ALBANY, N.Y. – A New York State Museum paleontologist has become the only scientist in the U.S. selected to participate in an all-expense paid research program in Spain that will enable him to investigate the effects of climate change on mammals over the last 2 million years.

Dr. Robert Feranec, the Museum’s curator of vertebrate paleontology, will work with Dr. Nuria Garcia from the Department of Paleontology at the University at Madrid. The three-month research project, and all expenses associated with it, are totally funded through the Program of Distinguished Visiting Foreign Investigators at the Complutense University of Madrid. Feranec’s selection is a rare honor since historically, most scientists chosen to participate in this program are within the European Union.

During the research stay Feranec will help excavate a cave for vertebrate fossils in Madrid.He will also visit numerous museums collecting data to conduct analyses.

The data from this extended research stay will be critical to Feranec’s research in New York State for several reasons. The Pleistocene vertebrate paleontological record in Spain is significantly greater than what exists in New York. Many of the fossils that Feranec will examine in Spain will come from caves, and the extensive Spanish fossil record will allow him to put the fossils in the State Museums collections (also mostly from caves) into both an ecological and evolutionary context. For example, he will be able to study and analyze ancestral species related to the Cohoes Mastodon and mammoths.

Spain also offers Feranec the opportunity to explore the effects of humans and climate change on animals, an increasingly important topic. Humans have existed in Spain and interacted with animals for 1.8 million years as opposed to New York where the record is only 13,000 years. Analyses of the Spanish fossils will allow Feranec to compare and contrast what happens to animals with global warming in the presence of humans (data from Spain), and what happens when humans are not present (data from NY).

Also, Feranec will have a unique opportunity to study fossils that come from United Nations designated World Heritage Sites. During his museum visits, he will be able to see the techniques that museums in Spain use to curate and manage the extremely rare and important fossils in their care. He can then use this knowledge to better curate and maintain the fossil collections at the State Museum.

In 2007, Feranec oversaw the conservation of the Cohoes Mastodon, the reconstruction of its frame, and its relocation from the State Museum lobby window to its new location in the Museum’s Exhibition Hall. The iconic Museum treasure is now the centerpiece of an expanded exhibition, which Feranec collaborated on.

Feranec joined the Museum staff in 2006. Prior to that, he had a two-year post-doctoral fellowship at Stanford University and was a part-time teacher at Contra Costa College, in Richmond, California. In addition to his research in New York State, he also has conducted field work several times in Spain, as well as in Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Nevada, and California. He has a bachelor’s degree in biology and geology from Syracuse University, a master’s degree in Geological Sciences from the University of Florida and a doctorate in Integrative Biology from the University of California, Berkeley.

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 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.

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ALBANY, NY – The New York State Museum will close early – 2 p.m. – on Christmas Eve., December 24 and New Year’s Eve, December 31.

The Museum will be closed on Christmas Day but open on New Year’s Day, from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., in honor of the inauguration of Governor Elect Elliot Spitzer. The Museum will host a special exhibition that day, as well as other programs.

Running for Governor: New York Election Campaign Collections, 1777 to 2006 will be open outside West Gallery from New Year’s Day through mid-January and documents the gubernatorial elections spanning the eras from former Governor George Clinton to Governor –Elect Eliot Spitzer. Complementing the exhibition will be artifacts from other non-gubernatorial campaigns held in New York State, such as those for the Supreme Court, comptroller, attorney general, U.S. Senate and others.

The exhibition will include furniture, rare broadsides, early campaign buttons, bumper stickers, election leaflets, banners, artwork and other objects. The artifacts reflect important issues that were discussed and debated by candidates in New York State and the country-at-large, including transportation, civil rights, education, abolition, the environment and prohibition.

Other activities at the Museum on New Year’s Day will include gallery tours, Trash to Treasures and friendship bracelet crafts, various interactive exploration station activities and scavenger hunts. In addition, the Museum carousel will be operating and Discovery Place for children will be open.

The New York State Museum is a program of the New York State Education Department. Located at the Empire State Plaza on Madison Avenue in Albany, the Museum’s regular, non-holiday hours are 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. 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.

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ALBANY, NY – Visitors touring two new sports exhibitions opening Oct. 15th at the New York State Museum will also be able to stay up-to-date on the latest sports news at the exhibitions’ sports media zone, which will feature continuous live national sports coverage.

The media area will be at the entrance to the two exhibitions -- Sports: Breaking Records, Breaking Barriers, a traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian Institution, and Miracles: New York’s Greatest Sports Moments, organized by the State Museum. Both will be in Exhibition Hall.

One of the viewing areas will contain three monitors that will show continuous cable news sports programming. Beginning Oct. 23rd, the other adjacent viewing area will feature Miracles and Moments, a special presentation by FOX 23 News Sports Director Rich Becker, based on the two exhibitions. This special also will air Oct. 22, Nov. 26, Dec. 11 and Dec. 31 on FOX 23, the media sponsor for both exhibits. Prior to Oct. 23rd, More than Sports Champions, a video produced by The History Channel and narrated by basketball legend Bill Russell, will be shown in the theater.

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. Both on and off the playing field, these undaunted individuals broke records for themselves and broke barriers for everyone.

Miracles, which will be open through March 26, 2006, will focus on the top 10 moments in New York State’s sports history selected by Times Union columnist Mark McGuire. The guest curator – who also writes a sports column for Timesunion.com and co-authored two books on baseball -- faced a daunting task, choosing from the many historic events New Yorkers have witnessed in every major U.S.

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sport. Visitors to the gallery will be able to use a computer interactive in the gallery to vote on their choices for the top 10, selecting from a list of 25 suggestions. They also will have the opportunity for a write-in vote.

Sports: Breaking Records, Breaking Barriers was developed by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES). Audi is the exclusive national sponsor of the exhibition.

Forty artifacts in the exhibition highlight such issues as women's changing roles, racial and ethnic integration, the emergence of sports celebrities and superstars, nationalism, perceptions about human physical limitations, and technological breakthroughs that enhanced performance and participation, according to Ellen Roney Hughes, the exhibition’s curator and a cultural historian at the Museum of American History. The exhibition is organized into six perspectives – Firsts, Olympians, Game Makers, Barrier Removers, More than Sports Champions and Superstars.

Spotlighting the Smithsonian's sports collection, the exhibition opens with Abraham Lincoln’s handball and closes with Michael Jordan’s basketball jersey. Among the dozens of artifacts are Gertrude Ederle’s English Channel swim goggles, Roberto Clemente’s batting helmet, Lance Armstrong’s yellow jersey, Muhammad Ali’s robe, Mia Hamm’s Olympics soccer jersey and a “Miracle on Ice” hockey jersey.

The Miracles exhibition will feature objects relating to the state’s greatest sports moments, on loan from a variety of institutions, including the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Pro Football Hall of Fame and Basketball Hall of Fame, as well as the 1932 and 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympic Museum.

A special exhibit case in the Museum lobby showcases sports artifacts related to local history, which will be in the exhibition when it opens. “deBeer Baseballs: An Albany tradition” spotlights deBeer baseballs, first manufactured by Jacob deBeer in Johnstown in 1889. The enterprise grew and moved to Albany in 1916, where J. deBeer & Son has been a family business for three generations. The late Jim Muhlfelder, a great-grandson, guided deBeer in a new direction of lacrosse equipment manufacture and distribution. Since 1988 deBeer has operated as a division of Worth Inc.

Sponsors who helped make the sports exhibitions possible at the Museum are the National Basketball Association, the New York Yankees, Picotte Companies, Nextel and RBC Dain Rauscher. FOX 23 is the media sponsor.

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.

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ALBANY – A trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame and panel discussions featuring panelists from the worlds of professional sports, media and college athletics are among the programs planned by the New York State Museum in the coming months to complement two new sports exhibitions opening October 15th.

The exhibitions are 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. All programs are free unless otherwise noted.

Miracles will feature the top 10 moments in New York State’s sports history selected by Times Union columnist Mark McGuire. McGuire, who writes a sports column for Times union.com and co-authored two books on baseball, faced a daunting task, choosing from the many historic events. A panel of area sports experts will convene on Tuesday, November 15 in the Museum Theater to discuss “Did He Get It Right?” Panelists will include McGuire, TV Sports Directors Rodger Wyland (WNYT), Rich Becker (Fox 23), Doug Sherman (WRGB) and sports writers Pete Dougherty (Times Union) and Bob Weiner (Daily Gazette).

Another panel will discuss “Breaking What Barriers? A Discussion on Color, Race and Ethics in Sports” on Friday, Dec. 9 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. in the Museum Theater. Panelists are Dick Barnett, former NBA player and current 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; Mario Bosquez, anchor of "CBS 2 News This Morning"; 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 and Dr. Lee McElroy Jr., director of athletics and recreation at the University at Albany. Moderator 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.

FOX 23 Family Sports Weekend will be held Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 5-6 from 1 to 4 p.m.

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This program will provide opportunities to meet sports professionals, visit with Rowdy, the Albany River Rats mascot on Sunday, participate in family-friendly competitions, games, and arts and crafts.

The Museum will sponsor a Trip to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown on Saturday, November 12 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Hall of Famer and former Dodger Tommy Lasorda will be at the baseball museum for a series of programs including a Baseball As America book signing. Participants will buy lunch on their own in historic Cooperstown. The trip is limited to 52 persons. Pre-registration is required. The fee is $40 for members and $44 for non-members. The fee includes morning refreshments, transportation, and admission fees. Registration and payment are required by October 19. For information and reservations call (518) 473-7154 or email psteinba@mail.nysed.gov.

“Design a Putt, Design a Golf Course” on Sunday, Nov. 20 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. invites competitors to design and build their own miniature golf course. Participants will bring in a completed design (no more than 40 x 30 inches) to the Museum’s fourth floor Terrace Gallery and let the visitors choose which course they would like to play on. The Museum reserves the right to select which courses will be displayed.

“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, 2006in 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.

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ALBANY, NY – “Spring is Near” is the theme of the next Family Fun Weekend, Sun., March 22 at the New York State Museum. The Family Fun Weekend takes place from 1- 4 p.m. Activities, which are free of charge, are held in an around Adirondack Hall, on the Museum’s first floor. This month events take place on Sunday only because the Museum will be closed on Sat., March 21 for maintenance work that requires a power shutdown.

Young people can work at the coloring table and paint and take home a plaster flower to use as a magnet. They will also get a packet filled with ideas for planting and caring for their gardens.

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. 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.

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(ALBANY, NY) ALBANY – Two exhibitions opening April 20th at the New York State Museum -- Focus on Nature IX and COM.EN.ART -- will showcase natural history illustrations that include artwork by top illustrators from around the world.

Focus on Nature IX, a juried exhibition open through September 10 in Exhibition Hall, will feature 96 natural and cultural history illustrations, representing the work of 69 illustrators from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, England, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain and the USA. Subjects range from extinct animals, garden plants, and habitat renderings, to the surreal illustration of a Lipid-DNA.

Many of the artists will be available to discuss their work at a reception, open to the public, on April 20 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. At that time, the winner(s) of the Purchase Award(s) will be announced. Awarded artwork from the Focus on Nature exhibition will be added to the Museum's collection of over 15,000 biological, geological and cultural illustrations.

COM.EN.ART, open through August 30th, stands for community, environment and art. It is an artist-in-residency program at the Edmund Niles Huyck Preserve in Rensselaerville. Through this program, professional and aspiring natural history artists spend two weeks immersed in their subject at the preserve. In exchange for their living and working space, the artists donate an original piece of artwork to the preserve.

A cooperative venture between the State Museum and the Preserve, the exhibition includes 50 of the 78 pieces produced through this program, highlighting the contribution artists make to our understanding of the natural environment. The exhibition celebrates the 10th anniversary of the program and the 75th anniversary of the Preserve.

The Focus on Nature artwork was selected by a five-member jury of artists and scientists from a pool of 157 artists representing 18 countries. The criteria they used included the illustrations’ scientific accuracy, educational value, and artistic qualities. The exhibition’s goal is to demonstrate the important

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role illustration plays in natural science research and education, to stimulate curiosity about the natural

world, and bring clearly into focus aspects of nature that people might not otherwise be able to see or visualize.

“The idea of using illustrations as a means of identification and study evolved from medicinals older than the Greek civilizations, refined during the renaissance, and reached a “Golden Age” in the 19th century,” said Patricia Kernan, exhibition curator and scientific illustrator at the Museum. “Illustrators have kept pace with natural history science by communicating and recording the results of discoveries and research. The works in this exhibition are examples of how this tradition is being carried on to ever wider and deeper levels of understanding and sophistication. While illustrators continue using watercolor and other traditional materials, increasingly, they are using computers for the final production of their work.”

Many of the illustrations are done for publications such as field guides, textbooks, science articles and presentations. Often, a publisher will require a digital submission, which means the computer is used at some point in the process. A catalog of illustrations in the exhibition will be available and can be ordered by contacting bseymour@mail.nysed.gov.

The Focus on Nature exhibition began in 1990 with 23 artists. It is held every two years and complements the biennial Northeast Natural History Conference on April 20-21st, which is organized by the New York State Museum and the New York State Biodiversity Research Institute. The conference updates scientists, educators and students on research in the northeastern United States and Canada. More information on the conference can be found at www.nysm.nysed.gov/nhc.

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 at www.nysm.nysed.gov.

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EDITORS NOTE: Attached are lists of New York State, Vermont and Massachusetts artists whose works are represented in the exhibition. To set up an interview with the illustrator or to obtain a photo of the illustrator’s work please call (518) 474-8730 or 474-0068.

A specially designed cachet, pictorial cancellation and newly issued Seneca Carving postage stamp depicting a 19th-century carved wooden ladle from the collections of the New York State Museum will be available at a special cancellation/unveiling ceremony hosted by the Albany Post OfficeT and the State Museum on Sunday, August 22nd from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Museum.

Albany Postmaster Michael Esposito will join Museum Director Clifford Siegfried and Seneca artist G. Peter Jemison for the unveiling of the stamp, which will become available for nationwide sale that day. The official First-Day-of-Issue stamp dedication ceremony will be August 21st in Santa Fe, N.M. for the Seneca Ladle stamp and 9 others featured on the 37-cent Art of the American Indian souvenir sheet. That series, a specially designed postmark (pictorial cancellation), as well as a special cachet envelope printed for the occasion, will be available in the Museum lobby on August 22nd. The Seneca ladle and the Seneca Carving stamp enlargement will also be on display in the lobby August 22nd through September 30th.

