ALBANY – Shoppers can sample chocolate treats, listen to holiday carolers and purchase hand-crafted gifts from more than 50 vendors at the New York State Museum’s third annual Chocolate Expo & Holiday Gift Market on Sunday, December 7.

The Expo, from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., will offer samples and sales of chocolates, desserts, wines and specialty foods. Vendors from New York State and New England will also sell a variety of jewelry, art work, handmade bath and skincare products, books, clothing and accessories.

There also will be a chocolate fountain, free to all visitors, compliments of Price Chopper and We Do Fondue. The Pick’n & Sing’n Gather’n Carolers will perform holiday songs throughout the Museum’s exhibition halls. The South Glens Falls High School Chamber Singers will perform in Adirondack Hall at 2:30 p.m.

Hudson artist and award-winning illustrator Joan Steiner will be available outside of the Museum Gift Shop to sign books from her Look-Alike series. The books formed the inspiration for the exhibition Look-Alikes: The Amazing World of Joan Steiner, which was open at the State Museum earlier this year.

As a special promotion, visitors who purchase a State Museum membership will be eligible to win a gift basket full of products from Expo vendors. Tickets will also be sold for a separate raffle of an additional Expo gift basket.

“Beauty with a Cause” will donate 10 percent of the sale of its non-toxic skin-care products to breast cancer, ovarian cancer and scleroderma research. The products are named for women who have battled these diseases. A portion of the proceeds sold by “Red Thread Confections” will be donated to orphanages in Guatemala and China.

Many products offered at the Chocolate Expo are made using fresh, locally produced ingredients whenever possible. Items will include artisan Fair Trade organic chocolates, chocolate fudge, truffles, cookies, cakes, pretzels, coffees, hot chocolate, chocolate fudge, wine and mole sauces. There also will be a variety of homemade confections, tarts, pies, ice cream and edible sugar/chocolate jewelry. Other food items will include crepes, jellies, gourmet tomato, garlic and barbecue sauces, a variety of peanut butters, pickles, pesto, granola, fruit wines and locally grown organic foods.

Other gift items will include chemical-free soap, custom-designed fabric handbags, decorative glass bowls and vases, children’s books, hand-spun yarns, cut-stone jewelry, hand-knit sweaters and accessories.

Support for the Chocolate Expo is provided by Price Chopper, presenting sponsor and Fidelis Care and LogosPrint.com, promotional sponsors. Additional support is provided by Fortitech and Hampton Inn & Suites.

The New York State Museum is a cultural program of the State Education Department. Located on Madison Avenue in Albany, the Museum is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free. Further information can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website.

# # #

“BEIJING: ANCIENT CITY, MODERN CITY” OPENS AT NYS MUSEUM OCT. 1ST

ALBANY, NY – A glimpse of life in China’s capital city, many centuries ago and today, is the subject of a photography exhibition open at the New York State Museum October 1st to December 31st.

The exhibition, Beijing: Ancient City, Modern City, coincides with the national convention of the US -China Peoples Friendship Association (USCPFA) being held in Schenectady Oct. 7-10. The exhibition of photographs by the Beijing Photographers Association (BPA) is also made possible by the USCPFA.

The prospects of China entering the World Trade Organization and that country’s bid to host the 2008 Olympics have brought Beijing into the spotlight in recent years. But its structures and social customs have stood for thousands of years.

The collection, made up of 34 photographs, defines Beijing as an ancient city and modern metropolis. The work is arranged by theme. A section titled “View from the Old Days’’ provides a “tour’’ of buildings and other structures dating back nearly 1,000 years. The Lugou (Marco Polo) Bridge was built in 1189 and was personally inscribed by Emperor Quinlong. A relative newcomer, Yonghe Palace has stood since the Kangxi reign in 1694 and remains among the most well-preserved Lama temples in the nation. The Drum Tower, completed in 1420, sounded a drumbeat hourly through the Ming and Qing periods.

The section titled “Customs of Beijing’’ acquaints viewers with the cultural life that continues to thrive within the ancient structures. A photograph titled Xiao Hua Lian, for “face painting,’’ demonstrates the vivid use of paint to depict characters in Peking opera. Photographs depicting shuttlecock kicking, papercut and dough sculpture pay homage to the folk art and recreational activities Chinese continue to engage in.

The photographs also present a view of the lively city life. The many accents of Beijing vendors fill the air at Wangfujing Snack Street, a market for foods from all over the country. Taking the Bride Home shows the preferred mode of transportation, the bicycle, which is used even in the traditional wedding ceremony.

The BPA is well recognized in China, where they have won many photography competitions. Their work also has been exhibited worldwide.

The USCPFA is a non-profit, educational organization whose goal is to strengthen friendship

-more-
-2-

understanding between peoples of the United States and China. It was founded in 1974 and has more than 2,000 members in 50 affiliated chapters. The Northeast New York (Albany) chapter assists approximately 600 Chinese students and scholars studying in the Capital Region annually. Further information is available at www.uscpfany.org.

The New York State Museum is a cultural program of the New York State Department of Education. Started in 1836, the museum has the longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey in the United States. The state museum is located on Madison Avenue in Albany. It is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free. Further information about programs and events can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.

# # #

ALBANY – The New York State Museum continues its celebration of Chinese heritage with a series of programs planned in conjunction with Beijing: Ancient City, Modern City, a photography exhibition in the Museum’s Terrace Gallery that depicts the ancient and modern life of that capital city.

All programs are co-sponsored by the U.S.-China Peoples Friendship Association. The Beijing exhibition, open through December 31, includes 34 photographs that define Beijing as an ancient city and modern metropolis.

The program schedule includes:
Oct. 30, 2 to 4 p.m. Alice Cheang, Ph.D., will discuss the "Silver Treasury," a series of ancient Chinese love poems that she has translated. The poems provide a glimpse of China's yesteryears. Nov. 6, 2 to 5 p.m. Storyteller Mary Murphy and local art teacher Alison Stonbely, former artists with the Imagination Celebration, will host a family event: "East Meets West." In addition to stories, participants will help make and decorate paper Chinese hats and sing traditional songs. Nov. 20, 2 to 4 p.m. To mark the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, Edward Bloch, a U.S. Marine veteran who was stationed in China, will describe life there. Dec. 4, 2 to 5 p.m. A Chinese dance performance will be followed by a Chinese movie. Soft drinks will be served. Dec.11, 2 to 5 p.m. Asian expert Steven A. Leibo, a professor of International History and Politics at Russell Sage College in Troy, will speak about world

-more-
-2-

events with an emphasis on China. His talk will be followed by two dance performances and a presentation about costumes from several Chinese dynasties.

More information will be available on the U.S.-China People’s Friendship Association Web site: www.uscpfany.org.

The New York State Museum is a cultural program of the New York State Department of Education. The state museum is located on Madison Avenue in Albany. It is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free.

Further information about programs and events can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.

# # #

- 30-

ALBANY – Shoppers can sample chocolate treats, listen to holiday carolers and purchase hand-crafted gifts from 41vendors at the New York State Museum’s sixth annual Chocolate Expo & Holiday Gift Market on Sunday, December 4.

Both the Expo and the Museum’s first floor exhibition halls will be open from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Vendors from New York State and New England will offer samples and sales of chocolates, desserts, wines and specialty foods. There also will be a variety of hand-crafted jewelry, pottery, ornaments, handmade bath and skincare products, clothing, accessories and other hand-painted gift items.

Visitors will also find free chocolate fountains, compliments of Price Chopper, presenting sponsor, and We Do Fondue. South Glens Falls High School students will sing carols throughout the day.

There will be an admission fee of $3 per person for those over the age of 12. Tickets are available at a $1 discount at local Price Chopper stores. With each paid admission visitors will receive a raffle ticket for a basket filled with items from Chocolate Expo vendors. The raffle drawing will be at 4 p.m.

Lunch food and refreshments will be available at the new Lunch Box café on the concourse level and at Big Don’s Hotdogs and More in the Student Center.

Students enrolled in the Museum’s after-school programs will sell beverages, DVDs and ornaments they have made. All proceeds will benefit the after-school program.

Many products offered at the Chocolate Expo are made using fresh, locally produced ingredients. Products will include hand-dipped chocolates, gelato, baby cheesecakes, vegan baked goods, chocolate fudge, candy, nuts, organic peanut butter spreads, and several varieties of truffles, including organic, vegan and sugar-free. Specialty foods and beverages will include cider, homemade gourmet sauces, pesto, and chocolate wine. The Village Chocolate Shoppe will invite patrons to create their own chocolate treat.

Other gift items will include gourmet dog treats, chemical-free soaps, hand creams and bath products, handmade jewelry and unique Italian glass beads, hand-painted Christmas ornaments, hand-knit sweaters and accessories, including scarves, hats and mittens made from hand-spun llama yarn.

The New York State Museum is a program of the State Education Department’s Office of Cultural Education. Located on Madison Avenue in Albany, the Museum is usually open Monday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Further information can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the Museum website.

# # #

ALBANY, NY – Chocolate, an exhibition from Chicago’s Field Museum, will take visitors on a journey through history, exploring the relationship between human culture and this rainforest treasure, when it opens at the New York State Museum Sept. 17th.

The exhibition, open through Jan. 7, 2007, begins with the story of chocolate’s origin, from the seeds of the cacao tree in a lush tropical rainforest. From there visitors will learn about the plant, the products, the history and the culture of chocolate, through the lenses of botany and ecology, anthropology and economics, conservation and popular culture.

Visitors will see how sculpture and carved vessels, cacao seeds in dishes and chemical residue in pots helped scientists trace the roots of chocolate back almost 1,500 years ago to the ancient Maya civilization of Central America. The Maya were the first to turn the bitter seeds into a spicy drink for use in ceremonies and trade. Cacao was coveted by other cultures and soon became a valuable article of trade in the Aztec culture in 16th-century Mexico. An interactive Aztec marketplace shows visitors the purchasing power of a handful of beans.

The exhibition explores the commodification of chocolate by Europeans, and the use of forced labor on colonial plantations to meet the insatiable European demand for chocolate and its new soul mate, sugar. The sweet side of the industrial revolution is also revealed, showing the steady stream of new inventions and creative advertising that brought chocolate bars to the masses.

The relationship between growing, selling and consuming cacao is explained. Visitors can trace the ups and downs of “cocoa,” the commodity, in the world market and check the stock ticker to see its price on a hypothetical futures exchange. Visitors will also learn about how cacao is grown, harvested, prepared and shipped today and what farmers are doing to preserve their crops, income and the rainforest.

-more-

-2-

The exhibition also explores the myths and realities of chocolate’s effect on health and the role

chocolate plays in our lives today -- how people cook with it, eat and drink it, and use it to celebrate holidays around the world.

Artifacts in the exhibition include pre-Columbian ceramics and ritual objects; European silver and

porcelain chocolate services; 19th and 20th-century cocoa tins, advertising and packaging; antique and

contemporary candy molds, botanical specimens and agricultural tools.

Several videos are also featured including one that visitors can watch while seated on

tufted ottomans that look like giant bonbons in their wrappers. The exhibition is bilingual. All text is in both Spanish and English.

Chocolate Wednesdays will feature complimentary chocolate for everyone with a ticket to the exhibition. Admission to the exhibition is $4 for adults and $2 for children, aged 6 to 12. It is free for those under 6. Museum members will receive complimentary tickets based on their level of membership. Membership information is available at 518-474-1354. For group rates and reservations call 518-474-5843.

Tours of the Chocolate exhibition will be held every Saturday at 1 and 2 p.m., from September 23rd through January 6th. A variety of programs are also planned. For additional information call 518-473-7154 or email psteinba@mail.nysed.gov.

Chocolate and its national tour were developed by The Field Museum, Chicago. This exhibition was supported, in part, by the National Science Foundation. Local support was provided by Federal Marine Terminals, Fortitech, Inc. and the New York Board of Trade.

The New York State Museum, established in 1836, is a program of the New York State Education Department. Located at the Empire State Plaza on Madison Avenue in Albany, the Museum is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free and the Museum is fully accessible. Further information about Museum programs and events can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the Museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.

# # #

ALBANY – The Chocolate Expo & Holiday Gift Market on Sunday, December 3, featuring a wide variety of chocolates, hand-crafted specialty foods and gifts, will highlight the weekend’s Family Fun Chocolate Celebration at the New York State Museum.

The Chocolate Expo, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., will offer samples and sales of chocolates, desserts, artisan cheeses, wine and other specialty items, as well as holiday gifts, from more than 40 vendors from across New York State. Family Fun Weekend activities will be held Saturday and Sunday, December 2-3 from 1 to 4 p.m., offering chocolate sampling and cooking demonstrations, music, interactive children’s theater and more.

The holiday celebration will also extend to the Empire State Plaza and concourse on December 3, from 2-6 p.m., where activities will include the annual Holiday Tree lighting, fireworks, ice skating lessons and demonstrations, as well as holiday music, craft vendors, storytelling and more.

All events are free. The Chocolate Expo and Family Fun Weekend celebration are among many activities planned by the Museum to complement its Chocolate exhibition, open through Jan. 7, 2006.

Chocolate, an exhibition from Chicago’s Field Museum, takes visitors on a journey through history, exploring the relationship between human culture and this rainforest treasure. Admission to the Chocolate exhibition is $4 for adults and $2 for children aged 6 to 12.

The Averill Park High School Jazz Ensemble will perform at the Museum from 2 to 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 3. The Chocolate Expo will also feature chocolate fountains, with fresh fruit for dipping. This will be free to all visitors, compliments of Price Chopper and We Do Fondue.

Many products offered at the Chocolate Expo are made using fresh, locally produced ingredients whenever possible. Items will include gourmet handcrafted chocolates, chocolate bark, fudge, cookies, cakes, pies, brownies, ice cream tarts, biscotti, pretzels, coffees, teas, sauces, as well as novelty items such as chocolate “wings, “ and “pizza.” There also will be safe, chocolate-like carob treats for dogs and cats and chocolate vegan desserts, as well as vegetarian specialty foods and non-vegan desserts.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of products sold by Cooperstown Cookie Co. will benefit

-more-

-2-

Pathfinder Village, a residential community near Cooperstown, dedicated to children and adults with Down syndrome. The company sells regulation baseball-sized shortbread and “bunts” bite-sized cookies.

