Harrisburg, PA – The State Museum of Pennsylvania today announced its program schedule for October 2016:
Archaeology at Fort Hunter
State Museum archaeologists will be wrapping up their annual excavation at Fort Hunter between October 3 and October 7, 2016. Archaeologists will be on-site, weekdays between 10 AM and 3 PM. The public is welcome to visit.
Learn at Lunchtime
Learn at Lunchtime features a variety of engaging discussions and presentations. All programs are included with general admission.
Getting Started in Family Research
Join us Friday, October 7 at 12:15 PM to learn about the essentials of genealogy. The presentation, given by one of our archivists, will cover basic organization, types of records and where to find them, research strategies and the importance of sharing your findings.
Happy Birthday William Penn
Join us Friday, October 14 at 12:15 PM to celebrate William Penn’s 373rd birthday. Have a slice of Gulielma Penn’s Portugal Cake and discover the man who settled Pennsylvania.
Science! at The State Museum
Hands-on experiments focusing on science topics are held bi-weekly in Nature Lab. All programs are included with general admission.
Rocks in Our Daily Life
Join us on Friday, October 7 from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM to see how humans have adapted and used rocks and minerals to enhance our environment. This hands-on exploration will show the surprising places we find many of these rocks in our daily lives.
Beaver, Bear, and Fox
Join us Friday, October 21 from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM to learn about the bear, beaver and fox through hands-on exploration. Learn how to tell the difference between omnivores, herbivores and carnivores. Explore skins, skulls and scat of these three animals.
National Fossil Day
Join the Curator of Paleontology and museum educators from 11:30 AM to 1 PM on Wednesday, October 12 to celebrate National Fossil Day at the Mastodon in the Paleontology Gallery. This year’s theme is “Pleistocene Life and Landscapes.” The Pleistocene epoch is commonly referred to as the “Ice Age,” the slice of geologic time spanning from 2.58 million to 11,700 years ago. This event is included with general admission to the museum.
Night of the Great Pumpkin
Join us Friday, October 14 from 5:30 to 7:30 PM for this annual, family-friendly event. Trick-or-Treat your way around the museum! Triple-J Reptiles will be here with some creepy crawlers and you can celebrate the holiday with crafts, a pumpkin-filled planetarium show and many other seasonal educational programs. There is no admission fee. Come and have a “spook-tacular” time!
7 Lively Artists Exhibit Opening
The State Museum is hosting a “Meet-the-Artists” reception, with light refreshments, to recognize the opening of an exhibit celebrating the 60th anniversary of Central Pennsylvania’s plein air painting group, the Seven Lively Artists, on Friday, October 21 from 5:30 to 8:00 PM. The exhibit will feature work by the group’s original seven members as well as the current active members. Admission to the opening is free during the hours of the event as part of 3rd in the Burg, Harrisburg’s monthly celebration of the arts. The exhibit will run from Friday, October 21 through Sunday, February 12, 2017.
Presentation and Book Signing with Dr. Brent D. Glass
Please join us for a special presentation by Dr. Brent D. Glass who will discuss his new book, “50 Great American Places: Essential Historic Sites across the U.S.,” at 7 PM on Wednesday, October 26 at The State Museum.
Glass was the executive director of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission from 1987 to 2002 before helming the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, DC, where he is now director emeritus. He earned his doctorate in history from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, a master’s degree in American studies from New York University, and a bachelor’s degree from Lafayette College.
Glass will sign copies of “50 Great American Places” following his talk. The event is presented by The State Museum of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation.
This event is free and open to the public. R.S.V.P. preferred to the Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation at (717) 787-2407 or email RA-paheritage@pa.gov.
Archaeology Workshops
On Saturday, October 29, the Archaeology Section of The State Museum, in partnership with the Pennsylvania Archaeological Council, presents their annual Workshops in Archaeology. This year’s theme is “Iconography, Symbolism, and Rock Walls in Pennsylvania Archaeology.” The workshops will be held from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM at The State Museum. The workshops are open to the public and a fee is charged. For more information, contact Dr. Kurt Carr at 717-783-9926 or email kcarr@pa.gov.
Exhibit Closing: “We’re Here: Pioneering LGBT Rights in Pennsylvania”
The exhibit, titled “We’re Here: Pioneering LGBT Rights in Pennsylvania” marks the emergence of the equality movement for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights in the late 1960s and its progress in the commonwealth during the 1970s. Featuring photographs, documents and objects related to this pivotal moment in civil rights history, the exhibit focuses on the partnership between dedicated LGBT activist coalitions and Governor Milton Shapp, who came to office with a unique understanding of the issues of discrimination against minorities, leading to unprecedented executive action in Pennsylvania for LGBT equality. “We’re Here: Pioneering LGBT Rights in Pennsylvania” runs through Sunday,October 30.
The State Museum of Pennsylvania, adjacent to the State Capitol in Harrisburg, is one of 24 historic sites and museums administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission as part of the Pennsylvania Trails of History. The State Museum offers expansive collections interpreting Pennsylvania’s fascinating heritage. With exhibits examining the dawn of geologic time, the Native American experience, the colonial and revolutionary eras, a pivotal Civil War battleground, and the commonwealth's vast industrial age, The State Museum demonstrates that Pennsylvania's story is America’s story.
Museum hours are Wednesday through Saturday 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM and Sunday 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Admission is $7 for adults (ages 12-64), $6 for senior citizens (ages 65 and up), and $5 for children (ages 1-11).
For more information about the museum, visit www.statemuseumpa.org.
MEDIA CONTACT: Howard Pollman, 717-705-8639