Esposito will present framed artwork depicting the Seneca Carving stamp to Dr. Siegfried and to Jemison, who is also the director of the Ganondagan State Historic Site, which commemorates Seneca history and culture.

The State Museum's ladle was made around 1840 at the Seneca Tonawanda reservation. The top of the handle serves as a platform on which a man sits eating from a bowl while his dog watches patiently. The handle also incorporates a lyre and a covered urn, two design elements borrowed from American and Victorian decorative arts.

Among the Iroquois, carving was traditionally men's work, and they were adept at transforming wooden utensils into works of art - a skill particularly evident in the diverse human and animal effigies that adorn the handles of ladles. Wooden ladles exemplify the sculptural arts and crafts of the Seneca

Iroquois of western New York. Larger ladles were used for serving food while smaller ones, like the ladle appearing on the stamp, were used as eating spoons. The idea of family is key to the Iroquois culture and the practice of communal living and the sharing of resources are respected values. Traditionally, family members and guests shared the same pot of food, dipping their spoons in and eating from it.

"This spoon's whimsical decoration is among the finest examples of Seneca-Iroquois sculpture-in-miniature in the State Museum's collections -- not sculpture for its own sake, but three-dimensional art intended to enhance the look and function of an object of everyday use," said George Hamell, State Museum historian. "As with all Seneca-Iroquois art, there is a story lying just beneath the surface, known to its creator, but not always accessible to the viewer."

"We are proud to offer a postage stamp celebrating local Native American artwork," said Esposito. "We congratulate the New York State Museum on their extensive and diverse displays of American history and culture."

The Art of the American Indian commemorative stamps depict the beauty, richness and diversity of talent by artists from several Native American tribes. The pane of 10 jumbo, self-adhesive Art of the American Indian stamps features photographs of 10 American Indian artifacts dating from around the 11th century A.D. to circa 1969. Descriptive text on the back of the stamps includes an overview and specific information about each of the ten objects. To see the Art of the American Indian stamps and other images from the 2004 Commemorative Stamp Program, visit the Postal Store at www.usps.com/shop and click on "Release Schedule" in the Collector's Corner.

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.

An exhibition featuring the art of Civil War soldier and renowned Hudson River School painter Sanford Robinson Gifford will open at the New York State Museum on November 9, 2013. Sanford Gifford's Civil War is presented in conjunction with An Irrepressible Conflict: The Empire State in the Civil War, a 7,000-square foot exhibition commemorating the 150^th anniversary of the Civil War. Both exhibits are open through March 23, 2014.  

Sanford Gifford's Civil War features three of Gifford's paintings from the New York State Military Museum's collection in Saratoga Springs, as well as artifacts and images from the New York State Museum and New York State Library. The Board of Regents and the State Museum are committed to partnering with cultural institutions throughout the state to bring cultural treasures to Albany.

"We are pleased to host a selection of Gifford's paintings from the New York State Military Museum here at the State Museum," said State Museum Director Mark Schaming. "The Civil War impacted all New Yorkers and Sanford Gifford, a New York native, soldier, and important American artist associated with the Hudson River School, provides a distinctive look at the impact of the War through these important paintings."

New York State played a pivotal role in the Civil War.  Its citizens included abolitionist leaders, such as Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, John Brown, and Sojourner Truth; prominent politicians, such as William Seward and Horace Greeley; and prominent generals who helped with the war on the battlefield, such as Philip Sheridan and Gouverneur K. Warren. One of the lesser known wartime contributions made by the people of New York include the masterful works of art created at the time by important artists who lived in New York and fought in the war such as Sanford Gifford.

Sanford Gifford's Civil War is part of continued programming by the New York State Museum, State Library, and State Archives to complement An Irrepressible Conflict including lectures, guided tours for students, and educational activities for children and families. Additional support for the Civil War exhibition is provided by RBC Wealth Management.

Photos from the exhibit are available at:
http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/PRkit/2013/sanford-gifford/

More information about An Irrepressible Conflict  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.

HUDSON RIVER’S WORST STEAMBOAT DISASTER SUBJECT OF FEB. 19TH TALK “The Wreck of the Henry Clay,” the worst steamboat disaster to occur on the Hudson River, will be the topic of a lecture on Saturday, Feb. 19th at the New York State Museum.

Speaking at 2 p.m. in the Museum Theater, author Kris A. Hansen of Wallingford, Conn. will tell the story of the extraordinary courage displayed by ordinary people when the Henry Clay burned on the shore of the Hudson River at Riverdale in July 1852. Hansen, a professional reporter and writer, has written a book --“Death Passage on the Hudson: the Wreck of the Henry Clay” -- about the events that surrounded the catastrophe that took dozens of lives.

Prominent Hudson River families were among the many affected by the disaster, which was reported in the major newspapers of the day and drew national attention. Speculation arose that a race with the competing steamboat Armenia was responsible for the disaster. Negligence was suspected and the public demanded retribution. In her book, Hansen includes witness testimony and information from legal documents to detail the public’s search for truth at the official inquest and subsequent legal wrangling in the courts.

Following the Museum lecture, Hansen will sign copies of her book, which will be available for purchase. A native of the Hudson Highlands, Hansen has done writing, reporting and editing for business and special interest publications.

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 – Joan Steiner’s “Look-Alikes’’ will be the theme of the New York State

Museum’s next Family Fun Weekend May 5 and 6.

Family Fun Weekend, presented by Fidelis Care, takes place from 1- 4 p.m. both

days. Activities, which are free of charge, are held mostly in Bird Hall, on the Museum’s

first floor.

The program coincides with the opening on Saturday, May 5 of Steiner’s new

exhibition at the State Museum – Look-Alikes: The Amazing World of Joan Steiner. A

Hudson artist, Steiner uses everyday objects to create three-dimensional dioramas in

which the objects themselves become hidden. Her books “Look-Alikes’’ invite readers to

locate the familiar items -- a pretzel, coin or zipper -- from within the scenes she creates

of a park, ice cream shop or zoo. Adults and children often find that the search becomes

habit forming.

At 1 p.m. Saturday, Steiner will present a 30-minute slide show in South Hall and

will be available to greet visitors after that. At 2 p.m. Saturday Lou Pollack, a 
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designer-illustrator from Bearsville, will talk and demonstrate how to make a picture

book. Children will be able to make their own book to take home.

Throughout the day on Sunday artists represented by “The Bad as Art Gallery,’’ based

in Albany, will present an interactive illustration workshop. The gallery promotes fair

trade sales of fine art crafts, created by artists from 28 second and third-world countries.

Albany-area artists who will participate in Sunday’s program include Dave Geurin, Heidi

Weinman, Lisa McLain, Stephen Mead and Marcus K. Anderson.

Throughout the afternoon on Saturday and Sunday, visitors will be able to make their

own “Look-Alike” picture collage by choosing from hundreds of pictures from

magazines. They can also make a craft straight from Steiner’s “Look-Alike’’ bookS,

use lollipops and “Bugle” snacks to create an elf and participate in a “Look-Alike”

scavenger hunt and win a prize. Family Fun activity packets also will be distributed.

Family Fun Weekends, presented by Fidelis Care, offer theme-based family activities,

on the first weekend of the month.

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 Web site at www.nysm.nysed.gov.
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ALBANY, NY – A new exhibition opens on June 29 at the New York State Museum showcasing the works of photographer and conservationist Seneca Ray Stoddard, who is best known for his photography and guidebooks of New York’s Adirondack Mountains.

Seneca Ray Stoddard: Capturing the Adirondacks, includes over 100 of Stoddard’s photographs, Adirondack guideboats and other items from the Museum’s collection that are reflected in the photographs, copies of Stoddard’s books and several of his paintings.

“This is the first time the State Museum has exhibited these remarkably important photographs from our extensive Seneca Ray Stoddard collection,” said Museum Director Mark Schaming. “It’s an enormously rich visual turn of the century record of the Adirondacks, as well as other magnificent regions of the state. Stoddard’s work continues to be an important resource in understanding the history and development of the Adirondack region.”

Born in Wilton, Saratoga County, Seneca Ray Stoddard (1844–1917), focused his photography and writing on the growing recreational industry of the Adirondacks. His work was instrumental in shaping public opinion about tourism in the Adirondacks and in the preservation and management of the Adirondack wilderness.

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 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.

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ALBANY – A historically significant 1809 stoneware jar by Paul Cushman of Albany, from the personal collection of PBS’ Antique Road Show host Leigh Keno, is among several decorated stoneware pieces donated to the State Museum recently by Adam J. Weitsman of Owego.

A presentation piece that was likely created for a specific customer, the jar may be the first piece that was made in Cushman’s kiln. It was recently featured in an exhibition on Cushman at the Albany Institute of History and Art. The jar is stamped 36 times across its surface with “Paul Cushman’s Stoneware Factory 1809/half a mile west of Albany Goal (Jail).” Another inscription reads “C.Russell/Pott/Sunday/1809.” Russell was an Albany mason and may have assisted in building the kiln.

The jar and other donations received will be added to the Museum’s existing Weitsman Collection that includes over 100 pieces of decorated stoneware Weitsman donated in 1996. Weitsman began collecting stoneware during his teenage years and his collection includes many unusual forms of decoration. During the past 10 years, he has continued to acquire important pieces of decorated stoneware for the Museum. Many of the pieces acquired recently feature spectacular forms of decoration by 19th-century folk artists.
‘ ‘Weitsman has an eye for the unusual and a flare for identifying some of the most artistic examples of decorated stoneware,” said John Scherer, the Museum’s curator of decorative arts. “We are both delighted and fortunate that Mr. Weitsman has decided to build and showcase one of the most important collections of American decorated stoneware at the State Museum.” 

The donations include a rare cylindrical water cooler, displaying a portrait of a Civil War general and his wife. It was made by potters Fenton & Hancock of St. Johnsbury, Vermont. The image of the general is almost an exact copy of a photograph of Asa Peabody Blunt (1826-1889), who served as a general in the Quartermaster’s Department stationed in Virginia during the Civil War. Blunt was a resident of St. Johnsbury, and the cooler was undoubtedly made as a tribute from the community and presented to him when he returned from the war.

Another stoneware jug acquired by Weitsman for the Museum was made by potter William Lundy of Troy, c. 1826, and depicts an amusing incised and cobalt blue caricature of a merman (male version of mermaid). 

The Museum also received crocks acquired by Weitsman that feature some of the most unusual decorations to be found on stoneware. These are from potter William MacQuoid of Little West 12th Street, Manhattan. One piece displays a zebra and the other a camel. Another crock by this maker displays an American eagle and shield. A crock by MacQuoid’s predecessor, L. Lehman & Co., made in about 1860, is decorated with a Dutch or German-style church with a gambrel roof and round tower, complete with a weather cock. Little West 12th Street in Manhattan was a German neighborhood and the church may have stood nearby the potters’ factory.

Another New York City potter is represented by a two gallon water pitcher decorated with dashes of blue cobalt made by Clarkson Crolius Jr. (working 1835-1849). This joins several other pieces by Crolius and his father that were already in the Museum’s Weitsman Collection.

Recent additions also include a two gallon crock made by C. W. Braun of Buffalo, c. 1880, which is decorated with a portrait of a gentleman with a cowboy hat and mustache, who looks remarkably like Buffalo Bill. A humorous long-necked gooney bird graces a six-gallon water cooler made by M. Woodruff of Cortland, , c. 1865. This bird is often found on stoneware made in Cortland. This piece was acquired from the collection of Donald Shelley, former director of the Henry Ford Museum. 
A highly decorated five-gallon water cooler, created by J. & E. Norton of Bennington, Vermont, comes out of the famous McKearin collection. It features examples of three types of decoration commonly associated with potteries at Bennington, Troy and Fort Edward -- a reclining deer, a house and a basket of flowers. 

One of the most handsome pieces, added to the collection in May, is a six-gallon crock by N. Clark & Co., Rochester, c. 1850, decorated with a very detailed phoenix or vulture.

These items are just a sampling of pieces added to the Museum’s collection during the last two years. A catalog and exhibition featuring the Museum’s Weitsman Stoneware Collection is being planned for 2008.

The New York State Museum is a 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 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.
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A four-gallon stoneware jug depicting acrobats manufactured by Fulper Bros. in Flemington, New Jersey during the 1880s is now part of the New York State Museum’s Weitsman Collection of American Stoneware. Now on display at the State Museum, the historically significant piece of stoneware was recently acquired for the Museum by stoneware collector and benefactor, Adam Weitsman.

The acrobat jug, a sought-after example of decorated American stoneware, has been breaking stoneware record prices at auction for decades and Weitsman had wanted the piece for over thirty years. Weitsman recently purchased the jug from Allen Katz Americana.

"This iconic piece of Americana now joins the nation’s most important collection of decorated American stoneware at the New York State Museum," said State Museum Director Mark Schaming. "Through Adam Weitsman’s visionary acquisitions and generosity this extraordinary, singular collection is now available for all New Yorkers to appreciate."

Abraham Fulper produced an assortment of earthenware, stoneware and tile products at his Flemington, New Jersey pottery in the 1860s and 1870s. After his death, his sons continued the pottery and during the 1880s the company became known as Fulper Bros. or Fulper Bros. & Co.    Fulper Bros. stoneware often featured unique decorations. The acrobats on this jug may have been inspired by a traveling circus or performers at the nearby annual agricultural Flemington Fair. Stoneware was the plastic of the nineteenth century, used to create a variety of utilitarian vessels for the storage and processing of food and liquids. The potter, or in some cases a talented decorator who worked at the pottery, would enhance these utilitarian wares with artful designs that are today considered prime examples of American folk art. 

The acrobat jug is currently on exhibit at the New York State Museum, along with forty other pieces of the Weitsman stoneware collection, and will be featured in a forthcoming book, Art For the People: Decorated Stoneware from the Weitsman Collection by John Scherer, Curator Emeritus of the State Museum, that will illustrate some two hundred pieces of decorated stoneware donated to the State Museum by Adam Weitsman since 1996. The collection demonstrates how New York State was a leading manufacturer of stoneware throughout the nineteenth century.