Non-chocolate items will include maple and honey products, jams and jellies, wines, gourmet sodas, cheeses and baked goods, as well as gift items. There also will be one-of-a-kind quilts, tablecloths, herbal skin care products, handcrafted soaps, candles, wreaths, birdhouses and more.

Chibekeni Global Treasures in Nyack will offer unique, handmade crafts appropriate for the Kwanzaa holiday or any other occasion. These are fair-trade products created by artists in Africa.

Other participating vendors are Bluestone Farm, Cheesecake Machismo, Chocolate by Design, Chutney Unlimited, Cooper’s Cave Ale, Dawn’s Bakery, Dolce & Biscotti, Dutch Desserts, El Mariachi, Evanna Chocolates, Goold Orchards, Heartworks Quilts, Honest Weight Food Coop, InDulj Dessert Sauces, Isn’t It Sweet, Ives Cream, Log Cabin Farm Soap, Lucky Chocolates, Native Farm Flowers, Oswego Chocolate Shoppe, Remsburger Maple Farm & Apiary, Sundaes Best Hot Fudge Sauce, Sweets & Treats, The Green Spiral, The Good Leaf, The Peanut Principle, Vegan Creations and more. Wine tastings and sales will be available from Pazdar Winery, which makes unique chocolate wines, as well as Brookview Station Winery and Catharine Valley Winery.

The Museum’s Family Fun activities on Sunday will also include businesses, which will offer sales and samples of their products, as well as demonstrations, in the Museum lobby.

On Sunday, Chef Armand Vanderstigchel, cookbook author and media cooking celebrity, will demonstrate various uses for chocolate in cooking. Currently the head chef at Stew Leonard’s in New York City, Chef Armand is the author of “The Adirondack Cuisine Cookbook,” which led to a PBS TV series, and “Chicken Wings Across America.” He also is the culinary editor of Dish DuJour Magazine and has appeared on radio and TV, including the “Today Show” and “Good Morning America.” He will have cookbooks for sale.

The Arlington House in West Sand Lake will make its signature chocolate dessert and offer samples of that, as well as compatible liquers and wines. Visitors can also sample hot chocolate from Chocolate Springs of Lenox, MA, which also will have gift packages for sale. Saratoga Sweets will offer samples from their chocolate fountain, and other products for sale.

Family Fun’s Saturday activities will feature “The Singing, Ringing Cacao Tree,” interactive children’s theatre, directed by Sarah Salerno-Thomas, from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

The Chocolate Expo is supported in part by Price Chopper and Berkshire Bank. It was organized by Baum Image Group, Inc. of Valley Cottage, which also brought the “Taste of New York,” reception to the Museum in 2004, in conjunction with the Woodstock 35th anniversary exhibition.

The New York State Museum is a cultural program of the State Education Department. Located on Madison Avenue in Albany, the Museum is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free. Further information can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.

# # #

ALBANY – Shoppers can sample chocolate treats, listen to holiday carolers and purchase hand-crafted gifts from more than 40 vendors at the New York State Museum’s fifth annual Chocolate Expo & Holiday Gift Market on Sunday, December 5.

The Expo, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., will offer samples and sales of chocolates, desserts, wines and specialty foods. Vendors from New York State and New England will also sell a variety of hand-crafted jewelry, pottery, ornaments, handmade bath and skincare products, clothing, accessories and other hand-painted gift items.

There also will be two chocolate fountains stations, free to all visitors, compliments of Price Chopper, presenting sponsor, and We Do Fondue.

From 2 until 4 p.m., Will Hayes of Celestial Strings will perform in Metropolis Hall by the chocolate fountain. Hayes is a Cincinnati Conservatory graduate cellist who has performed live in concert with rock legend Rod Stewart. He also is a freelance artist with the Schenectady Symphony Orchestra.

The Capitaland Chorus of Sweet Adelines, International will perform from 2:30 to 3 p.m. in the Huxley Theater. The chorus is a lively, all women’s barbershop chorus that has won both regional and international awards.

As a special promotion, visitors who purchase a State Museum membership will be eligible to win a gift basket full of products from Expo vendors.

Many products offered at the Chocolate Expo are made using fresh, locally produced ingredients. Products will include hand-dipped chocolates, gelato, baby cheesecakes and other baked goods, chocolate fudge, candy, nuts, organic peanut butter spreads, and several varieties of truffles, including organic, vegan and sugar-free. Specialty foods and beverages will include cider, homemade gourmet sauces, pesto, and chocolate wine. El Mariachi will serve mole chicken enchiladas. The Village Chocolate Shoppe will invite patrons to create their own chocolate treat.

Other gift items will include gourmet dog treats, chemical-free soaps, hand creams and bath products, handmade jewelry and unique Italian glass beads, hand-swirled glassware, hand-painted Christmas ornaments, organic clothing and hand-knit sweaters and accessories, including scarves, hats and mittens made from hand-spun llama yarn.

SmileMonster.com is a promotional sponsor. Additional support is provided by Fortitech.

The New York State Museum is a program of the State Education Department’s Office of Cultural Education. Located on Madison Avenue in Albany, the Museum is open Monday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free. Further information can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the Museum website.

# # #

ALBANY – A “New York City Chocolate Crawl,” “Sundaes on Sunday” and chocolate cooking and sampling are among the activities planned by the New York State Museum this fall to complement

the Museum’s Chocolate exhibition opening September 17th.

Chocolate, an exhibition from Chicago’s Field Museum that will be open through Jan. 7, 2006, will take visitors on a journey through history, exploring the relationship between human culture and this rainforest treasure. Beginning with the story of chocolate’s origin, from the seeds of the cacao tree, the exhibition explores the products, the history and the culture of chocolate through the lenses of botany and ecology, anthropology and economics, conservation and popular culture.

Author, lecturer and culinary historian Alexandra Leaf from the New York Food Museum will lead the “New York City Chocolate Crawl” on Saturday, Sept. 30th . The day will begin with a bus trip from the New York State Museum. Leaf will lead a tour through the Chocolate district on Manhattan’s west side, with a stop at the Greenmarket in Union Square and then ABC Carpet & Home, between Chelsea and Union Square. ABC sells unique home accessories and furnishings from around the world, specializing in environmentally conscious or fair-trade products. Participants will end their day with a visit to Chocolat Michel Cluizel Paris, one of the finest chocolate stores in New York, for a guided chocolate tasting with French sparkling wine. The fee is $90 for Museum members and $95 for non-members. Paid reservations are required by September 15. Seating is limited.

A free lecture will be held Wednesday, Oct. 11th at 6:30 p.m. on “The Natural History and

Ethnobotany of Cacao.” The lecture will be presented by Dr. George Robinson, an associate professor in

the Department of Biological Sciences, and Dr. Ingrid Peters Robinson, an adjunct research associate

professor of biology, both at the University of Albany.

A “Maya Wall-Hanging” workshop for children, aged 7 to 12, is planned for Sunday, October 15. Participants will tour the Chocolate exhibition and learn about the ancient Maya civilization, which was the first to discover the cacao seed. They will choose from a variety of Maya designs to emboss on to the

-more-

-2-

wall hanging that they will create. The fee is $10 for members and $12 for non-members. Participants

must pre-register by October 11th.

“Sundaes on Sunday” will be featured on Sunday, November 19th from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Everything necessary for a super sundae will be offered. The fee is $1 for members and $2 for non-members.

A Family Fun Chocolate Celebration is planned for Saturday and Sunday, December 2-3 from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday’s activities will feature “The Singing, Ringing Cacao Tree,” an interactive children’s theatre presentation directed by Sarah Salerno-Thomas, from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Children from the audience will participate in the production that features a Maya princess and is based on a fairy tale about the transforming power of love. Large papier-mâché masks, created by award-winning artist Ruth Fledermaus, will be used to bring the story to life.

On Sunday, Dec. 3 Chef Armand Vanderstigchel, cookbook author and media cooking celebrity, will demonstrate various uses for chocolate in cooking. Currently the head chef at Stew Leonard’s in New York City, Chef Armand is the author of “The Adirondack Cuisine Cookbook,” that led to a PBS TV series, and “Chicken Wings Across America.” He also is the culinary editor of Dish DuJour Magazine and has appeared on radio and TV, including the “Today Show” and “Good Morning America.”

Also on Sunday, Chocolatier Kevin Tighe of Averill Park, who recently studied in France and sells his chocolates at area shops, will make his chocolate truffles for tasting. Participants can also sample chocolate desserts and other treats created by chefs from the Chocolate Springs in Lenox, MA. and the Arlington House in West Sand Lake. A chocolate fountain will also be available.

Tours of the Chocolate exhibition will be held every Saturday from September 23 through January 6 at 1 and 2 p.m.

Chocolate Wednesdays will feature complimentary chocolate for each person with a ticket to the exhibition. Admission to the Chocolate exhibition is $4 for adults and $2 for children aged 6 to 12. Museum members will receive complimentary tickets based on their level of membership. Membership information is available at 518-474-1354.

To obtain further information or to register for any of the programs call (518) 473-7154 or e-mail psteinba@mail.nysed.gov.

Chocolate and its national tour were developed by The Field Museum, Chicago. This project was supported, in part, by the National Science Foundation. Local support was provided by Federal Marine Terminals, Fortitech, Inc. and the New York Board of Trade.

The New York State Museum is a cultural program of the New York State Department of

Education. Founded in 1836, the Museum has the longest continuously operating state natural history

research and collection survey in the U.S. Located on Madison Avenue in Albany, the Museum is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free. Further information can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.

# # #

ALBANY, NY – In partnership with the US-China People’s Friendship Association, the New York State Museum will hold Chinese Heritage Day on Saturday, October 9.

The free program will be held from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and is open to the public.

The day’s activities will include art workshops, storytelling and musical performances. Chinese scholars from colleges in the Capital District will present PowerPoint presentations about their home provinces in China. There also will be a fashion show featuring traditional Chinese dresses called Qipao, Beijing opera mask capes and minority costumes from various regions of China.

Further information on this program can be obtained by calling (518) 473-2936.

The State Museum is a cultural program of the New York State Education Department’s Office of Cultural Education. Started in 1836, the Museum has the longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey in the United States. Located on Madison Avenue in Albany, the Museum is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free. Further information can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the Museum website.

# # #

ALBANY – Clowns from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey will present a special “Science of the Circus” performance at the New York State Museum at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, April 11.
The Ringling Bros. performers continue to astound audiences with acts that require skills of timing, agility and courage. Many of the laws and principles of physics – including balance, gravity and momentum – come to life through these performers. 
Science of the Circus helps kids of all ages to become more familiar with these science concepts as brought to life through Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey’s performers.
The program is free and the public is invited.
The New York State Museum is a cultural program of the New York State Education Department. Founded in 1836, the Museum has the longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey in the U.S. Located on Madison Avenue in Albany, the Museum is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free. Further information can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.
 

ALBANY, NY – A professional circus entertainer will educate visitors about “Circus Theatricks” at the State Museum’s Family Fun Day on Saturday, July 18.

Family Fun Day, which is free of charge, will take place from 1- 4 pm on the fourth floor of the New York State Museum. An activity table will also be set up and face painting will be offered in keeping with the circus theme. There will be an opportunity to play games and take home an activity packet.

Circus performer Sean Fagan will provide information on circus history and terminology and present educational workshops on plate spinning, juggling, the low wire and stilt walking. Unicycling will also be demonstrated. A former Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey clown, Fagan created “Circus Theatricks” to introduce Capital District audiences to the athleticism and artistry of circus and theater performance. More information is available at www.circustheatricks.com.

Family Fun Day offers theme-based family activities on the third Saturday of the month during the summer. The full weekend schedule will resume in the fall.

The New York State Museum, established in 1836, is a program of the New York State Education Department’s Office of Cultural Education. Located at the Empire State Plaza on Madison Avenue in Albany, the Museum is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free and the Museum is fully accessible. Further information about Museum programs and events can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the Museum website.

# # #

ALBANY – As Memorial Day approaches, an exhibition opens at the New York State Museum May 28 recounting the history of the New York National Guard and those who carried out its mission through wars and battles, natural disasters and national emergencies.

“Citizen Soldier: New York’s National Guard in the American Century” chronicles a history that is based on a tradition dating back to colonial times in a state that has always been guided by the principle that its defense lies in the hands of its citizenry. Citizen soldiers are everyday people who put their lives on hold to defend, aid and protect their communities and their country. From militiamen defending their homes on the colonial frontier, to individuals serving in conflicts around the globe, New Yorkers continue this legacy of service to the present day.

Open in Exhibition Hall through March 2011, the exhibition features personal stories of soldiers from across New York State as well as mementos, uniforms, and artillery pieces from the State Museum, New York State Military Museum, members of New York’s National Guard, and local collectors. Additional support was received from Waste Management.

The exhibition focuses on the 20th century, which witnessed the transformation of the United States from an isolationist nation into a dominant power with the ability to shape world events. It was dubbed the American Century in 1941 by Time Magazine Publisher Henry Luce. During that time the National Guard evolved from an ill-equipped and poorly trained militia into a modern-day force capable of protecting American interests around the world. The 16,000 men and women who serve in the New York Army National Guard today fulfill a variety of critical missions both at home and abroad.

Encompassing nearly 7,000 square feet of gallery space, the exhibition covers the service of New Yorkers in the Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, the first Persian Gulf War in 1991 and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Also included are the missions closer to home – the Capitol Fire (1911), blizzards in Buffalo (1944, 1977) and New York City (1996), the Woodstock concert (1969), the Attica riots (1971), the ice storm in northern New York (1998), the Mechanicville tornado (1998), the 2001 terrorist attacks and other smaller calamities around the state.

