NMAI collection isn’t quite that large–it’s 16 feet long and can fit up to 3 people–but it was created in the traditional way.

Photo courtesy Plimoth Plantation.

Photo courtesy Plimoth Plantation.

Daruis Coombs with tree that will become mishoon

Photo courtesy Plimoth Plantation.

So how does one create a mishoon? Picking the tree is the first step of course. With the help of Gurney’s Lumber Yard in Freetown, Massachusetts, WIP selected a white pine. The tree was burned down by wrapping clay around the trunk and burning the roots. It was then brought to Plimoth Plantation’s Wampanoag Homesite, where the log was worked with fire. By burning into the widest point of the tree a natural keel is created, where the bottom of the boat is thicker than its sides. Historically, mishoons were burned 24 hours a day, since the longer the fire was maintained the hotter it would get. Typically, it would take about 10-12 days for mishoons to be created in the 17th century. Although this seems like a long time, trees during this period were typically over 150 feet tall and 6 feet wide, capable of creating the mishoons that could carry 40 men.

“It’s an honor that the Smithsonian will accept it, and we enjoy doing new work–it keeps the job challenging,” said Darius Coombs, Associate Director of the Wampanoag Indigenous Program. “It has been a fun and educational experience. The mishoon is an invaluable piece that will add depth to the Smithsonian’s already rich representation of Northeast Native life.”

Smithsonian Affiliations and NMAI will be tweeting live on September 6 as the #mishoon enters the collection. Follow @SIAffiliates, @SmithsonianNMAI, and @Plimoth and check out our Flickr group for photos from the event.

Mishoonash in the Eel River next to Plimoth Plantation’s Wampanoag Homesite. Photo courtesy Smithsonian Affiliations.

Mishoonash in the Eel River next to Plimoth Plantation’s Wampanoag Homesite. Photo courtesy Smithsonian Affiliations.

Plimoth Plantation has received some amazing press coverage of the donation. Check it out below:

https://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130905/NEWS/309050323

https://www.therepublic.com/view/story/7432b135bbb744ff90f829a97a073bc5/MA–Wampanoag-Canoe-Smithsonian

https://www.enterprisenews.com/news/x1281953326/Plimoth-Plantation-makes-replica-of-Native-American-canoe-for-Smithsonian

https://www.patriotledger.com/topstories/x1281953326/Plimoth-Plantation-makes-replica-of-Native-American-canoe-for-Smithsonian

https://www.wickedlocal.com/plymouth/news/x1843580627/PLIMOTH-PLANTATION-Mishoon-accepted-by-Smithsonian-National-Museum-of-the-American-Indian

https://plymouth.patch.com/groups/around-town/p/smithsonian-accepts-dugout-canoe-from-plimoth-plantation

https://www.pr-inside.com/smithsonian-s-national-museum-of-r3786683.htm

https://www.wbur.org/2013/09/03/wampanoag-canoe-smithsonian

https://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2013/09/02/wampanoag-canoe-headed-the-smithsonian/kNmhDOOWTQnB2VkOQmMiUO/story.html?rss_id=Top+Stories

https://ww.abc6.com/story/23319713/wampanoag-canoe-headed-to-the-smithsonian

https://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2013/09/wampanoag_canoe_headed_to_the_smithsonian

https://www.dailyjournal.net/view/story/7432b135bbb744ff90f829a97a073bc5/MA–Wampanoag-Canoe-Smithsonian/#.UiX9idIp8to

https://www.eagletribune.com/boston/x335461568/Wampanoag-canoe-headed-to-Smithsonian

https://www.myfoxboston.com/story/23319713/wampanoag-canoe-headed-to-the-smithsonian

https://www.necn.com/09/02/13/Wampanoag-canoe-headed-to-the-Smithsonia/landing.html?&apID=7432b135bbb744ff90f829a97a073bc5

https://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Wampanoag-canoe-headed-to-the-Smithsonian-4781724.php

https://www.telegram.com/article/20130902/APN/309029676

https://www.news10.com/story/23319713/wampanoag-canoe-headed-to-the-smithsonian

https://www.gadsdentimes.com/article/20130902/APN/1309020791

https://www.cbs3springfield.com/story/23319713/wampanoag-canoe-headed-to-the-smithsonian

https://www.news-journalonline.com/article/20130902/APN/1309020791

https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Wampanoag-canoe-headed-to-the-Smithsonian-4781724.php

https://www.the-dispatch.com/article/20130902/APN/1309020791

https://www.wtnh.com/news/massachusetts/ap-massachusetts/wampanoag-canoe-headed-to-the-smithsonian_70775095