A photo of the acrobat jug can be accessed here: http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/PRkit/2013/stoneware/index.html  

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.

ALBANY – A Canadian researcher, whose work has been featured on national news networks, will present a free evening lecture at the New York State Museum Thursday, April 17, in conjunction with the Northeast Natural History Conference X, sponsored by the New York State Biodiversity Research Institute.

Dr. Kenneth B. Storey, Canada research chair in molecular physiology and professor of biochemistry, Institute of Biochemistry and Departments of Biology and Chemistry, Carleton University in Ontario, Canada, will speak from 8 to 9:30 p.m. in the Clark Auditorium.

Dr. Storey has been featured on CBS, The Discovery Channel, and in US News & World Report. He is an (Institute for Scientific Information) ISI Highly Cited Researcher, one of a select group of individuals that comprise less than one-half of one percent of all publishing researchers.

His presentation, “Life in the Cold: A Biochemist’s Perspective on Animals in Winter,” will address how animals adapt to cold survival. Animals either tolerate freezing or they avoid it. In Canada and the United States, many endotherms, or “warm-blooded” animals, such as chipmunks, hibernate. This “deep sleep” can save as much as 90 percent of their energy. Some ground squirrels and bats can have body temperatures that fall close to 0 °C. Many “cold-blooded” animals, or ectotherms, like frogs, tolerate the cold by becoming partly frozen. Certain parts of these “frogsicles” contain anti-freeze while the rest of their body becomes ice. Studies of these mechanisms can have key applications to medicine, cryogenics, and preservation of human tissues and organs for transplant.

The Northeast Natural History Conference updates scientists, educators and students on research in the northeastern United States and Canada. More information is available at: http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/nhc/program/keynote.html .

The New York State Legislature created the Biodiversity Research Institute in 1993 to help meet the challenges associated with preserving the state’s biodiversity. The BRI serves as a comprehensive source of information, which is used to advise both public and private agencies on matters relating to the status of New York’s biological resources. Housed within the New York State Museum, the BRI is funded through the Environmental Protection Fund. The BRI includes several collaborators, including the State Museum, New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, State University of New York, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Audubon New York, the New York Natural Heritage Program, and The Nature Conservancy. Further information is available at: www.nysm.nysed.gov/bri or by calling (518) 474-6531.

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.

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ALBANY – The New York State Museum will sponsor a day trip to Storm King Art Center in Mountainville on Sunday, September 30 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The day will include a guided tour of Storm King’s collection of sculptures, created by renowned artists, and time to explore the picturesque grounds in the Hudson Highlands. The permanent collection of American and European modern sculpture focuses on large abstract welded steel works from the 1960s to the present. Figurative works are also on display. 
The fee is $42 for Museum members and $50 for non-members. The bus will meet visitors at the NYS Museum entrance on Madison Avenue at 9:30 a.m. and depart at 10 a.m. Participants are advised to bring a picnic lunch and a stop for dinner will be arranged. 
Pre-registration is required by September 7 and can be made through email at psteinba@mail.nysed.gov or by phone, 518-473-7154.
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.
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The New York State Museum introduces "Summer Quest", a new educational program designed for summer camps and organized groups. Drawing upon the Museum’s vast resources in research, collections and exhibitions, "Summer Quest" provides two-hour educational programs with hands-on activities in the fields of biology, astronomy, anthropology and history.

"Summer Quest" programs have been specifically designed for large camp and school groups with a minimum group size of 20 children, ages 7 and older. Programs are offered from June 25 through August 16, Tuesday through Friday, in both morning (10am-12pm) and afternoon (1pm-3pm) sessions. The registration fee per child is $2.

The four "Summer Quest" programs offered this summer are:

Who Lives in that Loooonghouse?:
Explore the artifacts, games and stories of the Iroquois. This program runs June 25 through July 5.
 

Games and Heroes of the Civil War Era: 
Discover the role New Yorkers played in the Civil War and imagine the trials and tribulations of its heroes. This program runs July 9 through July 19.
 

Whales, Mastodons and more Marvelous Mammals: 
Explore the wonderful world of whales and examine Mastodon remains, reconstructing this extinct wonder and its ice age habitat. This program runs July 23 through August 2.
 

Moon and Stars: 
Explore the night sky inside the Museum’s own planetarium and learn about the Moon and Earth with hands-on activities. This program runs August 6 through August 16.

For more information, visit the "Summer Quest" website at www.nysm.nysed/summerquest. Pre-registration is required. To register, contact the Museum at 518-474-5843 or e-mail summerquest@mail.nysed.gov.

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.

ALBANY – The annual Best of SUNY Student Art Exhibition returns to the New York State Museum Saturday, May 19 showcasing the work of SUNY’s top student artists from across the state. 
The fifth annual exhibition features 75 works of art selected by a panel of jurors from more than 200 pieces displayed in the fall 2006 and spring 2007 student art exhibitions held at the State University Plaza in downtown Albany. The traditional areas of drawing, ceramics, painting, printmaking, and photography are enhanced by the addition of digital imaging and mixed media installations. This year’s exhibition, open through September 3, contains art works from 28 SUNY campuses.
“We are pleased to have the opportunity to exhibit these outstanding works of art from one of our fellow University of the State of New York institutions,” said State Museum Director Dr. Clifford Siegfried. “Our hope is that collaborations of this kind, recognizing the achievements of students from throughout the SUNY system, will strengthen education in New York State and inspire other talented students in the future.”
"We are very grateful the New York State Museum has agreed to host the SUNY student exhibition again this year," said SUNY Chancellor John R. Ryan. "SUNY takes great pride in knowing that visitors to the State Museum will take in some of the very best SUNY student art work for the duration of the summer. The continuing support of the State Museum speaks volumes about the high quality of the artwork so many talented SUNY students create."
Three student artists in the Best of SUNY Student Art Exhibition will receive “Best in Show” awards of $1,000. “Honorable Mention” awards of $500 will be given to three other students. Judging for these awards is arranged by Richard Schwartz, chairman of the New York State Council of the Arts.
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive university system in the nation, educating more than 417,000 students in 7,669 degree and certificate programs on 64 campuses. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunity, visit www.suny.edu.
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. 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.
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ALBANY – “Swim for the River,” a new documentary about the Hudson River and those working to protect it and its watershed, will be screened at the New York State Museum on Sunday, Nov. 12th as part of a regional tour in advance of its national debut on PBS next year.

Prior to the film’s official release on national public television and on WMHT locally in December, the environmental group Hudson Riverkeeper has teamed up with Moira Productions, the film’s producer, to organize screenings of the documentary in Hudson River towns and cities this fall. The tour, which includes screenings, special presentations, and audience discussions, provides an opportunity to support groups along the river that are dedicated to helping protect the environment.

At the Museum’s free screening at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Director Tom Weidlinger will discuss what he has learned about the river during the two years that he’s spent on this project, as well as the challenges that lie ahead.

The film chronicles Christopher Swain’s 36-day swim of the 315-mile length of the Hudson River in the summer of 2004. Swain, of Colchester, Vt., braved whitewater, sewage, snapping turtles, hydroelectric dams, homeland security patrols, factory outfalls, and PCB contamination to become the first person to swim the entire length of the Hudson River from the Adirondack Mountains to New York City. Swain’s mission was to advocate for a cleaner river that is safe for drinking and swimming.

The project went far beyond the filming of the swim itself. In the film, Swain’s experience links together stories of the river, which begins in the Adirondack wilderness and ends in one of the nation’s densest population centers. Included are interviews with those who are fighting to protect the Hudson against a range of threats from industry, inept regulatory agencies, and public indifference.

In the film, the epic of the 19th century destruction and redemption of the Adirondacks complements the modern-day story of citizens fighting to block the building of a huge trash plant that would burn one quarter of New York City’s garbage. It shows Riverkeeper battling the Exxon Mobil

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Corporation to force it to clean up the largest oil spill in the United States and viewers receive an update on the three-decade old fight involving General Electric and PCB contamination of the Hudson.

The film also features folk singer Pete Seeger who talks about his efforts to draw attention to the river through his trips on the sloop Clearwater. It also focuses on ordinary citizens who are making a difference through choices they make that affect the environment.

Further information about the film project can be found at www.wmht.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. 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.

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ALBANY – “Swim for the River,” a new documentary about the Hudson River and those working to protect it and its watershed, will be screened at the New York State Museum on Sunday, Nov. 12th as part of a regional tour in advance of its national debut on PBS next year.

Prior to the film’s official release on national public television and on WMHT locally in December, the environmental group Hudson Riverkeeper has teamed up with Moira Productions, the film’s producer, to organize screenings of the documentary in Hudson River towns and cities this fall. The tour, which includes screenings, special presentations, and audience discussions, provides an opportunity to support groups along the river that are dedicated to helping protect the environment.

At the Museum’s free screening at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Director Tom Weidlinger will discuss what he has learned about the river during the two years that he’s spent on this project, as well as the challenges that lie ahead.

The film chronicles Christopher Swain’s 36-day swim of the 315-mile length of the Hudson River in the summer of 2004. Swain, of Colchester, Vt., braved whitewater, sewage, snapping turtles, hydroelectric dams, homeland security patrols, factory outfalls, and PCB contamination to become the first person to swim the entire length of the Hudson River from the Adirondack Mountains to New York City. Swain’s mission was to advocate for a cleaner river that is safe for drinking and swimming.

The project went far beyond the filming of the swim itself. In the film, Swain’s experience links together stories of the river, which begins in the Adirondack wilderness and ends in one of the nation’s densest population centers. Included are interviews with those who are fighting to protect the Hudson against a range of threats from industry, inept regulatory agencies, and public indifference.

In the film, the epic of the 19th century destruction and redemption of the Adirondacks complements the modern-day story of citizens fighting to block the building of a huge trash plant that would burn one quarter of New York City’s garbage. It shows Riverkeeper battling the Exxon Mobil

-more-

-2-

Corporation to force it to clean up the largest oil spill in the United States and viewers receive an update on the three-decade old fight involving General Electric and PCB contamination of the Hudson.

The film also features folk singer Pete Seeger who talks about his efforts to draw attention to the river through his trips on the sloop Clearwater. It also focuses on ordinary citizens who are making a difference through choices they make that affect the environment.

Further information about the film project can be found at www.wmht.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. 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.

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ALBANY – The New York State Museum will offer lectures on a variety of topics this fall, highlighting the diverse work of the Museum’s scientists and historians.

From October 1 through December 17, the free lectures will be held every Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Huxley Theater. The topics are:

• October 1 – “Insect Biodiversity in the World’s Wild Places.” Museum scientist Dr. Jason Cryan, an entomologist and evolutionary biologist, will discuss his ongoing efforts to document insect biodiversity in the rapidly disappearing jungles and rainforests of the world.
• October 8—“Virtual Tour of the Fish Lab.” Curator of Ichthyology Dr. Robert Daniels will provide a virtual tour of the Museum’s fish collection, which contains more than 1 million specimens. The collection serves researchers around the world and is the basis for studies on natural history, zoogeography, and taxonomy of fishes. This virtual tour includes stops to identify interesting specimens and research.
• October 15 – “Archaeology of New York’s Early Hydroelectric Industry.” The Hudson River Electric Power Company’s substation in East Glenville, built in 1903, had a pivotal place in the early development of power transmission in New York. Martin Pickands, an archaeologist with the Cultural Research Survey Program, will discuss the structure of the substation and the function of its components.
• October 22 – “Hunter-Fisher-Gatherers in the Upper Ohio Valley.” Between 6,000 and 4,000 years ago, Native Americans in northern West Virginia first turned to the Ohio River to support their foraging way of life. Dr. Jonahan Lothrop, curator of archaeology, will describe how recent discoveries at the East Steubenville site shed new light on this unique Native American adaptation in West Virginia.
• October 29 – “The Hungerford Brothers and the Rocket Car.” Aviation pioneers, inventors, and promoters Daniel and Floyd Hungerford didn’t realize their dream of going to the moon in a rocket car but Senior Historian Geoffrey Stein will discuss their story and offer an illustrated lecture, followed by a visit to the rocket car, on display on the Museum’s 4th floor.
• November 5 – “The Basket at the Center of the World.” In 1984, archaeologists digging in lower Manhattan made an intriguing discovery underneath the 17th-century ground surface: a unique basket filled with remarkable things. Dr. Charles Orser, curator of historical archaeology, will discuss the basket and its contents and explain why they are important.
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• November 12 – “The Irony of Independence: Emancipation Celebrations.” Dr. Jennifer Lemak, curator of African-American history, will provide information on the first celebration of the abolition of slavery on July 4, 1827. The irony that the first celebration was held on Independence Day was experienced again 136 years later, when New York’s centennial celebrations of the Emancipation Proclamation took place in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement.
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• November 19 – “Tales from the Mineralogy Collection.” The Museum’s mineral collections are essential scientific, educational, and cultural resources. Dr. Marian Lupulescu, curator of geology, will present his research on the identification and description of new mineral species, mineral structures, and historical features of some classic mineral, rock, and ore localities of New York.
• December 3 – “Protecting Biodiversity by Reducing Chemical Pesticides.” In the 1980s, Museum researchers helped develop a safe, biological method for black fly control in the Adirondack Mountains, and, as a result, the use of polluting chemical insecticides stopped. Dr. Daniel Molloy, director of the Museum’s Field Research Laboratory, will discuss how history is being repeated with the development of a green alternative to the poisonous chemicals used to control the zebra mussel, an invasive, pipe-clogging species from Europe.
• December 10 – “Discovering the Life of the Steamer Baltic.” Ron Burch, curator of art and architecture, will discuss the process of discovery in researching a mid-19th-century ship’s “portrait” in the Museum’s collection. Inquiry into the history surrounding Samuel Walters’ painting of a storm-tossed transatlantic steamship disclosed a web of personal risk and corporate high stakes on the high seas. Participants may view the painting following the lecture.
• December 17 – “Birds Are Dinosaurs: Avian Origins and Evolutionary Affinities.” The idea that birds are descended from dinosaurs has become the consensus view of ornithologists in the past 15 years. Dr. Jeremy Kirchman, curator of birds, will discuss the many new lines of evidence that link modern birds to the extinct dinosaurs and explain how scientists reconstruct the evolutionary relationships among groups of species.