Visitors entering the exhibition will see the M8 Greyhound Light Armored Car that was first introduced into combat in 1943. The 16,000-pound vehicle was used in all theaters of World War II, including Europe, where it was issued to the men of the 101st Cavalry Group of the New York National Guard. The car is now owned by Gregory Wolanin of Loudonville. Also on display are a flamethrower and bazooka, a 37 mm gun, as well as various other military equipment. Visitors will also have the opportunity to see the History Channel film, “Defending America,” which will be shown in the gallery.

There are many personal stories of courage and heroism throughout the exhibition. One of those is that of Sgt. Henry Johnson of Albany, a member of the all-black 369th Infantry Regiment who single-handedly fought off a group of German soldiers before collapsing from 21 wounds during a battle in France in 1918. It wasn’t until 1996 that Johnson was awarded the Purple Heart Medal, and 2003 when the Army awarded him the Distinguished Service Cross, this nation’s second highest award for valor.

Medals of Honor, the nation’s highest military honor, were awarded to Col. William J. O’Brien and Sgt. Thomas A. Baker of Troy, both of the 105th Infantry Regiment, for their courage in the face of a horrifying enemy attack by the Japanese on Saipan in 1944. Also included is the story of Sgt. LeRoy Sprague of Elmira of the 108th Infantry Regiment who received a Purple Heart after being seriously wounded in 1945 during fighting on the island of Luzon in the Philippine Islands.

First Sgt. James Meltz of Cropseyville, a member of the 108th Infantry Regiment, received the Bronze Star for valor after rescuing fellow soldiers from a burning humvee during a Taliban ambush in Afghanistan in 2008.

The exhibition also features profiles of other members of the 108th Infantry who served in Iraq, including Sgt. 1st Class John Ross of Latham, Sgt. 1st Class Luis Barsallo of Clifton Park and Private 1st Class Nathan Brown of Glens Falls. Brown was killed in Iraq in 2004 when an insurgent fired a rocket-propelled grenade into the back of the 5-ton truck he was riding in.

Also included in the exhibition are a bronze bust and other items related to Maj. Gen. John Francis Ryan, who grew up in Morrisania, Westchester Co. and became the commander of the New York

National Guard in 1912. He led the 27th Division on the Mexican border and to victory in World War I.

A section of the exhibition is devoted to women in the New York National Guard. Featured here are profiles of Spc. Amy Klemm of Ronkonkoma, who volunteered to serve in both Iraq and Afghanistan, and Capt. Tara Dawe of Queens, who volunteered for service in Bosnia and later passed up Officer Candidate School so that she could deploy with her unit, the 442nd MP Company, to Iraq.

The State Museum is a program of the New York State Education Department’s Office of Cultural Education. Located on Madison Avenue in Albany, the Museum is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free. Further information about programs and events can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the Museum website.

(ALBANY, NEW YORK) An Irrepressible Conflict: The Empire State in the Civil War opens September 22 at the New York State Museum, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.

The pivotal role New York State played in the war is the focus of this 7,000-square-foot exhibition. As the wealthiest and most populous state, the Empire State led all others in supplying men, money, and matériel to the causes of unity and freedom. New York’s experience provides significant insight into the reasons why the war was fought and the meaning that the Civil War holds today. An Irrepressible Conflict will be open through September 22, 2013 in Exhibition Hall.

“As the nation commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, it is important that Americans everywhere are aware of the critical role New York played in this defining moment of American history,” said Museum Director Mark Schaming. “This expansive exhibition, together with a wide array of educational programs and web-based resources, will present the rich and complex story of how New York led the way in the fight for national unity and freedom for all.”

The exhibition includes objects from the collections of the State Museum, Library and Archives, as well as others from institutions across the state. Among the many significant objects are a Lincoln life mask from 1860, the earliest photograph of Frederick Douglass (a rare 8-by-10-inch daguerreotype image, courtesy of the Onondaga Historical Association) and the only known portrait of Dred Scott. Additional support for this exhibition is provided by RBC Wealth Management.

The exhibition’s title was inspired by an 1858 quote from then U.S. Senator William H. Seward, who also served as governor of New York (1839-42) and secretary of state (1861-69). Seward disagreed with those who believed that the prospect of war between the North and South was the work of “fanatical agitators.” He understood that the roots of conflict went far deeper, writing, “It is an irrepressible conflict, between opposing and enduring forces.”

An Irrepressible Conflict will be organized around three themes — Antebellum New York, The Civil War 1861-1865 and Reconstruction and Legacy. Over 200 objects, documents and images will be on display. The exhibition includes profiles of significant historical figures who played key roles in the war effort, but will also include the personal stories of previously unknown soldiers.

Exhibition Details --

Antebellum New York

Antebellum New York covers New York’s history of slavery and its role in the national debate over slavery. New York, once the largest slave state in the North, became a center for abolitionism and other reform movements. The exhibition focuses on Seward, Underground Railroad “conductor” Harriet Tubman and abolitionists, such as Frederick Douglass and Gerrit Smith who were active at the same time many New Yorkers profited from their business relationships with Southern slaveholders. In the end, the differences between opponents and supporters of slavery would become an “irrepressible conflict” for New Yorkers and all Americans.

Among the artifacts displayed is a brass slave collar, c.1806, inscribed “J.S. glenn/GLENN/Montgomery Co. NY.” There also is a broadside, loaned by the Onondaga Historical Association, establishing a reward for the return of Harriet Powell, whose escape from slavery in October 1839 helped establish Onondaga County’s national reputation as a center for the abolitionist movement.

• Antebellum New York also chronicles the state’s rise, after the opening of the Erie Canal, as the most populous and productive state in the nation. It focuses on the rising tensions between immigrants and native-born Americans, antebellum politics and the 1860 election of President Abraham Lincoln.

The Civil War 1861-1865

The Civil War 1861-1865 era recounts New York’s pivotal role in the war effort, examining the contributions of New Yorkers on the battlefield and home front. As the most populous state, New York was required to furnish more men than any other state. While united in battle to preserve the nation, New Yorkers were torn over the same issues that divided them before the war. In order for the North to emerge victorious, however, these divisions – between immigrant and native-born, rich and poor, abolitionist and anti-abolitionist, Republic and Democrat – had to be overcome.

• On display is a colorful broadside from Glens Falls asking “Are You Ready to Stand by the Stars and Stripes,” courtesy of the State Library. Visitors will also see a flag, loaned by the New York State Military Museum, from the 11th New York Volunteer Infantry. This regiment was raised and commanded by Elmer Ellsworth, originally from Malta, Saratoga County, who became the war’s first martyr. Ellsworth was fatally shot tearing down a Confederate flag from the Marshall House hotel in Virginia, and became the first Union officer killed.
• Spotlighted in this area of the exhibition are former Albany Mayor, Congressman and railroad magnate Erastus Corning and Dr. Mary Walker, an Army surgeon who was the only woman ever to receive the nation’s highest military award – the Medal of Honor.
• New York’s shipbuilding, iron and firearms industries played a vital role in the war effort. The Civil War marked a transition in naval warfare – from wooden sailing and steam ships to heavily armored ironclads. On display, courtesy of the Hudson Mohawk Industrial Gateway, is an iron plate, reportedly rolled for the nation’s first ironclad ship, the U.S.S. Monitor, at the Corning & Winslow foundry in Troy, Rensselaer County. The exhibition also includes a Model 1863 Percussion Rifle, manufactured in Ilion, by E. Remington & Sons. New York State gunsmiths dominated the firearms industry throughout the first half of the 19th century and used these new and emerging technologies to equip Union soldiers with the latest equipment.
• The exhibition focuses on several infantry units from New York, as well as the roles played by individual soldiers. On display, courtesy of the St. Lawrence County Historical Association, is a snare drum used by Private David Lyons of the 60th New York Volunteer Infantry. There also is a photo of a Broadside Ballad, the Drummer of Antietam, courtesy of the State Library. Broadside ballads were one good way of disseminating news throughout the war.
• When the Emancipation Proclamation was issued, it not only freed slaves but authorized the recruitment of African-American soldiers. Three regiments of U.S. Colored Troops were raised in New York. On display are Muster Roll abstracts from the collections of the State Archives for individual soldiers in the 26th and 31st U.S. Colored Troops.
• The exhibition chronicles the story of the Elmira Prison Camp, which opened in July 1864 to accommodate the government’s increasing numbers of rebel prisoners. Originally a barracks for 5,000 men, Elmira – known as “Hellmira” by its inmates – eventually housed over 12,000 Confederate soldiers. Nearly 25 percent of them died from malnutrition, exposure and disease. A restraining chain from the prison, courtesy of the Chemung County Historical Society, is among the artifacts on display.
• President Lincoln’s assassination occurred just days after the war ended. Photographs and other artifacts are on display relating to this tragic episode in the nation’s history. Lincoln’s funeral train made stops in 12 cities, including New York City, Albany and Buffalo.

Reconstruction and Legacy

Reconstruction and Legacy, the exhibition’s final section, chronicles the impact the war had on New Yorkers. By the war’s end, 448,000 New Yorkers had enlisted in the armed services, and more than 50,000 of them had died.

Thousands of Civil War veterans also returned home with injuries or disabilities. Some needed long-term care that was more than their families could provide. New York passed legislation in 1872 to construct a home for these soldiers in Bath, Steuben County. A wheelchair from the home, courtesy of Edwin Presley, will be on display in this area of the exhibition.

The exhibition shows how memories of the war changed with the times. It focuses on Reconstruction, continuing prejudices and the struggle for equality, the Civil Rights Era and the meaning and relevance of the war today.

The State Museum, State Library and State Archives are planning a variety of programs to complement the exhibition including lectures, guided tours for students, and educational activities for children and families. There also is an online exhibition and web resources for students and teachers, including downloadable packets of materials for pre-and post-visit classroom activities. This is available at http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/civilwar/index.html .

About the New York State Museum

Established in 1836, the New York State Museum is a program of the State Education Department’s Office of Cultural Education. Located on Madison Avenue adjacent to the Empire State Plaza in Albany, the Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free. Further information can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the Museum website.

# # #

The New York State Museum will be closed to the public on Sunday, March 13th to allow for testing of the Emergency Power System in the Cultural Education Center building.

The Museum will reopen Monday, March 14th at 9:30 a.m.

The State Museum is a cultural program of the New York State Department of Education. Started in 1836, the museum has the nation’s longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey. The museum is located on Madison Avenue in Albany. Further information is available by calling 474-5877 or visiting the museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.

The New York State Museum is located on Madison Avenue in Albany. It is open 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week throughout the year except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Further information about programs and events can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.

The New York State Museum will be closed to the public on Sunday, March 28 so that major electrical repairs can be made in the building.

The Museum will reopen Monday, March 29th at 9:30 a.m.

The State Museum is a cultural program of the New York State Department of Education. Started in 1836, the museum has the nation's longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey. The museum is located on Madison Avenue in Albany. Further information is available by calling 474-5877 or visiting the museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.

The New York State Museum is located on Madison Avenue in Albany. It is open 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week throughout the year except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Further information about programs and events can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.

ALBANY, NY – The New York State Museum, State Library and State Archives will be closed to the public on Saturday, March 5 due to an annually scheduled power shutdown to test the emergency power system in the Cultural Education Center building.

The Office of Cultural Education (OCE) building is closed on Sundays. The State Museum, Library and Archives will reopen on Monday, March 7.

The State Museum, State Archives and State Library are cultural programs of the New York State Education Department. They are located on Madison Avenue in Albany. Admission is free. Further information can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the OCE website.

# # #

ALBANY, NY – The New York State Museum will be closed to the public on Saturday, March 8 to allow for testing of the emergency power system in the Cultural Education Center building.

The Museum will reopen Sunday, March 9 at 9:30 a.m.

The New York State Museum is a cultural program of the New York State Education Department. It is located on Madison Avenue in Albany. It is generally open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free. Further information can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website.

# # #

ALBANY, NY – The New York State Museum will be closed to the public on two consecutive Saturdays in March -- March 6 and 13 -- to allow for testing of the emergency power system in the Cultural Education Center building.

The Museum will reopen with normal operating hours on the Sundays following the closings, March 7 and March 14 at 9:30 a.m.

The New York State Museum is a program of the New York State Education Department’s Office of Cultural Education. Located on Madison Avenue in Albany, it is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free. Further information can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the Museum website.

# # #

ALBANY, NY – The New York State Museum, State Library and State Archives will be closed to the public on Saturday, March 3 due to an annually scheduled power shutdown to test the emergency power system in the Cultural Education Center building.

The Museum, Library and Archives will reopen on Monday, March 5.

The State Museum, State Archives and State Library are cultural programs of the New York State Education Department. They are located on Madison Avenue in Albany. Admission is free. Further information can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the OCE website.

ALBANY, NY – The New York State Museum will be closed to the public on Saturday, March 7 and on Saturday, March 21.

The closing on March 7 is to allow for testing of the emergency power system in the Cultural Education Center building where the Museum is located. On March 21 maintenance work will be under way, requiring a power shutdown in the building.

The Museum will reopen at 9:30 a.m. on both Sundays following the shutdowns.

The New York State Museum is a cultural program of the New York State Education Department. It is located on Madison Avenue in Albany. It is generally open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free. Further information can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website.

# # #

ALBANY, NY – A State Museum scientist has co-authored a new research article, representing the most detailed genomic study of its kind, which shows that wolves and coyotes in the eastern United States are hybrids between gray wolves, coyotes and domestic dogs.

Dr. Roland Kays, the Museum’s curator of mammals, was one of 15 other national and international scientists who collaborated on the study that used unprecedented genetic technology, developed from the dog genome, to survey the global genetic diversity in dogs, wolves and coyotes. The study used over 48,000 genetic markers, making it the most detailed genomic study of any wild vertebrate species.