https://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Wampanoag-canoe-headed-to-the-Smithsonian-4781724.php

https://www.houmatoday.com/article/20130902/APN/1309020791

https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Wampanoag-canoe-headed-to-the-Smithsonian-4781724.php

https://www.sportballa.com/2013/09/indigenous-peoples/canoe-headed-wampanoag-smithsonian

https://www.chron.com/news/article/Wampanoag-canoe-headed-to-the-Smithsonian-4781724.php

https://www.dailycomet.com/article/20130902/APN/1309020791

https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/article/Wampanoag-canoe-headed-to-the-Smithsonian-4781724.php

https://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20130902/APN/1309020791

https://www.theledger.com/article/20130902/APN/1309020791

https://www.gainesville.com/article/20130902/APN/1309020791

https://ewallstreeter.com/wampanoag-canoe-headed-to-the-smithsonian-37

https://www.roonte.com/www/wampanoag-canoe-headed-to-the-smithsonian

https://boston.cityandpress.com/node/6741978

https://news.silobreaker.com/wampanoag-canoe-headed-to-the-smithsonian-5_2267076475486208002

https://www.connectednews.com/news/massachusetts/boston/wampanoag-canoe-headed-to-the-smithsonian/

https://www.tribtown.com/view/story/7432b135bbb744ff90f829a97a073bc5/MA–Wampanoag-Canoe-Smithsonian

https://www.sport-telegram.com/wampanoag-canoe-headed-smithsonian-necn/

https://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130902/APN/1309020791

https://www.masslive.com/newsflash/index.ssf/story/wampanoag-canoe-headed-to-the-smithsonian/7432b135bbb744ff90f829a97a073bc5

engineering ingenuity at the buffalo bill center of the west

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Special thanks to Monica Reardon, Smithsonian Affiliations summer intern, for authoring the 2013 #MuseumDayLive! Affiliate blog series.

Patent model, Smith & Wesson Magazine Lever Action Pistol. AF*251055. Image provided by Buffalo Bill Center of the West.

Patent model, Smith & Wesson Magazine Lever Action Pistol. AF*251055. Image provided by Buffalo Bill Center of the West.

The Buffalo Bill Center of the West had its start as a log building in Cody, Wyoming, resembling Buffalo Bill’s TE Ranch house.  Mary Jester Allen intended the museum to be a national shrine and memorial to her uncle, William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody, and to the early pioneers of the American West.  The collections grew and so did the Museum, with the intent of preserving and conveying the “Spirit of the American West.”  

The Center has participated in Smithsonian Magazine Museum Day Live! since becoming a Smithsonian Affiliate in 2008. On view at the Cody Firearms Museum in time for Museum Day Live! this year are 64 unique firearms from the National Firearms Collection at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.  The exhibit is divided between patent firearms (the prototype design submitted by firearms inventors), firearms with interesting provenance, and international firearms with gorgeous embellishments.  The collection includes a Smith and Wesson Lever Action Patent Model and a Colt Patent.

The Smith and Wesson Lever Action Patent Model was the first lever action prototype firearm designed by Smith and Wesson.  Smith and Wesson’s original company, The Volcanic Repeating Arms Co. was actually named after the nickname for the pistol, the Volcanic pistol. However, this patent did not bring them financial success and they sold the rights to a shirt manufacturer named Oliver Winchester. Winchester would go on to use this patent; his lever action rifles becoming synonymous with the American West.

Revolver, patent model. Colt Paterson Revolver. AF*251084. Image provided by Buffalo Bill Center of the West.

Revolver, patent model. Colt Paterson Revolver. AF*251084. Image provided by Buffalo Bill Center of the West.

The Colt Patent is connected to Samuel Colt, another name famous in the American West, particularly for revolvers.  Colt’s revolver is the first successful percussion firearm ever patented.  The design from this model would go on to be the production type Colt Paterson.  As noted by Ashley Hlebinsky,Firearms Curatorial Resident, “You pretty much cannot see a Western film without seeing a variation of a Colt Revolver and a Winchester Lever Action.”

Hlebinsky would like visitors “to not only see some amazing firearms and representations of engineering ingenuity, but to understand the people who made the firearms and who owned and used them.”  She hopes that the “artifacts are able to convey a story about the people involved in the process – from the trial and error methods of the patent process (some patent models were never produced, while others became infamous) to the experiences of those who owned the guns.”

Is the Smithsonian in your neighborhood? Find out which other Affiliates are participating in #MuseumDayLive on September 28, 2013, here.