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

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An exhibition featuring a Civil War love story, I Shall Think of You Often: The Civil War Story of Doctor and Mary Tarbell, will open Saturday, March 30, 2013 at the New York State Museum. The exhibit focuses on the life and marriage of Doctor and Mary Tarbell of Tompkins County, New York, during the Civil War. The exhibition is presented in conjunction with An Irrepressible Conflict: The Empire State in the Civil War, a 7,000-square foot exhibition commemorating the sesquicentennial of the Civil War. Both exhibitions are open through September 22, 2013.

Doctor Tarbell and Mary Lucy Conant met at a very young age while attending school at Groton Academy in Groton, Tompkins County. The two became childhood sweethearts and maintained a steady correspondence during Doctor's military service.

After his capture at Winchester, Virginia, it was feared that Doctor Tarbell was killed. Neither Tarbell's family nor Mary learned of his fate until a telegraph arrived informing them of his release from Libby Prison. Following his parole in February 1865, Doctor was given 30 days leave during which he returned to Peruville, Tompkins County, to wed Mary Conant.

Soon after, Tarbell returned to his unit and served the remainder of the war, finishing his service as a Brevet Major on July 27, 1865. He returned to Ithaca and was elected Tompkins County Clerk. In civilian life, Tarbell became a successful local entrepreneur and worked in the life insurance business.
The exhibition, on loan from the Tompkins County History Center, includes objects from the History Center's collections and the New York State Library. The highlight of the exhibition is Mary Tarbell's wedding dress. Nineteenth-century wedding dresses were often practical garments that were typically used for many social occasions. The exhibit also features the Tarbells' personal items including a Civil War pewter mess kit, letters, diaries, memorabilia, and photographs.

Photos from the exhibit are available at:
http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/PRkit/2013/tarbell/index.html.

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.

The New York State Museum will host the upstate premiere of the 30-minute film Thirst: A Civil War Story (2013) on Saturday, May 11 from 1pm to 3pm in the Huxley Theatre. The film is presented as part of the Museum's exhibit An Irrepressible Conflict: The Empire State in the Civil War, a 7,000-square foot exhibition commemorating the sesquicentennial of the Civil War (on display through September 22). The free screening will be followed by a panel discussion with cast and crew.

Written, directed and edited by upstate New York filmmaker John McCarty, Thirst: A Civil War Story is inspired by the work of Stephen Crane, the author of The Red Badge of Courage. It tells the story of a young Union volunteer from New York State who runs from a fight in the days following the battle of Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863). Exhausted and out of water, he comes upon a well that, unknown to him, is guarded by Confederate soldiers. A fellow New Yorker, also a deserter, rescues him from becoming a victim to his thirst. Desperate and without water, the two concoct a dangerous plan to seize the well from its Confederate captors.

The production of the film, shot entirely in the Capital Region, coincides with the 150^th anniversary of the American Civil War in which New York State contributed more troops and suffered more casualties than any other state in the embattled Union.

The film's producer, Audrey E. Kupferberg, lecturer and director of the film studies minor at the University at Albany, solicited volunteers among her film studies students to work on the crew alongside cinematographer Jeffrey A. Grove and other professionals. According to Kupferberg, the film will be of interest not only to Civil War buffs and fans of author Stephen Crane, but also to young people and anyone interested in the process of filmmaking on a regional, non-industry basis.

The film's young cast includes SUNY Albany students Derek H. Mellina, John Mac Schnurr, and Nick Brigadier, plus Mark G. David and Pete D'Amica, members of the upstate New York film and theater community. Area Civil War re-enactor and historian Robert Keough served as technical advisor and plays a key part in the film as well.

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.

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ALBANY, NY – Two exhibitions – one showcasing African-American quilts, and another displaying fiber and needle arts by and for men of the African diaspora – open at the New York State Museum December 21.

Textural Rhythms: Constructing the Jazz Tradition, and My Brothers’ Thread: Fiber Works by and for Men of the African Diaspora, will be on display in the Museum’s Exhibition Hall through March 1.

Textural Rhythms unites the two most well-known and popular artistic forms in African-American culture – jazz and quilting. Jazz, like quilting, is a woven art form. Both genres produce a textural harvest spun from the life fibers of masters of the imagination who create for our contemplation. Quilt making, as in jazz, evokes a host of complex rhythms and moods and then captures them in the creative process. When the two forms connect, the creative energy explodes exponentially. Textural Rhythms: Constructing the Jazz Tradition releases both of these genres of art and becomes a showcase for the work of artists in the Women of Color Quilters Network. Carolyn Mazloomi, the Network’s founder and coordinator, curated the traveling exhibition.

The exhibition, part of a national two and one-half-year tour, showcases approximately 64 quilts from 55 artists. It includes work from some of America’s best-known African- American quilters such as Michael Cummings, Ed Johnetta Miller, Tina Brewer, and Jim Smoote.

Just as the varied styles of jazz cause listeners to respond differently, the quilts of Textural Rhythms persuade viewers to salute the bonding of two worlds, jazz and quilts, in a distinguished combination of cultural tradition, sophistication, and panache. Regardless of technique – unpretentious folk, intricate appliqué, conventional piecing, or complex montage -- these quilt artists have harnessed in cloth, the spirit of jazz through meticulous reflections of the souls of jazz folk and the music that sways them.

Creative Art Day, a program that invites families to participate in artful activities based on Museum exhibitions, will focus on Textural Rhythms. The free program will be held January 31 from 1 to 3 p.m.

My Brothers’ Thread: Fiber Works by and for Men of the African Diaspora gathers artists of diverse cultural backgrounds, from Harlem to Trinidad to Newark, to show that a single thread can bind a community together.

In Western culture, fiber and needle arts have traditionally been viewed as the realm of women. African men, however, have been at the forefront of weaving and other textile arts for centuries. My Brothers’ Thread engages the mind, dismisses myths about traditional roles in fiber and needle arts, and explores the many talents African culture offers to the world. By doing so, it highlights the positive aspects of men of the Diaspora and fosters new avenues for children to embrace.

The exhibition includes quilts and other mixed media by artists Robert Cash, Laura R. Gadson, Jerry Gant, Stuart McClean, Marvin Sin and Maluwa Williams-Myers. It was organized by Harlem Needle Arts (HNA), Inc., a craft institute founded in 2003 to preserve and promote fiber art and artisans of the African Diaspora. HNA organizes exhibitions and workshops to introduce needle arts and crafts to the Harlem community and provides resource development and technical assistance to artists.

The State Museum is a program of the New York State Education Department, the University of the State of New York and the 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.

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A little-known narrative of New York's antebellum history, involving several former Troy residents, is the subject of a traveling exhibition -- "Dreaming of Timbuctoo" -- which will be at the New York State Museum October 8, 2003 through Feb. 29, 2004.

The exhibition, curated by a Saratoga resident, chronicles a strategy embraced by black and white abolitionists from Troy to Oswego to Queens to the Adirondacks to secure land and voting rights for black New Yorkers a full decade before the Civil War. As a statewide referendum on the question of equal voting rights for free black men loomed on the horizon in November 1846, the prominent reformer and philanthropist Gerrit Smith of Madison County resolved to give away 120,000 acres of his vast holdings of Adirondack land in Essex and Franklin counties to black men eager to homestead and vote but lacking the means to do either.

The "Smith Land" project suggested a pragmatic response to the state law that required free black men to own $250 worth of taxable property in order to vote. It also actively involved and fired the agrarian ideals of some of the most prominent African-American leaders of the time.

Smith appealed to black allies to help him identify eligible (free, "colored men," non-drinking, able-bodied) grantees. He enlisted prominent African-American activists and fellow abolitionists, including Frederick Douglass, Rev. Jermain Loguen of Syracuse and Rev. Henry Highland Garnet of Troy.

The son of a slave who fled with his family of 10 from Maryland in the mid 1820s, Rev. Garnet knew firsthand about the many obstacles that free blacks faced. He was forced to flee New Hampshire when a school he and other black youths were attending was dragged into a swamp one night by a team of oxen driven by a group of anti-integrationists who had been drinking. Garnet eventually graduated from the Oneida Institute in 1839 and became pastor of the Liberty Street Presbyterian Church in Troy. Using his pulpit and other means to argue the benefits of the "Smith Land" project, he mobilized more grantees than anyone else.

Among the grantees was Lyman Eppes of Troy who moved to the area that became known as Timbuctoo, the best known and most enduring of the "Smith land" settlements located in the township of North Elba, near the present day village of Lake Placid. Perhaps the most successful of the black farmers, Eppes left Troy for the Adirondacks in 1849. He raised sheep, cultivated a variety of crops, taught music and may have been the first Adirondack guide to cut a trail through Indian Pass. He helped found a Sabbath school, a town library and a church. His rendition of John Brown's favorite hymn at Brown's funeral won him a warm place in Adirondack history. His son, Lyman Eppes Jr., was the last survivor of Timbuctoo, dying in 1942.

James H. Henderson, a farmer-cobbler from Troy, also moved to Timbuctoo, settling there in 1849. Prior to that he owned a shop in Manhattan, ran a night school and worked for suffrage reform at black political conventions in Schenectady and Troy. The shoemaker "had his sign hanging out (the first and only in the township) and appeared to (run) a good business," according to written accounts. Unfortunately, Henderson froze to death in 1852 and his family then moved back to Troy.

Troy was also the setting for meetings extolling the virtues of land ownership. "Fugitive William Jones" of Troy spoke about the joy of working the land for himself, rather than a slave master. His "eloquent and common sense speech" is quoted in an account of a "meeting of Colored People of Troy," Oct. 28, 1846 in the Albany Patriot, one of several New York anti-slavery newspapers.

Three thousand men, hailing from nearly every county in New York State, signed up for a land grant. In the end, however, there were fewer than 200 settlers and they found many lots to be unworkable and sometimes under water or on the sides of mountains. Also, the inexperienced, city-based grantees lacked the means to get them through their first winters. They also were discouraged from moving north by accounts in the black press of "highhanded games" being played on the grantees by unscrupulous locals. Another disincentive was the passage of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law which put every black in a non-slave state, whether fugitive or free-born, at risk for capture and enslavement. Black New Yorkers fled to Canada or to cities where there was safety in numbers.

Social historian Amy Godine, a Saratoga-based writer currently at work on a book on Timbuctoo, and curator of the exhibition, disagrees with some Adirondack area historians who call Timbuctoo a failure. "We'll never know how many black New Yorkers were able to vote the anti-slavery ticket as a result of getting these grants," said Ms. Godine. "We can imagine what owning land, whether or not it was farmed, meant to impoverished black New Yorkers in 1846. Certainly, our idea of Adirondack history is greatly enriched by the story of Timbuctoo, with its roots in the statewide civil rights struggle and its links to activists like Garnet, Frederick Douglass and John Brown."

"Dreaming of Timbuctoo" is a joint project of a grassroots freedom education organization called John Brown Lives! and the Essex County Historical Society. Both organizations are located in the Adirondacks. The exhibition was produced by Martha Swan, director of John Brown Lives!

Since its 2000 opening at the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake, Dreaming of Timbuctoo has toured New York State. It has been on view at the Brooklyn Public Library, Tang Teaching Museum at Skidmore College, State University of New York at Plattsburgh, Essex County Historical Society, Oswego County Historical Society and other college campuses. In August Dreaming of Timbuctoo was displayed in the Pan-African Village at the New York State Fair in Syracuse.

The exhibition was funded in part by the New York Council for the Humanities, the New York State Council on the Arts, International Paper Foundation, Puffin Foundation, and numerous individuals.

Founded in 1836, the New York State 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.

The New York State Museum designed and produced a commemorative 9/11 timeline installed today on the World Trade Center (WTC) viewing wall, which depicts both the tragic and heroic events that occurred at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey installed the timeline on the World Trade Center viewing wall on Church Street near the temporary World Trade Center PATH Station. It presents in chronological order the events that occurred between 6:30 a.m. and 11:29 p.m. on September 11th. The timeline consists of three 12-foot-wide panels and is based on the “WTC, 9/11 First 24 Hours” timeline in the State Museum’s WTC exhibition gallery.

Developed with the assistance of family members who lost loved ones on 9/11, the timeline was designed by Mark Schaming, the State Museum’s director of exhibitions and produced by Museum exhibit staff. Schaming initiated the project, along with Nikki Stern and Tom Roger, directors of Families of September 11. The project was developed in cooperation with the Port Authority.

State Museum Director Dr. Clifford Siegfried said, “it is central to the mission of the Museum to preserve and disseminate the history of New York. Here at this historical site we are honored to do just that.”

“Since the World Trade Center was the Port Authority’s home for more than 30 years, we believe it must remain an important part of our nation’s history,” said Port Authority Executive Director Kenneth J. Ringler Jr. “The timeline and the tribute center are two key initiatives we strongly support as lasting tributes to our 84 employees who paid the ultimate sacrifice on 9/11.”

"The timeline we have created is the clearest delineation yet of the events of the day,” said Stern, executive director of Families of September 11 who lost her husband in the Towers on 9/11. "This is an incredibly powerful and meaningful way for visitors to understand what happened within the context of what began as an 'ordinary' day."

“The power of the site is very compelling and our hope is that the timeline keeps these stories alive,” said Schaming. “This place was touched by history. It is so critical that visitors to the site continue to know more about what happened here that day.”

The timeline, which cost $18,000 to produce, consists of 13 photographs and three illustrations, including one orienting visitors on where they are in relation to the entire site. All but one of the photos was taken on September 11, 2001.

Three of the photos depict police and firefighter heroes from September 11th - Port Authority Police Officer Christopher Amoroso, New York Police Department (NYPD) Officer Moira Smith and Fire Department of New York (FDNY) Firefighter Michael Kehoe. Officers Amoroso and Smith died in the collapse of the Twin Towers, and firefighter Kehoe escaped.

The timeline also depicts several objects from the collections of the State Museum recovered from the site, including a PATH patch, evacuation plan sign, elevator plaque from the 78th floor and NYC primary campaign posters.

Of the photographs on the timeline, several important images were provided courtesy of the New York Daily News, as well as two from photographer Camilo JoseVergara, and one from Val McClatchey. The rest came from news sources.