The research results are especially relevant to wolves and coyotes in the Northeast. The study shows a gradient of hybridization in wolves, with pure wolves in western states and increasing hybridization as you move east. Wolves in the western Great Lakes area averaged a genetic makeup of 85 percent wolf and 15 percent coyote, while wolves in Algonquin Park in eastern Ontario averaged 58 percent wolf, and the ‘red wolf’ in North Carolina was only 24 percent wolf and 76 percent coyote. Populations of eastern coyotes, which only colonized the region in the last 60 years, were also minor hybrids, with some introgression of genetic material from wolves and domestic dogs. For example, Northeastern coyotes, including those in New York State, had genetic material primarily from coyotes (82 percent), with a minor contribution from dogs (9 percent) and wolves (9 percent). Midwestern and southeastern coyotes were genetically 90 percent coyote, with an average of 7.5 percent dog and 2.5 percent wolf.

The advanced genetic techniques used in this study also allowed the scientists to estimate when the hybridization initially occurred. Kays said “In most cases this breeding across species lines seems to have happened at times when humans were hunting eastern wolves to extinction, and the few remaining animals could find no proper mates, so took the best option they could get.” Kays continues, “The exceptions were an older hybridization between coyotes and wolves in the western Great Lakes dating from 600-900 years ago, and a coyote-dog hybridization in the eastern U.S. about 50 years ago, when coyote were first colonizing eastern forests.”

This study also provides fresh data on the controversy over the species status of the Red Wolf in North Carolina, and the Eastern Canadian Wolf in Ontario. Both are medium-sized wolves that some have argued represent unique species. However, this new detailed genetic data shows both are the result of hybridizations between coyotes and wolves over the last few hundred years, and do not share a common origin in a unique eastern wolf species.

This research is also relevant to a recent U.S. Fish and Wildlife proposal to remove the western Great Lakes wolves from the Endangered Species Act by showing that those wolves are only marginally hybridized with coyotes, should be considered a subspecies of the Gray Wolf, and have no genetic ties to a more endangered form of eastern wolf.

The research is published online in Genome Research, an international, peer-reviewed journal that publishes outstanding original research that provides novel insights into the genome biology of all organisms, including advances in genomic medicine.

This study follows another research paper co-authored by Kays last year in the journal Biology Letters, which used museum specimens and genetic samples to show that eastern coyotes hybridized with wolves to rapidly evolve into a larger form over the last 90 years, dramatically expanding their geographic range and becoming the top predator in the Northeast. This hybridization contributed to the evolution of coyotes from mousers of western grasslands to deer hunters of eastern forests. The resulting coy-wolf hybrids are larger, with wider skulls that are better adapted for hunting deer.

In the past, Kays has also studied coyote diet and distribution in Albany’s Pine Bush and in the Adirondack Mountains. His research indicated that deer accounted for approximately one-third of the coyote’s diet and that they made extensive use of forested areas. Kays also writes a blog about his research for the New York Times “Scientist at Work” feature. This blog is the modern version of a field journal, a place for reports on the daily progress of scientific expeditions — adventures, misadventures and discoveries. Kays’ posts can be found at Scientist at Work.

The New York State Museum is a program of the New York State Education Department’s Office of Cultural Education. Started in 1836, the Museum has the longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey in the United States. Located on Madison Avenue in Albany, it is open Monday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free. Further information about programs and events can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the Museum website.

# # #

ALBANY, NY (September 23, 2009) – Two New York State Museum scientists have co-authored a new study published today in a major scientific journal that explains how coyotes evolved to be larger and stronger over the past 90 years, dramatically expanding their geographic range and becoming the top predator in the Northeast.

Dr. Roland Kays, the museum’s curator of mammals, and Dr. Jeremy Kirchman, curator of birds, co-authored an article on their research that was published in Biology Letters, a peer-reviewed journal that publishes high-quality biology research . The other author was Abigail Curtis, who did this work as a SUNY Albany undergraduate, but is now a graduate student at the University of California in Los Angeles.

The article notes that the North American coyote evolved as a hunter of small prey in the Great Plains, but rapidly colonized all of eastern North America over the last half-century. Previous research suggested that the spread of agriculture and the extinction of wolves may have helped coyote expansion, but genetic interchange with remnant wolf populations had never been thoroughly addressed.

This new study of eastern coyote genetics and skull morphology shows that remnant wolf populations in Canada hybridized with coyotes expanding north of the Great Lakes, thereby contributing to the evolution of coyotes from mousers of western grasslands to deer hunters of eastern forests. The resulting coy-wolf hybrids are larger, with wider skulls that are better adapted for hunting deer. Historical records of the coyote population expansion indicated that movement along the northern route was five times faster than along the route south of the Great Lakes. Populations of pure western coyote and coy-wolf hybrids are presently coming into contact in areas of western New York and Pennsylvania.

The scientists based their study on DNA sequence data from 696 eastern coyotes and measurements of 196 skulls from State Museum specimens. They also tested three very large animals that looked more like large, full-blooded grey wolves. Two of the animals had the western grey wolf genetic signature and one had a Great Lakes wolf signature, suggesting that a few full-sized wolves have recently migrated into New York and Vermont, but are not breeding here. Only one of the 696 coyote samples was closely related to domestic dogs, showing that coyotes are not frequently breeding with domestic dogs in the region and the popular moniker ‘coydog’ is technically inaccurate.

In the past, Kays has studied coyote diet and distribution in Albany’s Pine Bush and the Adirondacks. The research indicated that deer accounted for approximately one-third of the coyote’s diet and that they made extensive use of forested areas.

An Albany resident, Kays received his undergraduate degree in biology at Cornell University before earning his doctorate in zoology at the University of Tennessee.

Kirchman, also of Albany, uses DNA sequencing technology to examine genetic differences among populations and species. Most of his work has focused on populations of birds that are isolated on islands, and recently he has focused on habitat islands on mountain tops, including the Catskills and Adirondacks.

He has an undergraduate degree in biology from Illinois Wesleyan University, a master’s degree from Louisiana State University, and a doctorate degree in zoology from the University of Florida.

The New York State Museum is a program of the New York State Education Department’s Office of Cultural Education. Started in 1836, the Museum has the longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey in the United States. Located on Madison Avenue in Albany, it is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free. Further information about programs and events can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the Museum website.

# # #

The Course of Empire: Thomas Cole and the Hudson River School Landscape Tradition, featuring selections from the New-York Historical Society, opens at the New York State Museum on August 23rd.

This exhibition, in the museum's West Gallery through November 30th, showcases the depth and richness of the New-York Historical Society's collection of paintings and works on paper by renowned artists of the Hudson River School of landscape painting. The Hudson River School was a loosely knit group of artists living and working in New York during the middle decades of the 19th century. The rise of landscape painting as the preeminent American art form during this time emerged from a growing taste for the beauty and grandeur of nature when the nation was rapidly transforming itself into an industrial empire.

Thomas Cole, long considered the founder of the Hudson River School and the father of 19th century American landscape painting, takes center stage in this exhibition with his seminal five-painting series, The Course of Empire. Commissioned in 1833 by the pioneering American art collector, Luman Reed, the series was a culminating achievement in the artist's career, embodying ideas and approaches to landscape that profoundly influenced scores of other Hudson River School artists, many of whom are featured in the exhibition.

The exhibition, sponsored by the New York State Museum Institute and HSBC, features 40 paintings and 11 works on paper, including engravings and lithographs. Artists represented include several of Cole's devoted followers and friends, most notably Frederick Edwin Church, Asher Brown Durand, Jasper Francis Cropsey, John Frederick Kensett, and Martin Johnson Heade.

The museum is planning several fall programs in conjunction with The Course of Empire exhibition. On Saturday, September 20th a discussion on the works in the exhibition will be led by the curator, Lee Vedder, a Luce curatorial fellow at the New-York Historical Society. This will be preceded by a lecture and slide show on the Hudson River School at 1 p.m.

Tours of the homes of Thomas Cole and Frederic Church are planned for Saturday, October 5th. The trip, which will leave the State Museum at 8:30 a.m., will take participants to Cedar Grove in the northern Catskills, a National Register historic site, where Cole established the foundation of the Hudson River School. The tour will then go to Olana, the home of Church, who studied with Cole. The trip is $60, including lunch in Hudson. Reservations are required by October 4th and can be made by calling Travels thru History at (518) 372-0777 or by writing to tcolarco@nycap.rr.com.

Free teachers' workshops on the exhibition are planned for September and October. They are for teachers of art, social studies or language arts, and include an exclusive tour of Course of Empire, a hands-on activity and an education resource guide. For reservations or education resource materials contact Nancy Kelley at nkelley@mail.nysed.gov or (518) 474-0080.

The Course of Empire exhibition, the first in a new partnership between New-York Historical and the State Museum, inaugurates a series of exchanges between the two cultural institutions. The works in this exhibition were selected from New-York Historical's Hudson River School collection, which is among the most extensive in the world.

From Nov. 25, 2003 to March 21, 2004, New-York Historical will host a traveling exhibition, organized by the State Museum. Recovery: The World Trade Center Recovery Operation at Fresh Kills documents the historic recovery effort to locate human remains and personal objects from the collapse of the World Trade Center.

The New York State Museum is located on Madison Avenue in Albany. Further information about programs and events can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website.

ALBANY, NY – “Conflict, Catalyst, Conclusion: New York’s African-American Civil War Legacy” will be presented February 18 at the New York State Museum as part of the Museum’s celebration of Black History Month.

Three college professors, who are experts in 19th-century African-American history, will participate in the program from 10 a.m. to noon in the Huxley Theater. This free program is sponsored by the State Museum and the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

The program will begin with a dramatic presentation by Dr. David Anderson of Nazareth College. He will then join Dr. Kate Clifford Larson of Simmons College and Dr. Amy Murrell Taylor of the University at Albany for a panel discussion about the important role “colored troops” played in the quest for emancipation.

The United States Colored Troops (USCT) was the official name for African-American regiments in the U.S. Army during the Civil War. First recruited in 1863, the USCT comprised one-tenth of the Union Army by the end of the Civil War. President Abraham Lincoln authorized the recruitment of African-Americans to fight for the Union with the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. For the first time African-Americans could legally fight in the Union army against the Confederates.

Established in 1836, the State Museum is a program of the State Education Department’s Office of Cultural Education. Located on Madison Avenue in Albany, the Museum is open Monday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free. Further information can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the Museum website.

# # #

ALBANY, NY – An Albany photojournalist who has traveled extensively throughout Afghanistan, photographing and interviewing its people both there and in the Capital Region, will share her photos and unique perspective on the country’s past and present in a program at the State Museum Saturday, Nov. 3.

Connie Frisbee Houde will present “A Celebration of Afghan Culture: A Community Heritage Day Event” at 1 p.m. in the Carole F. Huxley Theater. Houde views Afghanistan as the “forgotten war” as public attention has shifted to Iraq. She has walked among the Afghan people, in both rural and urban areas, finding what she terms “a tragedy of untold proportions.” Her photographs have appeared in numerous exhibits throughout the Capital District and beyond and have been published in a variety of books and magazines.

She first traveled to Afghanistan in 2003 to document a country working to recover from more than 25 years of war. In 2004 and 2005 she traveled deep into the heart of Afghanistan photographing the National Organization of Ophthalmic Rehabilitation (NOOR), the country’s singular eye care program. She experienced the daily workings of a country lacking basic amenities and observed the country as it prepared for both the presidential and parliamentary elections.

“While in Afghanistan I quickly fell in love with the people I met – the noble faces of the men, the strength of the women and the poignant beauty of the children whose eyes were windows to their souls,” says Houde. “I am not simply looking at the Afghans through my lens, I am capturing them looking back at us.”

Houde was awarded a 2006 New York State Council on the Arts grant to photograph and record the harrowing and untold stories of some of the more than 3,000 Afghans who have escaped their country and resettled in the Capital District. She began recording, photographing and exhibiting this material in 2005 and says the project has had a healing effect on the storytellers and on their American audience, bringing together two groups who have both experienced the horrors of war. Many have stayed in touch with relatives in Afghanistan and have an intimate knowledge of the country’s present day political and economic conditions.

The New York State Museum is a cultural program of the New York State Education Department. Started in 1836, the Museum has the longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey in the United States. Located on Madison Avenue in Albany, the Museum is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free. Further information can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the Museum website.

# # #

ALBANY, NY – Lesbian journalist Lyn Duff, who has spoken out on leading network news programs about oppression based on sexual orientation, will appear at the New York State Museum on June 5 to talk about her own experiences being forced to undergo sexual conversion therapy as a teenager.

“Sexual Conversion Therapy: One Person’s Ordeal, The Story of Lyn Duff” will be presented at 7 p.m. in the Huxley Theater, in conjunction with the national and local observance of June as National Gay Pride Month. Duff will talk about the therapy she was forced to undergo to try to change her sexual orientation when she “came out” as a lesbian at the age of 14. Among other things, she says she was subjected to hypnosis, psychotropic drugs, solitary confinement, and therapeutic messages, linking lesbian sex with “the pits of hell.” Duff contends that teens who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered are still vulnerable to such treatment today.

Duff most recently worked as a journalist with the Pacific News Service with postings in Haiti, Israel, Croatia, several African countries and Vietnam. She also was one of the few non-embedded Western journalists on the front lines of the war in Afghanistan.

Her journalism career began in 1989 when she founded an underground school newspaper when she was in 8th grade. She was accepted as an early entrance student to California State University, which she attended for a year and a half. After publicly stating that she was a lesbian in 1991 Duff says her mother became concerned and had her transported against her will to a Utah psychiatric center, which now operates as a youth center. She says that although the center was not officially affiliated with the Mormon church, it had strong religious overtones, and missionaries from the Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS) visited her while she was there. She was diagnosed with Gender Identity Disorder and depression and given a regimen of what was considered to be reparative therapy. She escaped from the center and traveled to San Francisco where she lived on the streets and in safe houses for a time. In late 1992 she “divorced” her parents, an issue that gained national attention when reporters revealed that Hillary Clinton had completed her master’s thesis on the legal right of children to divorce their parents.

Duff eventually became a licensed clinical social worker. From 1992 through 1998, she was an outspoken critic of the mental health system, appearing on CNN and ABC’s 20/20. During this time she also wrote a weekly column for the San Francisco Examiner and her writing also appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, the Washington Post, the Miami Herald, Seventeen magazine, Salon online and the National Catholic Reporter.

The State Museum is also sponsoring “Family Diversity Day” on Saturday, June 7 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. This free program, celebrating the diversity of family life and the communities everyone shares, will feature tours, storytelling, crafts and other activities. A complete listing of all of the Gay Pride events throughout the Capital District and beyond is available at http://www.cdglcc.org/Pride_Events.htm.

The New York State Museum is a cultural program of the New York State Education Department. Started in 1836, the museum has the longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey in the United States. The state museum is located on Madison Avenue in Albany. It is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free. Further information about programs and events can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website.

# # #

ALBANY, N.Y. – In celebration of the 202nd anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth, the New York State Museum will present a series of three cooking demonstrations in February that highlight the evolution of domestic food.

“Cooking the Tree of Life – Food as Delicious Evolution” will be presented on three successive Wednesdays, beginning February 2, at 7 p.m. in the Clark auditorium. Each demonstration in the free program will pair a local chef with a biologist sous chef, and the two will prepare the meal together, providing both the culinary and scientific perspective on the main ingredients.

The February demonstrations are:

• February 2, Swine and Dine -- Pigs and their porcine relatives are used as food sources in many cultures, and 7,000 years of artificial selection have resulted in the domesticated pig that is farmed today. Dr. Jason Cryan, an evolutionary biologist at the State Museum, will discuss the evolutionary origins, current distribution and biology of pigs, while Chef Tony Destratis of the Lake George Club prepares and presents inspired dishes.
• February 9, Potato: The Perfect Human Food -- For the first few million years, the potato tuber was just a nifty adaptation to help plants store a bit of energy underground. Then humans discovered how nutritious it was, started experimenting with its evolution, and created the perfect human food. Dr. Roland Kays, the State Museum’s curator of mammals, will provide the evolutionary back-story to the tuber that changed the world, as the Food Network’s Chef David Britton cooks up examples of the cuisine it has inspired.
• February 16, Loving the Bubbly: Bread, Wine and Beer -- The variety of breads and fermented beverages developed by cultures around the world are made possible by one species of yeast that has evolved into hundreds of specialized strains. This microscopic fungus has been intertwined with human evolution over the last 10,000 years, helping certain cultures to flourish.

Museum scientist Dr. Jeremy Kirchman and Chef Stephen Topper of the Copperfield Inn in North Creek, will discuss the natural history of yeast as they prepare dishes together.

More information on the “Cooking the Tree of Life” program is available at http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/programs/treeoflife/.

The State Museum is a cultural program of the New York State Education Department’s Office of Cultural Education. Founded in 1836, the Museum has the longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey in the U.S. The Museum is located on Madison Avenue in Albany. It is open Monday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free. Further information can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the Museum website.

# # #

ALBANY, N.Y. – In celebration of the 201st anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth, the New York State Museum will present a series of three cooking demonstrations in February that highlight the extreme evolution of domestic food.

“Cooking the Tree of Life – Food as Extreme Evolution” will be presented on three successive Wednesdays, beginning February 3, at 7 p.m. in the Clark auditorium. The free program is based on the premise that the ingredients in our everyday food are extreme examples of evolution – ridiculously hot peppers, to super sweet grasses, to flightless birds. Each demonstration in the weekly series will pair a local chef with a biologist, and the two will prepare a meal, providing both the culinary and scientific perspective on the main ingredients.

The February demonstrations are:

• February 3, Some Like It Hot -- Peppers: Dr. Roland Kays, curator of mammals at the State Museum, will lay out the evolutionary history of peppers, as Food Network Chef David Britton whips up related dishes in the on-stage kitchen. The menu will highlight the diversity of peppers, created by humans selecting for extreme traits, and show why some of the most bizarre evolution has actually caused the mildest peppers.
• February 10, Some Like It Sweet -- Sugars: Dr. Jason Cryan, an evolutionary biologist at the State Museum, will discuss natural sources of sugars and the ways that humans and animals actively seek sweets. At the same time Chef Timothy Warnock, corporate chef for U.S. Foods, will prepare a variety of delectable, sugar-inspired dishes in the on-stage kitchen.
• February 17, Tastes Like Chicken -- Birds: Dr. Jeremy Kirchman, the State Museum’s curator of birds, will team up with Chef Tony Destratis of the Lake George Club to provide an avian evolution lesson and to prepare savory dishes featuring flavorful dinosaur descendants.

For more information, and to view You Tube videos on the “Cooking the Tree of Life” programs, visit the Museum website at http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/programs/treeoflife/.

The State Museum is a cultural program of the New York State Education Department’s Office of Cultural Education. Founded in 1836, the museum has the longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey in the U.S. The State Museum is located on Madison Avenue in Albany. It is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free. Further information can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the Museum website.

# # #

ALBANY, NY – Ariadne (Ari) Kane, an expert on transgender issues, will speak at the New York State Museum Theater on Friday, June 2 at 7 p.m.

The event is one of many activities being held in June in the Capital District and across the country as part of National Gay Pride Month. Kane will address issues relevant to his just published

book – Crossing Sexual Boundaries: Transgender Journeys, Uncharted Paths – co-edited with Vern Bullough. The book is a collection of autobiographies, which chronicles the often difficult journeys of women and men regarding gender issues.

Kane will provide his own insights gained from years of experience, both as a member of the transgender community, and as a person who served a critical role in empowering others as a consultant and life coach. He will chronicle and analyze the past and present and share his views for the future.

A consultant who specializes in gender diversity, aging issues and gerontology, Kane is the executive director of the Educational Institute for Sex and Gender Diversity and a gender specialist with Theseus Consulting and Coaching Service, both in Latham. He holds degrees from the City College of New York and the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality and has done post-graduate work at New York University, the University of Buffalo and the University of California at Berkeley. Kale is a certified sexologist with the American Board of Sexology.

He served as a consultant to Vanessa Redgrave for the Renee Richards film and has been interviewed by several television talk show hosts including David Susskind, Phil Donahue and Geraldo Rivera, and has appeared on radio talk programs in Boston, Rhode Island and Dallas. Kane also has lectured at Harvard University, the School of Medicine at Boston University, the Kinsey Institute, the Human Sexuality program at New York University and many others.

Kane founded Fantasia Fair, a 9-day living/learning program for adult males who want to explore the feminine in their lives. He is also one of the creators of the Gender Attitude Reassessment program

-more-

-2-

workshop, a gender program for sexologists and health care professionals.

The New York State Museum is a cultural program of the New York State Education Department. Started in 1836, the museum has the longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey in the United States. The state museum is located on Madison Avenue in Albany. It is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free. Further information about programs and events can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.

# # #

The New York State Museum has added two important artifacts to its current exhibition commemorating the 150^th anniversary of the Civil War, An Irrepressible Conflict: The Empire State in the Civil War. The artifacts include the notes taken by two physicians who attended President Lincoln on his death bed and the only existing oil painting of Dred Scott, the African American slave whose 1858 Supreme Court trial pushed the nation to the brink of Civil War.

The physicians' handwritten notes, penned by Assistant Surgeon Joseph Janvier Woodward and Lincoln family physician Robert K. Stone, describe in stark detail President Lincoln's condition after being shot by John Wilkes Booth on the night of April 15, 1865. Dr. Woodward's notes are stained with the President’s blood. These documents are on loan from the Fenimore Museum, Cooperstown, New York.

Dred Scott gained everlasting fame as the slave whose freedom was denied in one of the nation’s most important Supreme Court cases.  In 1858, Chief Justice Roger B. Taney delivered the court ruling that African Americans had no claim on freedom or citizenship and that slavery was protected by the Constitution. The decision increased tensions throughout the nation and contributed to the outbreak of war in 1861. The Dred Scott decision was overturned by the 14^th Amendment in 1868. The Dred Scott oil painting is on loan from the New-York Historical Society.

An Irrepressible Conflict: The Empire State in the Civil War is open through September 22, 2013 in Exhibition Hall. As the wealthiest and most populous state, the Empire State led all others in supplying men, money, and matériel to the causes of unity and freedom. New York’s experience provides significant insight into the reasons why the war was fought and the meaning that the Civil War holds today. In addition to the physicians’ notes and the Dred Scott oil painting, the exhibition includes a brass collar worn by a slave in Canajoharie, New York, the earliest known photograph of human rights champion Frederick Douglass (on loan from the Onondaga Historical Association), Abraham Lincoln's 1860 life mask (New-York Historical Society), a steel plate made for the USS Monitor (Hudson Mohawk Industrial Gateway), handmade artifacts produced by Confederate prisoners at Elmira Prison (Chemung County Historical Society), and a Ku Klux Klan robe from Greene County, New York.   

Photos of the physicians' notes and the Dred Scott oil painting are available here: http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/PRkit/2013/civilwar_artifacts/index.html. More information about An Irrepressible Conflict: The Empire State in the Civil War can be found here: http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/civilwar/.

The State Museum is a program of the New York State Education Department's Office of Cultural Education. Located on Madison Avenue in Albany, the Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free. Further information about programs and events can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the Museum website.

###

WHAT:
In honor of Charles Darwin's birthday on Wednesday, Feb. 12, the New York State Museum will serve a birthday cake, decorated with a confectionary reproduction of a Darwin lithograph, and present a lecture on "Sex, Power and Resources: How the Human Evolutionary Past Haunts our Ecological Future." Dr. Bobbi Low of the University of Michigan will speak about pressures that were prevalent in our evolutionary past and explore how our responses to those pressures played out then and how they show up in modern society. The lecture is part of a month-long series of lectures on evolution, planned in honor of Darwin's birthday. At the end of the lecture, Dr. Low will sign her book, "Why Sex Matters: A Darwinian Look at Human Behavior."

WHEN: 
Wednesday, February 12
7 p.m. (cake will be cut and served, followed by the lecture and book signing)

WHERE: 
Museum Theater
New York State Museum
Madison Avenue, Albany

WHO:
Sponsored by the New York State Museum.

ALBANY – “Breaking What Barriers? A Discussion on Color, Race and Ethics in Sports” will be the topic of a panel representing professional sports, national sports media and college athletics at the New York State Museum Friday, Dec. 9th.

The panel discussion, to be held from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. in the Museum Theater, is one of several free programs being held in conjunction with the Museum’s two exhibitions -- Sports: Breaking Records, Breaking Barriers, a traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, and Miracles: New York’s Greatest Sports Moments, organized by the State Museum.

The moderator of the panel will be Dr. Joseph Bowman Jr., a regent of the University of the State of New York and director of the Center for Urban Youth and Technology at the University at Albany.

Panelists are Dick Barnett, former NBA player and currently assistant professor of sports management at St. John's University; Walter Chattman, former pro football player and retired associate commissioner of the New York State Department of Correctional Services; Bill Daughtry, co-host of "Sports Desk" on the MSG Network; Trina Patterson, head women's basketball coach at the University at Albany; Dr. Harold Merritt, director of athletics and athletic facilities at the College of Staten Island; Dr. Lee McElroy Jr., director of athletics and recreation at the University at Albany and Dennis Jackson, president and executive director of P.L.A.Y. Inc. (Planned Learning Achievement for Youth).

Sports: Breaking Records, Breaking Barriers, at the Museum through Jan. 8, 2006, focuses on 35 athletes in 17 sports. Highlighting artifacts from the Smithsonian's sports collection, the exhibition spotlights the pioneering men and women who dominated their sports, championed their country, race, or sex, and helped others to achieve. Among those who broke racial barriers are Jackie Robinson, the first African-American to play major league baseball; Bill Russell, game strategist and first African-American NBA coach; Althea Gibson, the first African-American Wimbledon competitor and champ and

Dominique Dawes, the first African-American Olympic gymnast and gold medalist.

-more-
-2-

There are a variety of other programs planned to complement the sports exhibitions. Vacation Week Sports Day on Wednesday, December 28th from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. will invite children and adults to create a new sport or improve on an old one. Participants will be able to design the equipment and make the rules.

“Sports Bowl” on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 14-15, 2006 will feature a sports trivia competition for adults 16 years of age or older in the Museum Theater. Participants will enter their team of four players in the preliminary round on Jan. 14 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The final challenge will be on Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. Pre-registration is required by December 30. To register call (518) 473-7154 or e-mail psteinba@mail.nysed.gov.

A Sports Film Festival will be held Saturday and Sunday, January 28-29, 2006 in the Museum Theater for adults and children. Films will be shown at noon and 2:30 p.m.

“Pajama Games,” a girls’ night out to enjoy sports and watch movies, will be held for girls ages 10-13 on Friday, Feb. 10, 2006 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the Museum. Pizza and popcorn will be provided. Pajamas and stuffed toys are encouraged but optional. There is a $5 fee and pre-registration is required.

To register call (518) 473-7154 or e-mail psteinba@mail.nysed.gov."

The New York State Museum is a cultural program of the New York State Department of Education. Founded in 1836, the Museum has the longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey in the U.S. Located on Madison Avenue in Albany, the Museum is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free. Further information can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.

# # #

ALBANY, NY – The New York State Museum’s Family Fun Weekend on Dec. 3-4th will focus on “Changing Seasons” and how they affect animals, with a special program on bird migration in the Museum’s new inflatable Star Lab Planetarium.

Activities are free and will be held from 1to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The planetarium program will provide information on a variety of birds and their migration patterns. It will be held from 1 to 2 p.m. in the Museum Theater on Saturday and in Adirondack Hall by the Elk Pond on Sunday.