In addition to the key people who developed the exhibition panels, the content, design and all images were approved by the Family Advisory Council of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, FDNY, NYPD and residents.

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.

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The New York State Museum has announced several additional stops on a national tour of its new traveling exhibition -- Recovery: The World Trade Center Recovery Operation at Fresh Kills -- the only exhibition of its kind.

The exhibition, documenting the historic recovery effort to locate human remains and personal objects from the collapse of the World Trade Center (WTC), opens at the New York Historical Society on November 25th and will be there through March 21, 2004. From New York, the exhibit travels to the Layland Museum in Cleburne, Texas (4/29-7/25/04); the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society in Buffalo, N.Y. (9/3-11/28/04) and the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge, Tenn. (12/17/04 -3/13/05). The exhibition debuted in August at the Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleveland, Ohio where it was open through October 26th.

The 65 photographs and 50 objects in the exhibition come from the New York State Museum's extensive collection of objects, art, oral histories and memorial material obtained from Ground Zero and the Fresh Kills Landfill. Many of the items in the larger collection were used in the museum's permanent exhibition in Albany, N.Y., the nation's largest and most comprehensive permanent exhibition about the World Trade Center history and September 11th attacks. The World Trade Center: Rescue, Recovery and Response has attracted record crowds since it opened to the public in September 2002.

Collectively, the items in the traveling exhibition help to tell the unheralded story of what happened when the recovery effort moved beyond Ground Zero to Fresh Kills landfill, the "city on the hill" on Staten Island where recovery workers toiled for long, tedious hours at a disheartening task.

The landfill's name, which means "fresh stream," came from early Dutch settlers and described an area made up of meadows, marshlands, wetlands and streams. The landfill operated for 50 years, encompassing 3,000 acres on the western shore of Staten Island. The last landfill in New York City, it was slated to close and become a wildlife refuge and park. But, instead, the landfill was declared a crime scene on the morning of September 12, 2001 and trucks began arriving from Ground Zero with the steel and crushed debris that were once the World Trade Center. The landfill was the ideal location for the recovery operation because it was reachable by land and water, it could be secured, and resources of the New York City Department of Sanitation were readily available.

Firefighters, ironworkers, engineers, contractors, police officers, and volunteers eventually removed 1.8 million tons of debris from Ground Zero to the landfill. The recovery operation had three objectives: to find human remains, personal effects, and any evidence of the terrorist attack. The recovery operation quickly evolved from simple hand sorting into an elaborate technical sifting and sorting process.

From an encampment without phones, running water or electricity, Fresh Kills was transformed into a small city with heated and air-conditioned trailers and water facilities. The Hilltop Café, operated by the Salvation Army and the American Red Cross, served food and drink to over 1,500 people a day. Structures were built around sorting tents to keep the staff comfortable and focused on their tasks. A supply tent was erected to provide everything from Tyvek suits to eye drops and sun block.

The New York State Museum staff became well acquainted with the army of workers from the New York Police Department (NYPD), FBI, 25 state and federal agencies and 14 private contractors, whose daunting, exacting task was the sorting and examination of the World Trade Center material. Over time, an unprecedented partnership developed between museum staff and law enforcement personnel who became curators-at-large for the museum, setting aside items that were not evidence or personal effects that they thought would help document this event for historic purposes. While collecting, Museum staff documented operations, taking photos of the stark landscape of Fresh Kills, the sorting and sifting operations, hundreds of debris piles and vehicles, and the people involved in the recovery process.

The resulting exhibition includes a recovered American flag, several World Trade Center souvenirs, building keys, signs, guns and sections of the building facade, marble floor and airplane fragments. Among the rescue-related objects are a NYPD radio holster, a firefighter's Scott pack (oxygen tank) and fragments of a destroyed fire truck. A touch screen interactive contains FBI film of the operations and an inventory of objects in the museum's collections.

"The New York State Museum faced a daunting task in the Fall of 2001" said Museum Director Clifford Siegfried. "As an institution charged with documenting New York State history, the museum was challenged to select and preserve items from the World Trade Center attack that would speak to our own and future generations and help document an event that was unprecedented in our nation's history. We hope this exhibition will help Americans throughout the country to better appreciate the professionalism and dedication of thousands of public servants who contributed to a historic recovery operation."

"This exhibition shines a light on the many unsung heroes who worked tirelessly 'on the hill' and offers a glimpse of this hidden history of September 11," said Mark Schaming, the Museum's director of exhibitions who headed the collaborative project. "Over many months, State Museum staff became acquainted with the FBI and NYPD and was granted unique access to this historic material. Without their dedication, these objects, touched by history, would be lost forever."

The exhibition is offered for travel from 2003-2006. Requests for information may be made through the New York State Museum's exhibitions office, 518-474-0080 or email nkelley@mail.nysed.gov.

The exhibition is made possible by New York Governor George Pataki, The New York State Senate, The New York State Assembly and the New York State Museum, a program of the State Education Department.

Founded in 1836, the New York State 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.

The New York State Museum has announced several additional stops on a national tour of its new traveling exhibition -- Recovery: The World Trade Center Recovery Operation at Fresh Kills -- the only exhibition of its kind.

The exhibition, documenting the historic recovery effort to locate human remains and personal objects from the collapse of the World Trade Center (WTC), debuted in August at the Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleveland, Ohio where it will be open through October 26th. It will then be at the New York Historical Society (11/25/03-3/21/04); Layland Museum in Cleburne, Texas (4/29-7/25/04) and Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society (9/3-12/5/04).

The 65 photographs and 50 objects in the exhibition come from the New York State Museum's extensive collection of objects, art, oral histories and memorial material obtained from Ground Zero and the Fresh Kills Landfill. Many of the items in the larger collection were used in the museum's permanent exhibition in Albany, N.Y., the nation's largest and most comprehensive permanent exhibition about the World Trade Center history and September 11th attacks. The World Trade Center: Rescue, Recovery and Response has attracted record crowds since it opened to the public in September 2002.

Collectively, the items in the traveling exhibition help to tell the unheralded story of what happened when the recovery effort moved beyond Ground Zero to Fresh Kills landfill, the "city on the hill" on Staten Island where recovery workers toiled for long, tedious hours at a disheartening task.

The landfill's name, which means "fresh stream," came from early Dutch settlers and described an area made up of meadows, marshlands, wetlands and streams. The landfill operated for 50 years, encompassing 3,000 acres on the western shore of Staten Island. The last landfill in New York City, it was slated to close and become a wildlife refuge and park. But, instead, the landfill was declared a crime scene on the morning of September 12, 2001 and trucks began arriving from Ground Zero with the steel and crushed debris that were once the World Trade Center. The landfill was the ideal location for the recovery operation because it was reachable by land and water, it could be secured, and resources of the New York City Department of Sanitation were readily available.

Firefighters, ironworkers, engineers, contractors, police officers, and volunteers eventually removed 1.8 million tons of debris from Ground Zero to the landfill. The recovery operation had three objectives: to find human remains, personal effects, and any evidence of the terrorist attack. The recovery operation quickly evolved from simple hand sorting into an elaborate technical sifting and sorting process. From an encampment without phones, running water or electricity, Fresh Kills was transformed into a small city with heated and air-conditioned trailers and water facilities. The Hilltop Café, operated by the Salvation Army and the American Red Cross, served food and drink to over 1,500 people a day. Structures were built around sorting tents to keep the staff comfortable and focused on their tasks. A supply tent was erected to provide everything from Tyvek suits to eye drops and sun block.

The New York State Museum staff became well acquainted with the army of workers from the New York Police Department (NYPD), FBI, 25 state and federal agencies and 14 private contractors, whose daunting, exacting task was the sorting and examination of the World Trade Center material. Over time, an unprecedented partnership developed between museum staff and law enforcement personnel who became curators-at-large for the museum, setting aside items that were not evidence or personal effects that they thought would help document this event for historic purposes. While collecting, Museum staff documented operations, taking photos of the stark landscape of Fresh Kills, the sorting and sifting operations, hundreds of debris piles and vehicles, and the people involved in the recovery process.

The resulting exhibition includes a recovered American flag, several World Trade Center souvenirs, building keys, signs, guns and sections of the building facade, marble floor and a fragment of one of the planes. Among the rescue-related objects are a NYPD radio holster, New York Fire Department (NYFD) boot, a firefighter's Scott pack (oxygen tank) and a fragment of a destroyed fire truck. A touch screen interactive contains FBI film of the operations and an inventory of objects in the museum's collections.

"The New York State Museum faced a daunting task in the Fall of 2001" said Museum Director Clifford Siegfried. "As an institution charged with documenting New York State history, the museum was challenged to select and preserve items from the World Trade Center attack that would speak to our own and future generations and help document an event that was unprecedented in our nation's history. We hope this exhibition will help Americans throughout the country to better appreciate the professionalism and dedication of thousands of public servants who contributed to a historic recovery operation."

"This exhibition shines a light on the many unsung heroes who worked tirelessly 'on the hill' and offers a glimpse of this hidden history of September 11," said Mark Schaming, the Museum's director of exhibitions who headed the collaborative project. "Over many months, State Museum staff became acquainted with the FBI and NYPD and was granted unique access to this historic material. Without their dedication, these objects, touched by history, would be lost forever."

The exhibition is offered for travel from 2003-2006. Requests for information may be made through the New York State Museum's exhibitions office, 518-474-0080 or email nkelley@mail.nysed.gov.

The exhibition is made possible by New York Governor George Pataki, The New York State Senate, The New York State Assembly and the New York State Museum, a program of the State Education Department.

Founded in 1836, the New York State 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 at www.nysm.nysed.gov.

ALBANY — Time Tunnel, New York State Museum’s 20th annual summer day camp, under way now through August 15, still has openings available for all three sessions.

The camp is open to children entering first through eight grades. It is divided into three two-week sessions, each with a different theme. Participants can register for one of the sessions or for the entire program. A limited number of one-week sessions are also available.

Time Tunnel offers a diverse approach to learning in the creative environment of a natural history museum. A staff of educators, scientists, artists, counselors and outstanding college students work together to provide day campers with summer activities that are both fun and educational.

“Born to Build: Nature’s Construction Crews” is the theme for the first session that runs from July 7-18. Through the lens of a natural history museum, campers will explore the ways in which the world is constantly changing. Campers will explore sculptures and monuments. They also will be able to test their skills by building skyscrapers and bridges made with building blocks, toothpicks, marshmallows and cardboard tubes.

The second session, July 21 through August 1, will focus on “Invaders of the Lost Ark: Borders, Boundaries and Beyond” Campers will learn about strange alien species that threaten the ecosystem and construct masks and “unwanted” posters to help educate each other on these pesky invaders.

“Beasts; Itty-Bitty, Immense and Imaginary Creatures” will be the topic of the third session, August 4-5. Campers will explore the museum’s vast collection of animals and insects and learn about a wide array of creatures, both alive and extinct. Young scientists will be able to utilize their knowledge of animal life and a bit of creativity to make their own creatures and stories.

There is a fee for this program. For more information or to register call (518) 402-5019.

The New York State Museum is a cultural program of the New York State Department of Education. Since 1836, the NYS Museum is the longest continuously operating state natural history museum 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.

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ALBANY — Time Tunnel, the New York State Museum’s 25th annual summer day camp, will be held in two-week sessions from July 2 through August 10. Time Tunnel offers a diverse approach to learning in the creative environment of a natural history museum. A staff of educators, scientists, artists, counselors and outstanding college students work together to provide day campers with summer activities that are both fun and educational.

The camp is open to children entering first through eighth grades and is divided into three two-week sessions, each with a different theme. Participants can register for one of the sessions or for the entire program. A limited number of one-week sessions are also available.

Session 1: July 2-13

“Extinct and DeFunked”

From dinosaurs to dodos, to long-lost languages, fossils and outdated gizmos and gadgets, campers and Museum staff will explore things that have disappeared. Where are all of the Wooly Mammoths and Mastodons? What happened to the Passenger Pigeon or the rotary phone, a television with no remote control? Time Tunnelers will investigate the ever changing environment and everyday world in which we live.

Session 2: July 16-27

“The Glory of Stories”

Campers will explore stories within many of the Museum’s exhibits, learning about Ice Age hunters, lumberjacks and the Bucket Brigade. Campers will climb inside the Museum’s Starlab to learn about constellations and hear stories from various cultures.

Session 3: July 30-August 10

“Time Tunnel’s Greatest Hits”

This is Time Tunnel’s 25th year and campers will be treated to a variety of the most popular programs including “Born to be Wild” and “It’s Tough to be a Bug”.

The fee for each two-week session is $400, or $1,100 for all three sessions, if application and payment is postmarked by May 4. After May 4 the fee is $450 per session. Time Tunnel Extra is available for early morning and late day care for an additional fee. For more information or to register call (518) 402-5019 or e-mail jgreenou@mail.nysed.gov.

Founded in 1836, 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 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.

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The New York State Museum will show free of charge a preview of the HBO documentary "Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives'' on Sunday, February 9 at 3 p.m. in the Clark Auditorium.

"Unchained Memories'' provides first-person accounts of the final generation of African- Americans born into bondage. The former slaves were interviewed from 1936 to 1938 as part of the Work Projects Administration's Federal Writers' Project. The film premieres on HBO February 10 at 8 p.m.

In more than 2,000 interviews, former slaves chronicled routines in the fields, slave quarters and master's house. The film describes parents and children being separated at auction, women raped by their owners and the punishment inflicted on those who attempted to escape. The ex-slaves talk about the slaves who enlisted in the Union Army. The film also documents spiritual and family life and recounts the moment when many learned they had been freed.

Whoopi Goldberg narrates the film and excerpts of interviews are read by Samuel L. Jackson Jackson, Angela Bassett, Oprah Winfrey, Alfre Woodard, Roscoe Lee Browne and other actors. The words are supplemented with archival photographs and slave-era music that piece together slave life from childhood to death.

Samuel L. Jackson reads the words of Marshal Butler, who recalls white "paddy-rollers'' whipping him with belts when they caught him trying to visit his "gal'' on a plantation a few miles from from his own. Another slave, Tempie Herndon Durham, described her wedding and marriage to Exter Durham, a slave from a neighboring plantation whom she was permitted to see Saturdays and Sundays.