All other activities will be held the same time both days in Bird Hall. From 1 to 4 p.m. the documentary “Winged Migration” will be shown and crafts activities will also take place. Participants will be able to make and take home a birdseed owl and sun catcher. Also during that time there will be a scavenger hunt, with prizes, and mazes, coloring sheets and a bird activity package will also be available. Visitors will be invited to participate in experiments to see how various birds eat from 2 to 4 p.m. “Family Fun Story Time” will be featured from 3 to 3:30 p.m.

Family Fun Weekends offer theme-based family activities the first weekend of every month at the State Museum. For further information please contact Noreen Yost at nyost@mail.nysed.gov or Cathy Cozzens at ccozzens@mail.nysed.gov or call 518-486-1569.

The New York State Museum, established in 1836, is a program of the New York State Department of Education. Located at the Empire State Plaza on Madison Avenue in Albany, the Museum is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free and the Museum is fully accessible. Further information about Museum programs and events can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.

# # #

ALBANY, NY – A new traveling exhibition opens at the New York State Museum on October 17 showcasing the works of a legendary group of photographers who documented the lives and struggles of Americans enduring the Great Depression.

This Great Nation Will Endure, open through March 14, 2010, features more than 150 images of America taken between 1935 and 1942 by the legendary photographic unit of the Farm Security Administration (FSA). This remains the largest documentary photography project ever undertaken. The photographs include some of the most familiar and powerful images of the nation to emerge from the Depression era. Many have reached iconic status in American culture.

Curated and designed by staff at the Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) Library and Museum in Hyde Park, the exhibition features images from every region of the nation, culled from the enormous FSA photography collection (numbering tens of thousands of images) at the Library of Congress. Included are photographs taken during the 1930s and 1940s by Dorothea Lange, Gordon Parks, Ben Shahn, Walker Evans, Arthur Rothstein, Carl Mydans, Russell Lee, John Vachon, Marion Post Wolcott and Jack Delano.

The FSA was a New Deal agency created by President Roosevelt in 1937 to help American farmers and farm laborers who were confronting economic depression and natural disaster, including the ecological disaster known as the Dust Bowl. It developed out of an earlier agency called the Resettlement Administration (RA) for which its director, Rexford Tugwell, had established a publicity department to document rural poverty and government efforts to alleviate it. That department included a photographic unit called the “Historical Section,” administrated by former Columbia University economics instructor, Roy Stryker. To accomplish the agency’s goals, Stryker enlisted a group of men and women who today comprise a virtual “Who’s Who” of 20th-century documentary photography. The RA and its “Historical Section” were merged into the newly created FSA in 1937. Many of its photographers later forged careers that helped define photojournalism at magazines like Life and Look.

Most of the photographs in the exhibition depict rural life and hardships but they also include many images of town and city life. The FSA created a very diverse record of American life during the 1930s and early 1940s, including images of hardship, endurance, hope, recovery, migration, recreation and community life. The photographs provide visual affirmation of President Roosevelt’s bold assertion in his first inaugural address, delivered at the lowest point of the Great Depression: “This great nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper … the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

The exhibition also includes a specially commissioned, short documentary film that explores the work of four of the most prominent FSA photographers. There also is a soundtrack of folk music sung by migrant workers that was recorded in migrant worker camps in California in 1940-41. An interactive computer program allows visitors to explore entire series of images shot by FSA photographers during individual photo assignments. Also featured is a short silent video that depicts the ways in which FSA photography was used in newspapers and magazines of the 1930s and 1940s.

The New York State Museum is a program of the New York State Education Department’s Office of Cultural Education. Founded in 1836, the museum has the longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey in the U.S. Located on Madison Avenue in Albany, the Museum is open daily from 9:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Further information can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the Museum website.

# # #

ALBANY, NY – “Coelophysis, one of New York’s Dinosaurs” will be the topic of May’s Family Fun Weekend on May 16-17 at the New York State Museum.

Family Fun Weekend activities will be held from 1- 4 p.m. in front of the Ancient Life exhibition, which displays numerous ancient life forms from the Museum’s exhaustive fossil collection. The youngest specimens date back 100 million years, when dinosaurs were in their heyday. The exhibition has a model of the meat-eating Coelophysis, as well as a life-size cast of the dinosaur.

Family Fun activities will include a craft participants can make and take home. There also will be an interactive cart on ancient life and books on dinosaurs that visitors can explore.

Family Fun Weekends offer theme-based family activities on the third weekend of then month. The New York State Museum, established in 1836, is a program of the New York State Education Department’s Office of Cultural Education. Located at the Empire State Plaza on Madison Avenue in Albany, the Museum is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free and the Museum is fully accessible. Further information about Museum programs and events can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the Museum website.

# # #

ALBANY, NY (September 23, 2009) – Documenting one of the first studies of its kind, a New York State Museum scientist has co-authored a research article published today in a leading scientific journal showing how ancient DNA sequences were used to support the hypothesis that a controversial hummingbird species is a valid, presumably extinct species.

The article, co-authored by Dr. Jeremy Kirchman, an ancient DNA expert and the Museum’s curator of birds, appears today in Biology Letters, a peer-reviewed journal that publishes high-quality biology research. The other authors were Christopher Witt of the Department of Biology and Museum of Southwestern Biology at the University of New Mexico, Jimmy McGuire of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology of the University of California and Gary Graves of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.

The study documents the validity of a hummingbird species that was controversial because it has not been seen in the wild since it was originally collected a century ago. The research provides a more complete picture of the evolution of this popular group. It also demonstrates the feasibility of obtaining DNA from nearly microscopic tissue samples from even the smallest of birds, paving the way for similar work in the future.

The scientists used DNA sequence data from a unique 100-year-old holotype, a museum specimen that was designated as the basis of the first published description of the Bogota sunangel (Heliangelus zusii). Because biologists had not observed the H. zussi in nature it was not known whether this species was already rare when first discovered and is now extinct, or whether it represented unusual individuals or hybrids of other species.

Comparing the ancient DNA data from the holotype to DNA sequences from 95 hummingbird species, the study demonstrated that H. zussi is genetically well-differentiated from all potential hybrid parental species. The scientists infer that the species lived between the upper tropical and temperate zones of the northern Andes and was most likely driven to extinction by deforestation, resulting from human population growth during the 19th and 20th centuries.

This study is one of the first to use DNA tests of very old museum specimens to establish the loss of a species. More and more museums are moving in this direction, however. Kirchman notes that this research increases the value of the specimen collections at the State Museum, which date back to 1836 and include iconic, historically extinct species.

“What specimen collector a century ago could have known that we’d be able to do this type of DNA testing and get so much information from the skins that they prepared?” asked Kirchman. “We who continue to collect and prepare specimens cannot know what questions will be addressed with our specimens 100 or 200 years from now.”

In his research on birds, Kirchman uses DNA sequencing technology to examine genetic differences among populations and species. Most of his work has focused on populations of birds that are isolated on oceanic islands, and recently he has focused on habitat islands on mountain tops, including the Catskills and Adirondacks.

An Albany resident, Kirchman has an undergraduate degree in biology from Illinois Wesleyan University, a master’s degree from Louisiana University, and a doctorate degree in zoology from the University of Florida where he studied under Dr. David Steadman, the State Museum’s former curator of birds.

The New York State Museum is a program of the New York State Education Department’s Office of Cultural Education. Started in 1836, the Museum has the longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey in the United States. Located on Madison Avenue in Albany, it is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free. Further information about programs and events can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the Museum website.

# # #

ALBANY – The New York State Museum has scheduled two additional presentations of a documentary first shown in February that explores both sides of the evolution vs. intelligent design controversy.
“Flock of Dodos: The Evolution-Intelligent Design Circus” will be presented on Saturday, March 10 and 24th at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. in the Clark Auditorium.
In the feature-length (85 minutes) documentary, filmmaker and evolutionary biologist Dr. Randy Olson pokes fun at both sides of the ongoing argument between “condescending scientists and extremist intelligent designers.’’ At the same time, the film delves head first into the seriousness of the issue that is at the heart of the current political division.
Olson received his doctorate from Harvard University and went on to build a career as a marine biologist/evolutionary ecologist until the mid 90’s when he decided to pursue a career as a Hollywood director at the University of Southern California’s Graduate School of Cinema/Television. “You Ruined My Career,” a comedy/musical he directed, won multiple awards including one at the Telluride Film Festival. Additional information on the filmmaker and film can be found at www.flockofdodos.com.
The New York State Museum is a cultural program of the New York State Department of Education. Founded in 1836, the museum has the longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey in the U.S. The State Museum is located on Madison Avenue in Albany. It is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free. Further information can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.
# # #

On Friday, May 28th the New York State Museum will receive a donation of artifacts, memorabilia and objects associated with 20th Century African-American culture from the Girl Friends, Incorporated, an international organization of women of African descent who promote educational and civic causes.

Spearheaded by local Girl Friend, Barbara Zuber of Troy, members of the organization will donate and loan to the State Museum objects and ephemera that once belonged to James Weldon Johnson, John Rosamond Johnson, Ethel Waters, Elmer Campbell and others who have made significant contributions to the history and development of New York culture and were associated with members of Girl Friends, Incorporated.

In addition to Mrs. Zuber, Melanie Edwards and Karen Day Selsey of New York City will also make donations or loans to the Museum. The presentation will be at 5:30 p.m. in the Museum Theater at the State Museum and will be part of the Girl Friends' national conference being held in Albany during Memorial Day weekend.

The decision to donate or loan the items was triggered by the loss the Girl Friends experienced when the group's materials were destroyed with the collapse of the World Trade Center on September 11th. Many of the materials lost represented the organization's history, some dating back to the group's founding in New York City in the early 20th century. Their loss made members keenly aware of the importance of preserving the documents and history that represent the growth of African-American culture in this country.

The State Museum has long sought a focus for a collection on African- American culture that would not replicate other collections around the state or the country. Members of the local Albany Girl Friends' chapter wanted to preserve objects that belonged to noted African-Americans who took part in significant social movements in New York State, beginning with the Harlem Renaissance. The donations from the Girl Friends are the beginning of what will someday be a significant Museum collection on 20th century African-American culture that will be a resource for educators and scholars for many years to come.

The New York State Museum is a program of the New York State Department of Education, the University of the State of New York and the Office of Cultural Education. Started in 1836, the Museum has the longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey in the United States. Located at the Empire State Plaza on Madison Avenue in Albany, the Museum is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free and the Museum is fully accessible. Further information about programs and events can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.

The New York State Museum is located on Madison Avenue in Albany. It is open 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week throughout the year except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Further information about programs and events can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.

ALBANY, NY – An exhibition of letters, written by former slave and prominent black anti-slavery activist Frederick Douglass, has opened at the New York State Museum.
The exhibition in New York Metropolis Hall, outside of the Harlem in the 1920’s gallery, will feature six letters recently acquired by the New York State Library. They provide valuable insight into anti-slavery activities in upstate New York in the years just before the Civil War. Douglass wrote the letters between 1855-1857 to Miss Hannah Fuller, the organizer of the Skaneatles Ladies Anti-Slavery Society. They show the close working relationships that Douglass forged with white women leaders of the anti-slavery movement. The letters also reveal a personal side of Douglass, including his relationships with other lesser-known abolitionists.
One of the most recognizable African-Americans of 19th-century American History, Douglass was an escaped slave from Maryland who taught himself to read and write. In the 1840s he began speaking on the abolitionist circuit with William Lloyd Garrison’s American Anti-Slavery Society, which was dominated by New Yorkers and based in New York City. 
Four of the letters discuss arrangements Douglass made for a speaking engagement in Rochester for anti-slavery activist William Wells Brown, who was also a former slave. After escaping in 1834 Brown worked as a conductor on the Underground Railroad and became a prominent abolitionist speaker and author. Douglass was also an eloquent speaker who passionately recounted his personal experiences in slavery. Although they worked for the same cause, the letters show that Douglass and Brown were also rivals for prominence within the anti-slavery movement. 
In 1847 Douglass moved to Rochester, a hotbed of reform and political activism, where he continued his national anti-slavery campaign using New York State as his base of operations. During the Civil War Douglass called African-Americans to fight and actively recruited the first 
black regiment formed in the North. Following the war Douglass continued his activism against the black codes in the South and became the leading advocate of the 15th Amendment, which gave black men the vote. He spent his final years in Washington and when he died in 1895 he was buried in Rochester.
A virtual exhibit on the Douglass letters and a link to other resources on African- American history in the Office of Cultural Education can be found online by visiting http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/library/features/fd/ .
 

The New York State Museum, established in 1836, is a program of the New York State Education Department. Located at the Empire State Plaza on Madison Avenue in Albany, the Museum is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Admission is free and the Museum is fully accessible. Further information about Museum programs and events can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the Museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.

ALBANY, NY – Visitors to the New York State Museum’s Family Fun Weekend October 17-18 can join in the celebration of this year’s Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial, with Dutch folk music and dancing and other activities focusing on “400 Years of Dutch Influence.”

On Sunday, from 1 to 4 p.m., the musical group "Peter, Paul and George," from Dance Flurry, will perform Dutch folk music and lead visitors in Dutch dancing. Dance Flurry is a non-profit organization that aims to connect and inspire people through traditional music and dance. Dance Flurry sponsors the annual Dance Flurry Festival in Saratoga Springs and sponsors numerous other year-round activities in the Capital District.

Also on Sunday, the Dutch Settlers Society will come in costume and participate in the afternoon’s activities. Founded in 1924, the Dutch Settlers are dedicated to preserving the area’s Dutch heritage and celebrating the accomplishments of their Dutch ancestors. Many members of the group are descended from the original settlers of Fort Orange/Beverwyck from 1624-1664, but it is not necessary to have a Dutch surname to become a member of the group.

SmileMonster, the mascot of Family Fun Weekend promotional sponsor SmileMonster.com, will be greeting visitors on Saturday.

Family Fun activities will be held both days from 1- 4 p.m. in South Hall. Other activities will include a craft participants can make and take home. There also will be a coloring table and small museum pins will be given away to visitors.

Family Fun Weekends offer theme-based family activities on the third weekend of the month. The New York State Museum, established in 1836, is a program of the New York State Education Department’s Office of Cultural Education. Located at the Empire State Plaza on Madison Avenue in Albany, the Museum is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free and the Museum is fully accessible. Further information about Museum programs and events can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the Museum website.

# # #

ALBANY, NY – Environmentalists, scientists and nature lovers will present hands-on,

eco-friendly activities and demonstrations during the New York State Museum’s annual Earth Day celebration, Saturday, April 19.

The free event will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. throughout the Museum’s Exhibition Halls and is sponsored by HSBC. Free Fold-A-Tote reusable shopping bags, courtesy of Hannaford Supermarkets, will be available in the main lobby, as well as event schedules and maps.

Christopher Swain will be available throughout the day to talk to visitors about the PBS movie “Swim for the River’’ that chronicled his Hudson River swim in 2004. The film will be shown continuously in Adirondack Hall. Swain was the first person to swim the entire river from the Adirondacks to New York City.

During the swim he encountered a vast amount of consumer electronics dumped in the Hudson waters. Such devices introduce thousands of pounds of toxic chemicals into the ecosystem, threatening fish and mammals. As part of his Earth Day visit, Swain will collect cell phones, digital cameras, pagers, laptops, or other small electronic devices brought in by visitors so that they can be recycled in accordance with established environmental standards. Swain also will invite children to sculpt native fish out of clay and teach them how to care for the Hudson River ecosystem.

Pete Bindelglass of eLot Electronics in Troy also will provide information to visitors about his company’s recycling program.

Beekeeper Dan Kerwood of the Southern Adirondack Beekeeper’s Association will present a video and talk informally about bee swarms and wild hives, preservation of honey bees, the importance of pollination and provide information on how to become a beekeeper. Visitors also will be able to see live honeybees in their hives.

Carol Morley, an environmental educator, will have Red Wiggler earthworms on display and use demonstrations and songs to communicate the role they play as nature’s first recyclers. Representatives of the Friends of the Pine Bush, Department of Environmental Education and Five Rivers Environmental Center will have on hand various specimens and objects that visitors can touch and explore including plant and insect specimens, mammal skulls and pelts and beaver-chewed logs. The Emma Treadwell Thacher Nature Center will provide information about pond life and allow visitors to take a close look at the critters, eggs and larvae that are active in the water. Diane Peapus, a State Museum research associate, will explain her GPS web-based habitat monitoring project that documents how specific locations change over time.

State Museum educator Nancy Berns will be available to talk about “Invasive Species” in the Crossroads Gallery, where the Museum’s new “Invaders” exhibition opens April 15. Zebra mussels, one example, are represented in the exhibition, and can also be seen close-up, through microscopes and magnifying glasses, in the Museum lobby. Dr. Daniel Molloy, director of the Museum’s Field Research Laboratory in Cambridge, will be available to talk about his cutting-edge zebra mussel research.

Visitors also will have the opportunity to get an up-close look at an 85 Flex-fuel car that runs on ethanol and /or gasoline. Gregory Brown, a Museum exhibit specialist, will also display his electric-powered motorcycle, equipped with a 2,500-watt, 60-volt brushless hub motor. Several other presenters will provide demonstrations on energy-saving devices and alternative energy sources.

Throughout the day, Bill Cliff, storyteller and folk singer, will entertain young and old with folk tales, Native American stories and earth-friendly songs. Smoky Bear and Forest Ranger Joseph Hess will greet visitors and provide forest fire prevention tips.

Various objects from the State Museum’s South Street Seaport collection from New York City will be on display. Information will be provided on how these objects are used to answer questions about the past, using the science of archaeology.

Several presenters will demonstrate ways to recycle a variety of materials and turn them into art projects, jewelry, bird feeders, kites and other useful treasures.

The New York State Museum, established in 1836, is a program of the New York State Education Department. Located at the Empire State Plaza on Madison Avenue in Albany, the Museum is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free and the Museum is fully accessible. Further information about Museum programs and events can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website.

# # #

ALBANY, NY – People of all ages can learn how to protect animals and insects, use eco-friendly energy and help control global warming when the New York State Museum celebrates Earth Day on Friday, April 20 and Saturday, April 21. 
The programs, which are all free of charge, begin at 7 p.m. Friday at the Clark Auditorium, when Professor Steven Leibo of Russell Sage College, who was trained by former Vice President Al Gore, speaks on global warming. 
Leibo, a professor of international history and politics, is among 1,000 “climate change messengers’’ Gore trained to spread the word on global warming across the United States. Gore established the program called “The Climate Project,’’ as a follow-up to his Academy Award-winning film “An Inconvenient Truth.’’ Leibo plans to allow the audience to ask questions on issues the film presented. 
“It always lacked the possibility of having a Q & A follow-up after the film finished,’’ Leibo said. “What I will be doing is exactly that, a slide show complemented by more regional information and solutions on how people can begin to address this largest and most long-term challenge to humanity.’’
Earth Day events continue Saturday with a daylong series of programs from 11 a.m. to 4 pm on the first floor of the Museum. Event schedules and maps will be available in the Museum lobby. 
Throughout the day, Bill Cliff, storyteller and folk singer, will be entertaining young and old with folk tales, Native American stories and earth-friendly songs. 
Christopher Swain will be available to talk to visitors about the PBS movie “Swim for the River’’ that chronicled his swim of the entire Hudson River in 2004. The film will be shown continuously in Adirondack Hall. Swain was the first person to swim the entire river from the Adirondacks to New York City.
During the swim he encountered a vast amount of consumer electronics dumped in the Hudson waters. Such devices introduce thousands of pounds of toxic chemicals into the ecosystem, threatening fish and mammals. As part of his Earth Day visit, Swain will collect cell phones, digital cameras, pagers, laptops, DVDs or other small electronic devices brought in by visitors so that they can be recycled in accordance with established environmental standards. 
Swain also will invite kids to sculpt native fish out of clay, while learning to care for the Hudson River ecosystem.
Earth Day events will be sponsored by HSBC as part of HSBC-North America’s “There’s No Small Change” campaign that is designed to spread the word that each person can make a small change and make a difference in saving the environment. More information is available at ww.us.hsbc.com/theresnosmallchange.com
The New York State Museum, established in 1836, is a program of the New York State Education Department. Located at the Empire State Plaza on Madison Avenue in Albany, the Museum is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free and the Museum is fully accessible. Further information about Museum programs and events can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.

EDITORS NOTE: A schedule of additional Earth Day activities is attached.

Landsat: Earth as Art, an exhibition showcasing some of the most outstanding images of earth taken during the Landsat satellite program's 31-year history, will be shown at the New York State Museum September 27 through December 31.

NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), which jointly administer the Landsat program, organized the exhibition last year to celebrate Landsat's 30th anniversary. They chose 41 images of Earth taken by the Landsat 7 satellite from over 400 miles high. The images were selected from more than 400,000 images taken since 1999 and are based on their aesthetic appeal, specifically for their outstanding qualities of color, composition and form. They include scenes of islands, cloud formations, rivers, mountains, deserts and lakes, providing a unique view of our world.

NASA launched the first Landsat satellite on July 23, 1972. This archive of imagery provides a historical record designed to help understand and protect our planet. The USGS operates Landsat 5 and 7 and manages the national archive of data collected by all of the Landsat satellites, distributing these data to researchers around the world. Landsat satellites have provided data for applications in business, science, education, government and national security.

Landsat satellites monitor important natural processes and human land use such as vegetation growth, deforestation, agriculture, coastal and river erosion, snow accumulation and fresh-water reservoir replenishment, and urbanization. The USGS uses Landsat data to spot the amount and condition of dry biomass on the ground, which are potential sources for feeding wildfires that can threaten humans, animals and natural resources. Farmers and land managers use Landsat data to help increase crop yields and cut costs while reducing environmental pollution.

For more on the Landsat mission, go to: http://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/ or http://landsat7.usgs.gov/.

The Earth as Art web site can be found at: http://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/earthasart/

The State Museum, a cultural program of the New York State Department of Education, was founded on a tradition of scientific inquiry. Started in 1836, the museum has the longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey in the United States. The museum is located on Madison Avenue in Albany. Further information is available by calling 474-5877 or visiting the museum website.

ALBANY, NY -- The New York State Museum will celebrate Earth Day 2001 on Saturday, April 21 with free family activities throughout the day that include recycled crafts, ecology projects and talks by biologists.

"The State Museum has a long, distinguished record of environmental research," Museum Director Cliff Siegfried said. "The Earth Day activities at the Museum reflect our commitment, as part of the State Education Department, to life-long learning for all New Yorkers - especially in the arena of environmental education."

This year marks the 31st anniversary of Earth Day, which focuses attention on environmental issues throughout the world.

At the Museum, many Earth Day projects will incorporate the exhibitions that feature New York State's habitats. The Museum's own Discovery Squad, an afternoon program for teens, helped coordinate and will be leading some children's Earth Day festivities.

Some of the activities include:

• Museum Biologist Dr. Dan Molloy will talk about his research involving zebra mussels. From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Main Lobby.
• Museum Biodiversity Research Institute specialists Ron Gill and Karen Frolich will talk about dragonflies. From noon to 2 p.m.
• Pollution Prevention and Poster Contest with Team Supervisor Cheryl O'Brien, Laurie Rizzo and Jaime Paul from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Alternative Fuel Vehicles with representatives from the DEC, Air Resources. From 11a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Don't Trash Your Future and Environmental Button Making with Debbie Jackson, Environmental Program Specialist, the DEC, Bureau of Waste Reduction & Recycling. From noon to 4 p.m.
• Don't Treat Your Soil Like Dirt with Master Gardener Cathy Gifford. From noon to 4 p.m.

The New York State Museum is on Madison Avenue in downtown Albany next to the Empire State Plaza. It is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The public may call 518-474-5877 or visit the website at www.nysm.nysed.gov for more information.

ALBANY, NY – Scientists, nature lovers, conservationists and Smoky the Bear will lead visitors in free hands-on activities during an Earth Day celebration at the State Museum on Friday, April 21st .

The daylong event, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., will also feature singer Bill Cliff who will present his Earth friendly stories and songs. Cliff, a world traveler, has been a singer and songwriter for 30 years and has performed in schools, libraries, and museums all over eastern NY.

Jane Murawski, River Otter educator with the Hudson River Otter Watch, will present a slide show and recruit volunteers interested in reporting Otter sightings. Master Gardeners Victoria Shipp and Eileen Magenis from Cornell Cooperative Extension will demonstrate how to set up a basic terrarium to observe the growth of seeds and tell the story of the earthworm, its life cycle and the multiple benefits it brings to the environment.

State Museum Archaeology Collections Manager Andrea Lain, and Archaeology Collections Technician Ralph Rataul, will provide information on the state’s history using items from the Museum’s archaeology collection. A model of the Clearwater vessel from the Clearwater Educational Center will be on view and Pat Peebles, president of the North River Friends of the Clearwater, will present slides that tell the story of her organization.

Jason Novak, Estuary educator with the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) River Estuary Program, will have a model of a giant Sturgeon and explain why the fish is endangered and also display objects combed from the Hudson River shoreline. Maggie DeBona of Siena College will use hands-on objects, maps, and photographs as she explores the farm and life of a nineteenth century Albany County family in the Museum’s exhibition Preserving Family History: The Heritage of an Albany County family.

-more-

-2-

Further information about Museum programs and events can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877. The New York State Museum, established in 1836, is a program of the New York State Department of Education. Located at the Empire State Plaza on Madison Avenue in Albany, the Museum is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New

Year's Day. Admission is free and the Museum is fully accessible. Additional information on the Museum is available on the museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.

# # #

EDITORS NOTE: A schedule of additional Earth Day activities is attached

ALBANY, NY – Visitors to the New York State Museum will have the chance to operate remote-control solar and fuel cell cars, see a puppet theater presentation, and participate in a wide variety of eco-friendly activities and programs at the annual Earth Day celebration on Saturday, April 25.

Presentations on environmental problems and solutions, games, and visits from live animals will also be included at the free event, which will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Arm of the Sea Mask and Puppet Theater will present “City that Drinks the Mountain Sky” from 1 to 2 p.m. Through poetry, puppetry and evocative music, this production follows New York City’s water as it makes its way from the Catskill Mountains to 9 million downstate residents.

From 3 to 4 p.m., James Bruchac, an award-winning author and storyteller at the Ndakinna Education Center, will tell stories and show tracking techniques that reflect how Native Americans’ reliance on the natural world helped shape many Native legends, cultural values, and social interactions that continue today.

Throughout the day, Aline F. Gianfagna, of the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering at the state University at Albany, will talk about alternative energy applications of nanotechnology, the science of the super small, and how it can be used to solve the world’s global ecosystem and environmental problems.

With help from Regina Willis, a student conservation associate of the Hudson River Estuary Program, visitors will be able to build a 21-foot puzzle of the river that will include details about its history, physical features and wildlife. Bryan Weatherwax, of the State Museum’s Fish Lab, will display live fish and Museum specimens found in the river. Margaret Phillips of the United States Geological Survey will ask participants to play the part of a water droplet in a water cycle game.

Ron Gill, who is with the Biodiversity Research Institute, will explain how invasive species may threaten the state’s native biodiversity. Forest Ranger Karen Glesmann and Smokey Bear will be on hand to discuss forest protection, while Dee Strnisa, an educator with the Five Rivers Environmental Education Center and Project WET (Water Education for Teachers), will have live reptiles and amphibians on hand, including some that are threatened. Ralph Rataul, Janice Morrison and Susan Winchell-Sweeney, of the Museum’s Anthropology Lab, will discuss how archaeology is used to answer questions about how people once lived.

Katie Buckley, of the Adirondack Council, will provide tips on saving energy and discuss the Council’s first-of-its kind citizen-participation carbon-retirement program, which prevents the emission of thousands of tons of carbon dioxide from power plants. Leslie Polsinello, of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), will talk about how to make homes and offices more energy efficient without sacrificing comfort.