Winfrey reads the words of Jennie Proctor, who said: "None of us was allowed to see a book or try to learn. They say we get smarter than they was if we learn anything, but we slips around and gets hold of that Webster's old blue back speller and we hides it 'til way in the night, then we lights a little pine torch and studies that spellin' book. We learn it, too."

Katie Rowe recalls working in the fields at midday when she heard bells that normally signaled the end of a workday. A visitor informed she and other puzzled slaves that they were free. "It was the fourth day of June in 1865 [that] I begins to live,'' she said.

At the end of the Civil War, more than four million slaves were set free. By the Great Depression, 100,000 were still alive. The Work Projects Administration hired writers to travel the the country to document the memories. They compiled 17 volumes of narratives, which are housed at the Library of Congress.

The narratives, many of them not included in the HBO film, are also are available at the New York State Library. For information call (518) 474-5124.

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. The State Museum is located on Madison Avenue in Albany. It is open daily from 9:30 p.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.

Why did the deer cross the road? It didn't. Neither did the bear, fox or coyote, according to a new study, co-authored by New York State Museum researchers, which finds that underpasses designed to keep wildlife off of the Adirondack Northway are not working.

The study, published in the spring/summer issue of the Adirondack Journal of Environmental Studies, says that out of the 19 passageways under I-87 that were surveyed, only four raccoons passed through a single culvert. The researchers suspect the raccoons were not even using the culvert as a passageway but, rather, were hunting for crayfish or amphibians in the wet tube.

The authors, who also included researchers from the New York City-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), set up camera traps and used tracking techniques to record animals using both drainage culverts and underpasses specifically designed for wildlife and human use. The study was done in 2002 during the spring when many animals are active in preparation for breeding.

The results highlight the potential impact that proposed new interstate development in the area would have on wildlife. "Many animals do not cross the road and this isolates populations on either side," said Scott LaPoint, a former State Museum biologist, who was the lead author of the study. When wildlife become isolated, there is increased inbreeding. If they disappear on one side of the highway, they can't recolonize on the other and there is a greater danger of local extinction. Based on the cost and success of mitigation efforts elsewhere, the study also suggests that there would be no "easy fix" available to help wildlife cross the road.

The passage rates along the Northway were much lower than those in Florida, where wildlife underpasses have been used with moderate success. The reasons why Adirondack wildlife avoid underpasses are unclear, although researchers suspect that popularity of certain underpasses among ATV-users may be partially to blame. Some studies have found that most mammals prefer large underpasses to small ones and this study indicates off-road vehicle users feel the same way.

"We recorded 20 passes by ATVs through the larger passageways and none of these was used by wildlife," said Roland Kays, a co-author of the study and mammal curator at the State Museum.

Another possible reason could be that wildlife simply do not like the underpasses. "A highway engineer's view of a nice underpass may be quite different from that of a white-tailed deer," said WCS researcher Dr. Justina Ray, another co-author of the study.

The authors say that the results of this study indicate that new interstates planned for the region, including the proposed "Rooftop Highway" to connect I81 and I87 from Watertown to Plattsburgh, would take a heavy toll on wildlife.

"Any cost-benefit analysis regarding the proposed 'Rooftop Highway' must consider not only immediate costs to wildlife in terms of road-kills and population isolation, but also the added budgetary considerations needed to attempt to mitigate these costs," said LaPoint.

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 – On Saturday, June 2 a new exhibition --“unseenamerica NYS: pictures of working lives taken by working hands”-- opens at the New York State Museum, featuring photographs taken by workers from across New York State. 
To celebrate the opening, several of the photographers will be on hand June 2 at 2 p.m. for a gallery talk in Exhibition Hall. Also, Jeremy Dudley (Aka Origin), an Albany elementary school English teacher who does hip-hop, will present a program geared toward young people. Due to the Freihofer’s Run for Women on June 2, Madison Avenue and the parking lots on either side of the Museum will be closed. Parking will be available for $2 in the East Parking Garage and in the Empire State Plaza’s visitors’ lot (P-2N). 
On Thursday, June 14, a reception for the exhibition, free and open to the public, will be held at the State Museum from 6 – 8 p.m. 
The exhibition’s 65 photographs, on display through October 21, were shot by participants in the unseenamerica New York State project, funded by the Workforce Development Institute (WDI); a collaboration with the NYS AFL-CIO, and the Bread and Roses cultural arm of Service Employees International Union Local 1199. 
The core of the project is a 12-week workshop where workers from around the state — including janitors, bus drivers, construction and hospital workers, recent immigrants and scores of others — are taught the basic principles of documentary photography and creative writing. These tools allow unseen workers to document their own experiences, describe their worlds and, ultimately, to gain visibility and dignity. Each workshop culminates in a local exhibition of photographs, accompanied by text written by the participants, resulting in a moving and sometimes surprising portrait of New York State from the workers’ perspective. 
While unseenamerica is a nationwide program, the exhibition at the State Museum consists of images made solely in New York at recent workshops in Long Island, Albany, Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo among other places. Since WDI started, the New York state program in Albany in 2004 over 20 projects have been completed. After its run at the State Museum the exhibition will travel throughout New York.
The photographs in the exhibition appear on banners with quotes from the photographers. All exhibition text is also in Spanish. Seven of the photographs in the exhibition also appear in a book,“Unseenamerica: Photo and Stories by Workers,” a collection of black and white photographs taken by working-class Americans across the country. 
Esther Cohen, executive director of Bread and Roses, developed the unseenamerica project five years ago to provide an artistic outlet for community members who have no public voice and little visibility in the larger culture. “Unseenamerica began by accident, really,” she says. “A volunteer in our office brought in 100 donated cameras, and we used those to devise a program, using images and text, to help people tell whatever stories they wanted about their lives.”
Zoeann Murphy is the Workforce Development Institute’s coordinator of the program unseenamerica New York State. “Unseenamerica is an exercise in democracy,” she says. “Workers, immigrants and refugees are creating their own media, and we are integrating these voices into the larger social and cultural fabric of the nation. It has been an incredible privilege to hear the stories people tell in classes and work with participants to depict their lives through photography.”
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, 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. 
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ALBANY, NY --- Marrone Organic Innovations, Inc. (MOI) of Davis, Calif. has been awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to commercialize technology invented and patented by a New York State Museum scientist that uses a natural bacterium to control invasive mussels that have fouled water supplies across the United States.

The NSF has awarded Marrone a two-year $500,000 Small Business Technology Transfer grant for the “Commercialization of an Innovative Green Technology for Controlling Zebra Mussels.” Last year, the State Museum selected MOI as a commercial partner for this microbial biopesticide technology that was invented and patented by Dr. Daniel Molloy, director of the Museum’s Field Research Laboratory in Cambridge, N.Y. The award includes $275,000 to support the Museum’s research efforts in this industry-government partnership. Another subaward of $25,000 will go to another small business, Particle and Coating Technologies, Inc. of St. Louis, Mo. to assist in product formulation.

The fouling caused by zebra mussels and their close relatives, quagga mussels, represents billions of dollars in economic damage and has a major negative impact on freshwater ecosystems. To find an environmentally safe control method, Molloy’s lab screened over 700 bacteria before identifying a strain of the common bacterium, Pseudomonas fluorescens, as being lethal to these mussels when ingested.

Museum scientists also discovered that dead cells of this strain were equally as lethal as live cells, providing clear evidence that the mussels died from a natural toxin in the cells, not from infection. This is very significant because it means that future commercial formulations may contain dead cells, thus further reducing environmental concerns. Testing at the lab also revealed the extraordinary selectivity of the bacteria in killing zebra and quagga mussels without killing other aquatic organisms, including fish and other species of freshwater clams and mussels.

Introduced from Europe in the 1980s, zebra and quagga mussels are tiny, fingernail-sized mussels that foul freshwater ecosystems and clog the intake pipes of industries that draw water from infested lakes and rivers. Although populations have been widespread in the Great Lakes region and mid-west for almost two decades, these mussels were only found for the first time west of the Rockies in the last 18 months, specifically in regions of Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado and California. Power plants and other raw-water dependent facilities currently have no choice but to use non-selective, polluting chemicals to reduce these fouling mussels. For open water (rivers, lakes, etc.), there is currently no cost-effective and environmentally safe solution and, therefore, these mussels continue to spread. When this NSF-funded, bacterial biopesticide is commercially available, it will represent a distinctly new approach to control these mussels in an environmentally responsible way.

The research at the Museum lab was made possible by about $3 million in grants from private, state, and federal agencies. Most recently, the Museum received a grant of $1.5 million from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory, which recognized the devastation these mussels caused at electric power generation facilities and the lack of environmentally acceptable methods to control them (http://www.netl.doe.gov/technologies/coalpower/advresearch/pubs/ARSS-005_4P.pdf).

“We are honored that NSF recognized the extensive, excellent work conducted by Molloy and his Museum research team, as well as MOI’s experience and capability to bring this exciting technology to market,” said Dr. Pam Marrone, MOI’s founder and CEO.

“Because of its extraordinary safety, this green technology represents a real alternative to the widespread use of chlorine and other polluting biocides for zebra and quagga mussel control” said Molloy. ”We are thus very pleased to be receiving this NSF funding to partner with MOI, a company whose staff have an unparalleled track record of success in commercializing microbial biopesticides.”

The Museum will use the NSF funding to further define environmental safety testing and will also work closely with MOI on other scientific aspects of product development. Project activities will be carried out at the Cambridge lab by Molloy and his staff, which include chief scientist Denise Mayer and scientists Mike Gaylo and Paul Sawyko. Since its establishment in 1973, the state lab has focused on investigating the biology, ecology, taxonomy, and biological control of aquatic invertebrate pests. Molloy discovered the control potential of the P fluorescens strain in 1995 and patented it in the U.S. in 2001.

MOI’s NSF award, combined with its own resources, will be used to develop commercial formulations, optimize the manufacturing process, identify mussel-killing natural compounds produced by the bacterium, conduct field trials, and complete all other tasks required to submit the product to the US Environmental Protection Agency for approval. MOI expects to have the biopesticide on the market by early 2010.

Through a combination of in-licensed technology and its own R&D, MOI discovers, develops and markets natural products for pest management that target markets needing effective and environmentally responsible solutions. MOI’s own R&D finds naturally occurring microorganisms from unique habitats and develops them into products for controlling insects, weeds, nematodes, and plant diseases.

Founded in 1836, the New York State Museum in Albany is a cultural program of the New York State Education Department. It has the longest continuously operating state natural history research and

collection survey in the U.S. Further information can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website.

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ALBANY, NY --- “Invaders” comes to the New York State Museum on April 15 -- an exhibition that reveals some surprising facts about the many plants, animals and diseases that have moved into New York State and dramatically affected the ecosystems surrounding them.

Open in the Museum’s Crossroads Gallery through March 15, 2009, the exhibition will focus on some of the myriad of non-native species that have come to New York from all over the world. Although most of these newcomers are benign, some invasive species can rapidly expand their population size and range, adversely affecting existing species or habitats.

The exhibition will provide information on various types of invasive species, some surprising facts about them, how they arrived in the state, and how and why they proliferate. It also will help visitors to identify the “invaders,” some of whom live in their own backyards, and learn what can be done to prevent them from spreading. Magnifying glasses, and a specimen table with a magnifying camera, will allow visitors to get an up-close view of some of the more than 50 specimens, which will be on display. There also will be photographs and video.

Some invasive species are ornamental plants, first brought to North America by early colonists and then, in large numbers, by immigrants in the 1800s. New plants continue to arrive for use in landscaping. On display will be one of the earliest collected specimens of a Purple Loosestrife, a perennial wetland plant on loan from the New York Botanical Garden. There also is a pressed sample of the massive Giant Hogweed, which can grow as tall as 15 feet. The Japanese Barberry, Water Chestnut and Oriental Bittersweet are among other examples represented.

The exhibition also will provide examples of the many invasive species that arrive via boats and planes, the result of global commerce. The Asian long-horned beetle, which has no known predators in North America and has killed many tree species, was accidentally transported here in wood packing material from Asia. Zebra mussels and quagga mussels, first detected in the Great Lakes in 1988, were initially introduced through ship ballast water but are now primarily transported by “hitch hiking” on barges and pleasure boats. The mussels have created imbalances in ecosystems in lakes and rivers, and caused billions of dollars in damage in water systems across the United States.

Some non-native species have been introduced by humans who considered them beneficial because they control weeds and pests or provide game. The Multi-spotted Asian Ladybug is an example of one such insect. It likely caused the disappearance of the nine-spotted ladybug, which was the most common ladybug in New York State until the 1940s, and is still the official state insect. The Mallard Duck was introduced as game in the Hudson Valley between the 1910s and 1950s.

The Honey Bee is native to Europe, the Middle East and Africa and was brought to the U.S. by colonists. It is not known what effect it had on bees native to North America but this is one of many invasive species that has benefited society. Modern-day earthworms are also not native. It is believed they came from Europe and Asia during the past 500 years. Native earthworms were destroyed by glaciers during the Ice Age. Although beneficial for gardens and agriculture, they may alter forest floor habitats by eating too much leaf litter.

Non-native, invasive diseases also present a major threat to native plants, animals, agricultural crops and even humans. They are typically introduced by accident, carried through landscaping materials, migrating birds or fish, ballast water, insects on aircraft, infected humans or firewood. The West Nile virus, transmitted by mosquitoes that primarily feed on birds, is native to Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia. First detected in New York State in 1999, it has since killed thousands of birds across North America, sickened over 25,000 humans and caused over 1,000 deaths. It is an example of an invasive species that is a global threat.

New York State residents have also contributed accidentally or, on purpose, to the worldwide expansion of invasive species. The Bluegill, a popular game fish found in New York State, was given by the mayor of Chicago to the crown prince of Japan as a gift in 1960. It became invasive in freshwaters of Japan and reduced the number of many native fish. The Eastern Gray Squirrel, native to the eastern U.S., was accidentally released from the London zoo and then introduced as a pet in Italy in the 19th century. It has since destroyed native trees and displaced the native Red Squirrel in Europe, where it has few natural predators.

The exhibition provides information on what visitors can do to prevent the spread of invasive species including cleaning boots, bikes and boats that can carry invasive species; buying only non-invasive plants and local firewood, and never releasing aquarium fish and plants, live bait or pets into the wild.