Information on how campers can have the least possible impact on the landscape will be available from Ted Beblowski, master educator with the Leave No Trace program. Volunteers with Friends of the Pine Bush Community, Inc. will display plant materials and animal specimens. Visitors will also be able to examine extinct and endangered animal specimens and touch real mastodon and orca whale teeth through activities led by Museum Educator Nancy Berns.

Master Gardeners Victoria Shipp and Ellen Magenis, of Cornell Cooperative Extension, will introduce gardening fun that includes worms, seedlings and beanstalks as well as other hands-on activities.

Peggy Steinbach, the Museum’s art instructor, will invite visitors to help create a mosaic of a bird using household and manufacturing waste materials that were rescued from a landfill. Robin Tubolino, of Nature Revealed, will provide ideas on how old or used objects can be transformed into useful items, such as bird feeders, flowerpots, kites, sandals and jewelry.

The New York State Museum, established in 1836, is a program of the New York State Education Department’s Office of Cultural Education. Located at the Empire State Plaza on Madison Avenue in Albany, the Museum is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Admission is free and the Museum is fully accessible. Further information about Museum programs and events can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the Museum website.

# # #

ALBANY, NY – Fossils of the Earth’s oldest trees have been donated to the New York State Museum after workers uncovered them during a project to reconstruct the Gilboa Dam in Schoharie County.

Engineers for the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) discovered 35 Gilboa stump specimens in the same location where similar Gilboa stumps were uncovered in 1920 when the dam was constructed. Other smaller discoveries were made in the 1850s and in 1869. Twelve new stumps will be added to what is now the world’s largest collection of Gilboa stumps at the State Museum. The stumps are widely cited as evidence of the world’s oldest forest.

For decades scientists did not know what the trees connected to the stumps looked like. This mystery was solved in recent years. For the first time, the entire tree was pieced together after Museum researchers found fossils of the tree’s intact crown in 2004, and a 28-foot-long trunk portion in 2005. In 2007, Nature, a leading international journal of science, reported the discovery of the 380-million-year-old “stunning specimens” in Schoharie County, marking the first time paleontologists had seen the entire Devonian-Period tree. The discovery was named one of the “100 top Science Stories of 2007” by Discover magazine.

Linda Van Aller Hernick, the Museum’s paleontology collections manager and one of the co-authors of the 2007 Nature article, discovered the tree’s crown in 2004, along with colleague Frank Mannolini, paleontogy collection technician. The year before, Hernick wrote “The Gilboa Fossils,” a book published by the Museum about the history and significance of the fossils and their use in an iconic exhibition about the Earth’s oldest forest. The exhibition, at the State Museum’s former location in the State Education Department building on Washington Avenue in Albany, had a profound influence on multiple generations of paleontologists worldwide.

One of the exhibition’s key planners was Winifred Goldring, the nation’s first female statepaleontologist who was based at the State Museum. She worked tirelessly to study and interpret the Gilboa fossils and named the trees Eospermatopteris. In 1924, her paper about the stumps, together with the Museum exhibition, brought the “Gilboa forest” to the attention of the world. Even today, the ancient Gilboa forest remains among the most famous and important fossil sites ever discovered for this geologic period.

“The original discovery of the Gilboa Forest fossils documented the earliest known forest in the history of the world and informs textbooks around the world,” said Dr. Cliff Siegfried, State Museum director. “The recent discoveries that State Museum scientists and their colleagues have made at this site have advanced our understanding of life in a world hundreds of millions of years in the past. We’re excited to be able to enhance our collections documenting these discoveries and want to acknowledge and thank DEP for partnering with us to make it possible.”

Dr. William Stein, associate professor of biology at the State University at Binghamton and a co-author of the Nature article, noted that there are still many unanswered questions about the trees and their stumps. A paleobotanist who specializes in the Devonian period, Stein said that the new additions to the Museum collection are important because they will allow him to analyze multiple specimens of different sizes, including some that appear deformed, to learn more about how these plants grew and interacted with their environment.

The most recent discovery of Gilboa stump specimens was made in the old Riverside Quarry in Schoharie County. Some of the DEP engineers at the site were familiar with the history of the area as a fossil site and were interested in helping to recover any fossils that might turn up as they excavated infill from the old quarry in the process of rebuilding the dam. The same quarry was used as a source of face rock when the former City of New York Board of Water Supply began constructing the Gilboa Dam in 1919. There, in 1920, workers discovered casts of fossil tree stumps in the positions in which they were originally growing. As with the most recent discovery, the State Museum was notified and the fossils were placed in the Museum’s paleontology collection.

“These unique discoveries from the site of our $350 million reconstruction of the Gilboa Dam help to tell the story of how the Schoharie Valley was formed,” said Paul Rush, deputy commissioner of the Bureau of Water Supply for the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. “We are thrilled to be able to work with the New York State Museum to showcase these fossils to foster a better understanding of the geologic history of the watershed that provides drinking water to half the state’s population.”

The Gilboa Dam is part of New York City’s Catskill water supply system, and is located at the northern point of the Schoharie Reservoir in the Town of Gilboa. The reconstruction of the dam started with emergency stabilization work in 2005. The upgrade will extend the useful life of the dam for 50 to 100 years and bring it into compliance with the latest state and federal standards. This includes an enhanced capacity to safely release water in the event of a dam safety emergency—a design feature critical to protecting the dam and communities downstream. The work is scheduled to be completed in 2016.

Some of the recently discovered stumps will remain on the Gilboa construction site for future placement elsewhere. DEP also is donating five of the stumps to the Gilboa Museum, which plans to hold an open house to unveil its new acquisitions on July 10. The Museum houses many rare fossils found only in the Gilboa area. It also contains artifacts and photos from the original town of Gilboa before it was transformed into a reservoir for New York City’s drinking water.

“In addition to their scientific significance, the Eospermatopteris stumps also have profound cultural and historical significance to the State of New York,” said Stein. “The building of the Gilboa Dam and the old village of Gilboa, now under the waters of Schoharie Reservoir, are history well worth cherishing. Properly conserved and protected, the stumps are a powerful reminder, and useful teaching tool.”

The State Museum is a program of the New York State Education Department’s Office of Cultural Education. Founded in 1836, the Museum has the longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey in the U.S. Located on Madison Avenue in Albany, the Museum is open Monday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free. Further information can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the Museum website.

# # #

ALBANY – Taking a cue from some popular television shows, New York State Museum scientists are putting a new spin on the Museum’s annual evolution series, which kicks off February 6.

Museum visitors will be invited to tune into “The Evolution Channel: A Celebration of Darwin’s Birthday” every Wednesday in February at 7 p.m. in the Huxley Theater.

The free programs debut with “Point-Counterpoint” on February 6. The topic will be whether Darwinism can be used to explain cultural diversity. Dr. John Edward Terrell, anthropologist at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, and Dr. David Sloan Wilson, biologist at Binghamton University, will debate and discuss the hows and whys of cultural evolution. Cake will be served in celebration of Charles Darwin’s 199th birthday.

“Myth Busters,” on February 13, will include two episodes. In Episode 1 -- “The Earth Is Young?” -- Dr. Robert S. Feranec, the Museum’s curator of vertebrate paleontology, will explain how scientists determine the age of fossils and rock layers and debunk the myth that Earth is only a few thousand years old. Episode 2 – “All Life Was Created Independently?” – will feature Museum scientist Dr. Jason Cryan, director of the Laboratory for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics. He will explain how scientists can reconstruct evolutionary relationships among living organisms, and debunk the myth that all forms of life were independently created.

In “Ask the Experts,” on February 20, Museum scientists and their colleagues in the fields of biology, geology and archaeology will answer questions about evolution. This live version of popular TV call-in shows will give students and other members of the public, the opportunity to ask evolutionary biologists questions relating to such topics as cloning, the origin of the species, extinction, and other topics.

The “Are You Smarter than a Scientist?” game show, on February 27, will also invite audience participation. In the style of the popular game show “1 vs. 100,” the audience will take on Museum scientists in answering trivia questions relating to evolution.

The New York State Museum is a cultural program of the New York State Department of Education. Founded in 1836, the museum has the longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey in the U.S. The State Museum is located on Madison Avenue in Albany. It is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free. Further information can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website.

# # #

ALBANY, NY – The first exhibition of its kind -- “The Landscape of Memory: Prints by Frank C. Eckmair” -- opens at the New York State Museum November 19 showcasing the works of one of the nation’s most accomplished printmakers.

Open until September 18, 2011 in Crossroads Gallery, the exhibition comes from the Museum’s own 386-piece collection, which is the largest museum collection of Eckmair’s works that exists. The Museum’s curatorial and exhibition team worked with Eckmair during the last few years to archive his lifework, document the way he makes the prints and develop the exhibition.

The exhibition features more than 80 works, mostly landscapes, which include framed woodcut prints, as well as wood engravings, sculptures and the original woodblocks that track Eckmair’s career as an artist and lifelong resident of Gilbertsville in central New York. Also included are wood engraving tools and an early 20th-century Poco Proof printing press, on loan from Eckmair.

While growing up in central New York, Eckmair developed an affinity for the quiet landscape of the rural areas of that part of the state. His subjects are its farm fields, stone walls, abandoned homes, and old barns.

Although he did all kinds of printmaking Eckmair preferred woodcuts, noting that “wood is a poor man’s material.”

During the 1950s, printmaking grew in stature in New York with the rise of the New York School, a group of artists, poets, and musicians centered in the city. On Long Island, the influential Universal Limited Art Editions studio encouraged collaborations between artists and writers, provided printmaking space, and brought prints to collectors, galleries, and museums. Finally, the explosive growth of State University of New York campuses during the postwar period led to the establishment of major printmaking programs that are still operating today.

Born in 1930, Eckmair spent his early years drawing and working at his father’s hotel in Gilbertsville, a small village in Otsego County, west of Cooperstown. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the State University of Iowa, where he studied with Mauricio Lasansky, who is considered to be the “father of 20th-century American printmaking.” After teaching public school, Eckmair served in the U.S. Air Force in Korea, Japan, and the northwestern United States. He then received a Master of Fine Arts in printmaking from Ohio University. From 1963 to 1995 he was a key figure in the print studio of Buffalo State College, where he was a revered professor and influenced a generation of artists. While working in Buffalo, he maintained his family residence in Gilbertsville.

Eckmair’s work received its earliest recognition through American Associated Artists (AAA), a program founded to market affordable fine art prints to the American public. Like earlier artists such as Grant Wood, John Steuart Curry, and Thomas Hart Benton, Eckmair created prints of regional landscapes for AAA that had great populist appeal. Considered a master of the woodcut and represented in major collections around the world, Eckmair continues to create haunting works evoking rural life in upstate New York. He is the artistic director of Birch Book Press, a publisher of hand-crafted letterpress books and art.

The New York State Museum is a program of the New York State Education Department’s Office of Cultural Education. Founded in 1836, the museum has the longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey in the U.S. Located on Madison Avenue in Albany, the Museum is open daily from 9:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Further information can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the Museum website.

# # #

ALBANY, NY – Ed Smart, the father of former kidnap victim Elizabeth Smart and a nationally-known advocate for families with missing loved ones, will be the keynote speaker at the 9th annual Missing Persons’ Day ceremony Sunday, April 11 at the New York State Museum.

Smart’s presentation, which is open to the public, will begin at 2 p.m. The event for families and friends of abducted children and other missing persons is held annually in conjunction with Missing Persons’ Day, which is observed annually on April 6th, Suzanne Lyall’s birthday. The former SUNY Albany student has been missing since March 2, 1998.

Since his daughter’s abduction in June 2002 and her rescue nine months later, Smart has been involved in numerous conferences designed to further awareness and cooperation in the area of child protection, with the aid of law enforcement, media, and the public. He was instrumental in securing passage of the “Amber Alert” law.

Smart has done numerous TV interviews, including one with Katie Couric, along with his wife and daughter Elizabeth, on “Dateline NBC” in 2003. The Smart family also published a book, “Bringing Elizabeth Home,” which was the basis of a television movie, “The Elizabeth Smart Story” that aired November 9, 2003 on CBS. Elizabeth’s alleged abductor was ruled competent to face charges on March 1, and his trial is pending.

Prior to Smart’s speech, a ceremony will be held in the Museum’s Huxley Theater, beginning at 1 p.m., with Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco as master of ceremonies. It will include a talk by Doug and Mary Lyall, the parents of Suzanne Lyall, who will discuss the Center for Hope, the Ballston Spa-based non-profit organization they founded. This will be followed by remarks by Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings and other dignitaries.

Following the speeches and presentations, members of families with missing loved ones will place wreaths of yellow roses and hold a candlelight vigil at the New York State Missing Persons’ Remembrance monument, located on the southeast corner of Madison and Swan Streets. Constructed in 2006, the monument features an eternal flame to “light the way home” for the missing.

The New York State Police, the Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS), and other organizations will be present during the event to hand out literature and answer parents’ questions.

During the morning of April 11, nearly 200 survivors and friends of missing persons are expected to attend a private morning session exclusively for the families and missing person organizations, sponsored by the Center for Hope.

“Regardless of the circumstances, the unexplained disappearance of a loved one is always devastating to the affected family, friends and sometimes entire communities,” said Doug Lyall. “Those left behind are faced with the unrelenting uncertainty about the fate of their loved one, not knowing if they are living or deceased.”

“No matter what the outcome is, life will never be the same,” added Mary Lyall. “The challenge is to be able to move ahead without becoming consumed by emotional pain and unresolved grief.”

The State Museum is among several sites in the Capital Region that hosts a computer kiosk that allows visitors to access information year-round about missing persons.

Established in 1836, the State Museum is a program of the New York State Education Department’s Office of Cultural Education. Located at the Empire State Plaza on Madison Avenue in Albany, the Museum is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free and the Museum is fully accessible. Further information about Museum programs and events can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the Museum website.

# # #