A May lecture series on “Invaders” is one of several programs being planned in the coming months to complement the exhibition. Sponsored by the New York State Biodiversity Research Institute, the lectures will be held every Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the State Museum.

A lecture on “Landscaping with Native Plants,” will be held June 21 at 1 p.m. at the Albany Pine Bush Discovery Center, followed by a field trip to special Pine Bush sites. On September 1, Dr. Dan Molloy, director of the Museum’s Field Research Laboratory, and his staff, will explain how they investigate the biology, ecology and taxonomy of zebra mussels. The program will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Field Lab, near Cambridge. Pre-registration is required by June 13 for the Pine Bush event, and September 12 for the Cambridge program, and may be made by calling (518) 473-7154 or emailing psteinba@mail.nysed.gov.

The New York State Museum in Albany 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. Further information can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the Museum website.

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ALBANY – “War Stories,” a day of World War II education, preservation and remembrances, will be held at the New York State Museum and Cultural Education Center on Saturday, October 20.

The programs are free and will be held between 10 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Sponsored by the State Museum, Archives, Library and Office of Educational Television and Public Broadcasting, they are designed to complement the Ken Burns’ PBS documentary “The War,” which recently aired locally on WMHT. The seven-part series was an exploration of World War II told through the experience of individuals in four American towns.

Throughout the day on October 20, a one-hour highlight reel containing clips from the series will be shown at the Carole F. Huxley Theater in the Museum. There also will be a video, produced by WMHT, featuring the memories of local veterans shared with interviewer Dan DiNicola. Outside the theater, a PBS toolkit of educator resources on “The War” will be provided by Katherine Jetter, WMHT’s educational services manager.

Also in the Museum’s west corridor, visitors will have the chance to step back in time to visit a portion of a recreated U.S. Army field camp as it would have existed on the coast of Normandy, France in June of 1944. Re-enactor Craig Gravina of the New York State Museum will assume the role of a staff sergeant in Easy Company, 2nd Ranger Battalion. He will answer questions, display equipment and personal items, and show how American G.I.s in Europe lived during the weeks following the D-Day invasion.

A workshop on “Caring For Your WWII Collections” will be held from 10:30 to noon and 1:30 to 3 p.m. on the 11th floor of the Cultural Education Center. Marie Culver, conservation specialist at the State Archives, and Gwen Spicer of Spicer Art Conservation, LLC will explain how to preserve World War II memorabilia. Visitors are invited to bring in items from their personal collections to learn how to store and display them and where they can be repaired. Culver and Spicer will also discuss the special challenges of scrapbooks and flags. No weapons, ordnance or explosives of any kind will be permitted.

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Seating is limited.

“WWII Stories from the Collections of the NYS Library” will be the topic of a program, also on the 11th floor, from noon to 1:30 and 3 to 4:30 p.m. Paul Mercer and Vicki Weiss, senior librarians, will describe the library’s WWII collections, many of which will be on display in the 11th floor lobby. They will also share information on how individuals can donate items or collections to the State Library and help keep the memories alive for future generations.

The New York State Museum, Library, Archives and the Office of Educational Television and Public Broadcasting are part of the Office of Cultural Education in the New York State Education Department. They are located in the Cultural Education Center across from the Empire State Plaza on Madison Avenue in Albany.

Started in 1836, the Museum has the longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey in the United States. 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 and the Museum is fully accessible. For further information about programs and events call (518) 474-5877 or visit the Museum website at

www.nysm.nysed.gov.

One of the nation’s leading research libraries, the New York State Library has served New

Yorkers, state government and researchers from throughout the United States for over 180 years. It is the largest state library in the nation and the only state library to qualify for membership in the Association of Research Libraries. For further information call 518/474-5355 or go to New York State Library.

The State Archives cares for more than 200 million archival records of New York State government dating from the 1630s to the present. Through its nine regional offices and its support of the Documentary Heritage Program, the State Archives also provides services to help 4,300 local governments and 3,000-community organizations care for their records. Explore the collections and programs of the New York State Archives at www.archives.nysed.gov

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ALBANY, NEW YORK – The New York State Museum has launched a new statewide website and facebook page dedicated to commemorating the bicentennial of the War of 1812.

The website http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/Warof1812/ will include a web-based exhibition and be a statewide clearinghouse for information about New York’s pivotal role in the War of 1812, as well as for all War of 1812 events across New York State and into Canada. The goal is to provide a site for conversation and coordination among all of those interested in commemorating the memory of the war.

To complement this website, there is a special facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/N.Y.1812 dedicated to posting upcoming events found on the War of 1812 website, as well as links for collections, artifacts and resources related to the War.

The New York-Canadian border was the central front of the war, which was waged against the British Empire from June 18, 1812 to February 18, 1815. Some of the nation’s most prominent military figures of the early 19th century made their names along New York State’s northern frontier. Several pivotal battles also took place in the state, including the battle of Plattsburgh in September 1814.

“The War of 1812 is a ‘New York story’ and so too is our effort to commemorate this important bicentennial,” said Museum Director Mark Schaming. “We have reached out to historians, historical societies and various other collaborators and partners across the state and into Canada, inviting them to join with us in telling this story and making this the ‘go-to’ place to learn about the war and the many events planned to commemorate it.”

The website will be a growing and evolving statewide resource for the duration of the bicentennial commemorations. Interested historians – from academics to genealogists – will have an opportunity to submit 1812-related stories, whether they are biographies of local citizens or essays on New York-related events. A page devoted to biographies highlights valiant and patriotic men and women who contributed their time, energies, and in some cases, made the ultimate sacrifice to aid the war effort.

The site also provides a platform for historical societies and museums across the state to highlight their War of 1812 collections in a virtual artifact gallery. The site currently displays historic artifacts related to the War that are in the collections of the State Museum, State Library and State Archives.

A resources page lists website links for War of 1812 commemorative events and organizations, as well as for State Library resources and State Archives records.

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 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.

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ALBANY – Art for the People: Decorated Stoneware from the Weitsman Collection will be on exhibit at the New York State Museum, beginning January 5.

Located in the New York Metropolis introduction area through the summer of 2009, the exhibition features 40 uniquely decorated stoneware vessels, including jugs, crocks, pitchers, jars and water coolers. The artful designs on the 19th-century stoneware are today considered to be prime examples of American Folk Art. Most pieces were created in cities and towns across New York State. Many are “presentation pieces” – oversized and frequently decorated with elaborate and unusual cobalt blue designs. Tools used to decorate the stoneware are also included in the exhibition, as well as broadsides, a rare portrait of a potter and photos of potteries and their staffs.

Adam J. Weitsman of Owego acquired all of the stoneware in the exhibition and loaned or donated the pieces to the State Museum. Weitsman began collecting stoneware in 1980 when he was 11 years old. Since then he has scoured New York State and the East Coast, continuing to acquire rare pieces at antique shows, estate sales and auctions. In 1996, he donated his collection of 100 pieces to the State Museum to ensure that the collection would be preserved, studied and appreciated for years to come. Pieces acquired since then form the basis for the current exhibition. Most have never been displayed before.

“We are enormously grateful to Mr. Weitsman for choosing the State Museum as the repository for these outstanding examples of American Folk Art,” said State Museum Director Dr. Clifford Siegfried. “It is a pleasure to have the opportunity to showcase these latest additions to one of the most important collections of American decorated stoneware in the world.”

During the 19th century, stoneware was used primarily to prepare, store and serve food and drinks. It was decorated to make it more attractive. Weitsman focused on collecting the rarer “presentation pieces” that were created for special occasions.

These include a cylindrical water cooler, displaying a portrait of a Civil War general and his wife. It was purchased at an auction for $88,000, and set a record for American stoneware sold at a specialty sale. It was made by potters Fenton & Hancock of St. Johnsbury, Vermont. The general depicted is Asa Peabody Blunt (1826-1889), who distinguished himself in the 1862 Civil War battles at Lee’s Mill and Savage’s Station in Virginia. Blunt was a resident of St. Johnsbury, and the cooler was undoubtedly made as a tribute from the community, and presented to him when he returned from the war.

Also on display is a historically significant 1809 stoneware jar made by Paul Cushman of Albany, which came from the personal collection of PBS’ Antique Road Show host Leigh Keno. A presentation piece that was likely created for a specific customer, the jar may be the first piece that was made in Cushman’s kiln. The jar is stamped 36 times in a crisscross pattern with the mark of the potter “Paul Cushman’s Stoneware Factory 1809/half a mile west of Albany Gaol (Jail).” Another inscription reads “C.Russell/Pott/Sunday/1809.” Russell was an Albany mason and may have assisted in building the kiln.

William Lundy & Co. of Troy, c. 1824-1828, created a stoneware jug on display, which depicts an amusing incised and cobalt blue caricature of a merman (male version of mermaid).

The exhibition also includes some of the most unusual decorations to be found on stoneware. These are from potter William MacQuoid of Little West 12th Street, Manhattan. One crock displays a prancing zebra and the other a camel, inspired by the traveling circuses of the time. Another crock by this maker displays an American eagle and shield. A crock by MacQuoid’s predecessor, L. Lehman & Co., c. 1860, is decorated with a Dutch or German-style church with a gambrel roof and round tower, complete with a weather cock. There may have been a similar church in the German neighborhood where it was made. It resembles the late 18th-century stone Palatine Church in Stone Arabia, Montgomery County.

A two-gallon crock on exhibit, made by Charles W. Braun of Buffalo around 1870, is decorated with what appears to be a caricature of Buffalo Bill. A humorous long-necked gooney bird graces a six-gallon water cooler made by M. Woodruff of Cortland, c. 1860. This piece was acquired from the collection of Donald Shelley, former director of the Henry Ford Museum.

A highly decorated five-gallon water cooler came from the famous George S. McKearin collection. Julius and Edward Norton of Bennington, Vermont created the piece, which features examples of three types of decoration commonly associated with potteries at Bennington, Troy and Fort Edward -- a house, reclining stag, and a basket of flowers.

One of the most significant pieces, added to the Museum collection in May, is a six-gallon crock made by Nathan Clark & Co., Rochester, c. 1845. The rare piece is decorated with the phoenix bird of Egyptian mythology. The painstaking detail used gives the bird a three-dimensional quality.

Exhibition curator John Scherer, also the Museum’s curator of decorative arts, will present a program on the collection and lead a short tour of the exhibition. “Art for the People: Decorated Stoneware from the Weitsman Collection” is scheduled for Sunday, January 13 at 1 p.m. and Tuesday, February 19 at 7 p.m. A catalog featuring the Museum’s Weitsman Stoneware Collection also is planned for 2008.

The New York State Museum is a program of the New York State Education Department. Founded in 1836, it is the oldest State Museum 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 is available by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website.

The New York State Museum will open a new exhibition, Weather Event, featuring the work of artist Charles E. Burchfield and his colorful depictions of the weather south of Lake Erie on November 2, 2013.

On display in the West Gallery through February 23, 2014, the exhibition features over sixty works of art, including watercolors, sketches and Burchfield's journals. The exhibition was first organized by and presented at the Burchfield Penney Art Center at SUNY Buffalo State.

"The Board of Regents and the State Museum are committed to partnering with institutions across the state to bring a wide range of cultural treasures to Albany," said State Museum Director Mark Schaming. "We are pleased to host this important exhibition from the Burchfield Penney Art Center. This is a unique opportunity to see this collection of Charles Burchfield's visionary work, as one of America's most revered artists of the twentieth century."

"Charles Burchfield (1893-1967) was an artist, writer, designer, and naturalist whose character was defined by his observation of the here, the now and the hereafter," said Anthony Bannon PhD, Executive Director of Burchfield Penney Art Center. "This exhibition, drawn from the 26,000 objects in the Burchfield archive at the Burchfield Penney Art Center, observes the artist's contemplative transcription of weather, the cycles of environment and atmosphere - and what it all meant to him.  We are delighted to have the opportunity to share his vision with the thought leaders of our state."

Burchfield's representations of weather, wind, skies and sounds are unique historical records of the environment near Lake Erie, where he lived for most of his life. Burchfield Penney Curator and Manager of Archives, Tullis Johnson, worked with climatologist and Buffalo State College professor Stephen Vermette, Ph.D., to present the dramatic and complex natural phenomenon chronicled in more than 50 years of Burchfield's writings, drawings and paintings.

Dr. Vermette also worked with students from Buffalo State College to recreate historical weather forecasts for the days that many of Burchfield's early watercolors where made. These forecasts are accessible in the exhibit through the use of smart phone technology.

Burchfield's early works were imaginative, stylized landscapes and rural scenes that often incorporated a personal language of symbols. After moving to Buffalo from Ohio, he became engrossed in the city's buildings, harbor, rail yards and surrounding countryside. From this period, his works show an appreciation for American life and a complex assessment of urban life in comparison to the countryside and small town of his youth.

Burchfield's artistic achievement was honored by the inauguration of the Charles Burchfield Center at Buffalo State College on December 9, 1966.  He died on January 11, 1967.  The museum, now called the Burchfield Penney Art Center, holds the world's largest collection of his work.

Photos from the exhibit are available at:
http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/PRkit/2013/weatherevent/

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.

Scientists and researchers from the New York State Museum spent several hours today examining the remains of a euthanized, four-ton sperm whale calf beached on Long Island that will eventually make its way to the State Museum.

Scientists from the museum's research and collections staff joined with others from the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation and the Massachusetts Fish and Wildlife Department in examining the 22-foot male calf which washed ashore on the Jacob Riis National Park beach in the Gateway National Recreation Area on Thursday.

The young calf, believed to be less than two years of age was reported to Gateway National Park personnel after it was found floundering in the surf in an extremely weakened and malnourished condition. The Riverhead Foundation, which operates the New York State marine mammal and sea turtle stranding program, responded to the scene. The young whale was euthanized following consultation with scientists at the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Sperm whales are the largest of the toothed whales and can be found worldwide from the equator to the edges of the polar pack ice. They are usually found in deep canyon waters, the edges of banks and over continental slopes. Listed on New York State's endangered species list, the whales have been recorded as the deepest and longest diving whale. Calves are born every four to six years and may nurse for a minimum of two years and sometimes longer. Adults range in size from 36 to 60 feet in length.

Following the examination, the remains were to be transported to a facility in Belchertown, Mass. operated by the state's fish and wildlife department. The State Museum's scientists will harvest the whale's skeletal remains for further study and possible display at the museum.

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 - Drawn primarily from the Whitney Museum of American Art's permanent collection, Meaning, Medium, and Method: American Sculpture 1940-1960, highlights the artistic expression and creativity of this period.

The exhibition, organized by the Whitney Museum of American Art, is on view from December 8, 2001 through February 24, 2002 in the New York State Museum's West Gallery. It is the seventh installment of the Fleet Great Art Exhibition and Education Program, and the Whitney Museum's second appearance in the successful series that brings great art from New York City art museums to Albany. The first exhibition from the Whitney, In the City: Urban Views, covering major artistic styles from 1900-1940, ran from May 21 to July 11, 1999, during the first season of the Fleet Great Art program. &quote;This series has been a tremendous success for us, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with Fleet to bring great art to the Capital Region," State Museum Director Cliff Siegfried said. "The reputation of this exhibition series continues to grow as we reach out to new audiences, particularly students, through a comprehensive slate of education programs." These programs include a special exhibition preview and free workshop for teachers on December 6, school tours, general public gallery tours, and family art activities on the first weekend of every month.

"The Whitney has long been an ardent supporter of American sculptors, especially those featured in this exhibition," said Maxwell L. Anderson, director of the Whitney Museum of American Art. "The Museum's founder, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, was herself a sculptor who championed and promoted American art. The sculpture produced at mid-century was uniquely American and it established a firm basis for modern sculpture as it continued to break free of inherited conventions. We are proud to send these works to Albany, and we hope this exhibition helps bring greater appreciation of this work to audiences outside of New York City."

Meaning, Medium and Method will feature approximately 50 works from the premier American artists of the post-World War II period, including Louise Bourgeois, Alexander Calder, Herbert Ferber, David Hare, Ibram Lassaw, Seymour Lipton, Louise Nevelson, Isamu Noguchi, Theodore Roszak, David Smith, and Richard Stankiewicz. These unique and innovative works, created in the unstable era of the nuclear age, bring the viewer to the starting point of modern American sculpture.

Organized by Maura Heffner, assistant curator and manager, Whitney Touring Exhibitions Program, the exhibition examines sculpture created during a period of uncertainty that is relevant to the present. "Although World War II reinvigorated American confidence and its economy following the harsh years of the Depression, the violence of the war and the new technology it deployed created an underlying anxiety and sense of instability in society," stated Ms. Heffner.

The emigration of many key modern artists from Europe during the war invigorated American art with new ideas and stylistic tools that encouraged the search for more diverse expressions. Artists began to move away from the realistic themes that dominated American art in the 1930s, and to explore divergent styles and techniques. Traditional processes, such as casting and direct carving, began to be replaced by assemblage and welding, and the use of time-honored materials, such as plaster, wood, bronze, and stone, which had typified sculpture to this point, were now rejected in favor of new materials and techniques. These new resources, made increasingly available after the war, can be seen in works such as Thorn Blossom (1948) by Theodore Roszak and Seymour Lipton's Sorcerer (1957).

There were also common explorations into abstraction and surrealist themes and imagery. Ibram Lassaw's first welded sheet-metal construction, Sculpture in Steel (1938), inspired by an earlier work by Alberto Giacometti, uses a gridlike architectural frame as a setting for an interchange between interior elements. Isamu Noguchi cut and shaped the emblematic sections of The Gunas (1946) from leftover slabs of marble that were originally intended to surface buildings. His calligraphic, interlocking shapes and allusions to archaic, mythological themes reflect a surrealist sensibility. The sculpture produced at mid-century was uniquely American -it not only echoed the sentiments of the era, but established a firm beginning for modern sculpture as it continued to advance.

The Whitney Museum established the Touring Exhibitions Program in 1999 to create a series of exhibitions drawn from the permanent collection that would tour nationally and internationally each year. This program is part of a larger institutional mandate to make the Whitney's unparalleled collection and archives of 20th century American art accessible both to scholars and to a broad public beyond the Museum's walls.

The New York State Museum expresses its gratitude to Fleet for its generous support of the exhibition series; to Senator Roy Goodman and the New York State Senate, Assemblyman Ron Canestrari and the New York State Assembly, for their support; the Hearst Foundation Inc. for important seed funding and continuing support; Harry Rosenfeld for his vision and dedication to the exhibition series and First Lady Libby Pataki for her inspiration in bringing great art for all New Yorkers. The Museum also thanks the following media sponsors for the exhibition: WXXA/Fox 23, UPN 4, WPYX 106.5, and Lang Media, for their generous support.

ALBANY, N.Y. - "Once Upon a Time: Fiction and Fantasy in Contemporary Art, Selections from the Whitney Museum of American Art" opens at the New York State Museum December 14.

Extending through March 9, 2003 in the museum's West Gallery, the exhibition is the ninth installment of the Fleet Great Art Exhibition and Education Program, which brings art from New York City's leading art museums to Albany.

Organized by the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, the exhibition focuses on the process of visual storytelling through the creation of fictional narratives and fantasy worlds. Dreams, personal mythologies, and imagined events are incorporated to tell either a personal or universal story by means of these imaginary worlds and invented characters. In addition to focusing on the particular fiction of each artist, the exhibition will also examine the means through which each story is told.

Included are 29 works, created between 1974-2001, from the permanent collection of the Whitney Museum. Artists include James Barsness, Jonathan Borofsky, Frank Moore, Nicole Eisenman, Vik Muniz, Kiki Smith, Jason Salavon, Carrie Mae Weems, Pepón Osorio, Paul Pfeiffer, Lorna Simpson, Roger Brown, David Levinthal, Matthew Ritchie, and William Wegman.

Storytelling is not only a form of entertainment. It serves as an historical record and cultural necessity of humankind. The process of incorporating a narrative discourse into visual art is accomplished through a myriad of means and expressions that challenge the representation of the story and the very process by which it is told. "Once Upon a Time: Fiction and Fantasy in Contemporary Art" focuses on storytelling techniques that artists have used during the last three decades to create fictional worlds, recount personal and ethnic histories, challenge our memories, and manipulate the narrative through digital technology.

Mythology, religion, and fairy tales are sources of stories first told to children, and recounted through various versions and media over the course of one's life. While Roger Brown draws upon the New Testament account of Palm Sunday for his satirical work, "The Entry of Christ into Chicago in 1976" (1976), James Barsness takes inspiration from mythology in "The Midgaard Serpent" (2000). In Norse mythology, Midgaard was the region between heaven and hell inhabited by humans, or Earth. In almost comic book fashion, the print shows Jormungand, a serpent cast out of heaven and consigned to the ocean depths by Odin, chief of the Norse gods. The serpent, however, grew to such an enormous size that it was able to bite its own tail, enclosing the Earth and catching all humankind within its grip. The circular form of the serpent represents an infinite cycle, or eternity, and it was said that if he were to let go of his tail and break the circle, the world would dissolve into chaos.

In contrast to Barsness's graphic depiction, Alexis Smith takes a familiar story in "Beauty and the Beast" (1977) and dissects its narrative into a postmodern re-telling, breaking it up into sections that disjointedly allude to the overall tale.

Carrie Mae Weems uses a documentary approach in her photography to impart ideas about her African American heritage and present a living past and its ongoing traditions. The "Sea Islands" series (1992) was made on one of Georgia's islands where an African culture with ties to its history of enslavement still exists, protected by geographical isolation. Weems examines this culture and the impact that its identity and traditions had on the surrounding environment, both physically and spiritually.

Pepón Osorio's "Angel: The Shoe Shiner" (1993) commemorates a culture by incorporating mass-produced plastic trinkets, video work, and souvenirs from the Puerto Rican experience and tradition. The work elevates the form of a simple shoeshine stand to that of a throne, or a shrine to the man who worked it. His unappreciated task is depicted in the endless loops of two videos ensconced in the throne. Using an assemblage of elements, Osorio creates a multi-layered view of the shoe shiner as a simple worker, a reminder of the man's heritage and his often-overlooked humanity and spirituality.

Vik Muniz applies the idea of memory and association to a universal level through his series, "The Best of Life" (1985-1995). In this work, the artist challenges our collective remembrance of 20th-century events through his renditions of iconic photographs. After losing his copy of "The Best of Life," compilation of that magazine's most notable photographs, Muniz decided to draw some of the images from memory. He then photographed the drawings, and created his own portfolio of them. Most viewers can recall the original photograph and, therefore, the event depicted, effortlessly. However, a closer inspection of the works reveals that what our mind has preconceived as the complete image differs from what Muniz's renderings actually portray.

With digital technology, Paul Pfeiffer and Jason Salavon manipulate stories and transform the viewer's original experience of a work into a new and different perception. Pfeiffer uses elements of sculpture, video, computer photocollage, and digital technology to rearrange familiar filmic icons for an investigation into the human body and psyche. In "The Pure Products Go Crazy" (1998), Pfeiffer presents a moment from the film "Risky Business" (1983) in which Tom Cruise's character collapses on a couch following an energetic dance around his living room to celebrate the departure of his parents. Pfeiffer isolates this moment in a small video format and repeatedly loops the scene, making it appear as if the character is moving endlessly back and forth, as if having a seizure. Although the moment in the original film was an ecstatic culmination of a dance of freedom to a memorable Bob Seger song, Pfeiffer removes the component of sound and the viewer witnesses the silent anguish of the character, which appears to be eternally locked in physical agony.

Jason Salavon breaks down a digitized version of the film "Titanic (1997)," which grossed the highest box office revenue in motion picture history, into 336,247 individual frames. These were analyzed independently and mathematically to determine which single color best represented the overall color scheme of each frame, and replaced with that color. Once all of the frames were converted, Salavon arranged them according to their narrative sequence and reformatted the work as a photograph reading left to right, top to bottom. The end result, "The Top Grossing Film of All Time, 1 x 1" (2000) allows the viewer to see the entire epic movie in an instant.

While oral and written stories conjure pictures in the imagination, visual portrayals leave actual narrative the open to interpretation. The works in this exhibition contain a variety of stories that invite the viewer to determine their hidden meanings and to delight in newfound associations and discoveries.

"Beyond the inviting title of this fascinating exhibition is a collection of engaging, sometimes menacing, and sometimes playful works of art from the Whitney Museum's vast 20th century holdings," said Mark Schaming, the State Museum's director of exhibitions and programs. "These personal narratives, invented from the artists' interior worlds, are incredibly powerful expressions that make for a memorable exhibition."

The New York State Museum expresses its gratitude to Fleet, First Lady Libby Pataki, the New York State Senate and New York State Assembly.

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. a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.

Extra-Ordinary: The Everyday Object in American Art: Selections from the Whitney Museum of American Art” opens at the New York State Museum April 2nd. Extending through July 10th in the Museum’s West Gallery, the exhibition is the 13th installment of the Bank of America (formerly Fleet Bank) Great Art Exhibition and Education Program, which brings art from New York City’s leading art museums to Albany. "The Bank of America is pleased to continue our support of the Great Art Series," said Jennifer McPhee, market president for Bank of America's Capital District and Upstate New York region. "Beginning in 1998, collections from the premier museums in New York City have provided world-class exhibitions and educational programs for the Great Art Series. The access and opportunity that the Great Art Series provides to visitors to the New York State Museum is a wonderful example of how public-private partnerships enhance the quality of life in Upstate New York."

Organized by the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City and curated by Dana Miller, associate curator at the Whitney, the exhibition includes paintings, drawings, prints, photographs and sculptures from the Whitney’s permanent collection. Artists represented in the exhibition include Claes Oldenburg, Robert Rauschenberg, Jeff Koons, Andy Warhol, Vija Celmins, Jim Dine, Robert Gober and Fred Tomaselli.

The exhibition illuminates unexpected facets of the familiar -- the extraordinary within the ordinary -- through artworks that compel the viewer to examine their surroundings with fresh eyes. The artworks play with the traditional notion that art must be elevated beyond everyday life, both in its content and its medium. Spanning more than 65 years of American art, these works present a record of the culture in which they were created.

Following World War II America experienced a period of unprecedented economic growth and prosperity that included an abundance of consumer goods and a deluge of images -- from billboard advertisements and comic strips to product packaging on supermarket shelves. In the mid-1950s, a generation of emerging artists looked to these items as alternatives to Abstract Expressionism, the dominant mode of art making in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

Artists such as Robert Rauschenberg used ordinary materials in their work. The electric cord and light in his mixed media work Blue Eagle (1961) snake into the larger environment in which they are placed, illuminating the space and connecting it with "real" life.

Building on these experiments, a number of vanguard artists in the 1960s incorporated both humor and irony in their work, celebrating America while satirizing its overabundance of material comforts. Art that appropriated popular imagery and the burgeoning commodity culture was loosely dubbed "Pop," a term that encompassed a wide variety of art. Swedish-born Claes Oldenburg created oversized, whimsical sculptures of everyday things, such as Giant BLT (Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato Sandwich) and French Fries and Ketchup (both1963). Andy Warhol was best known for his fascination with the trademarks and graphics of consumer goods. His Mott's Box (Apple Juice) (1964) is a hollow plywood box, but through the use of typeface and graphic design, Warhol transformed it into a crate of apple juice.

Many of the artists in this exhibition have been drawn to items whose shelf life was soon to expire, objects about to become artifacts from a specific moment in our material culture. What was once familiar becomes strangely exotic years later. The technology of the telephone and camera in Neil Winokur's mid-1980s photographs seems more archaic with each passing year. Jeff Koons treats vacuum cleaners as relics, hermetically sealing them in a lit display case, entirely divorced from their original function.

Other artists address a more autobiographical relationship to inanimate things, depicting objects of personal importance, or using them as metaphors for their experiences. Tony Feher titled his 1997 work Suture because, once completed, the sculpture of 57 cut plastic bottles and wire reminded him of the stitches on his torso after a major surgery.

Carefully distilling their subjects from their surroundings, the artists in this exhibition reveal the poetry and magic in the everyday. Their works continue to be relevant for American artists, enduring in some of the extraordinary artwork of the 21st century.

This exhibition was organized by the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. This project is funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services by an Act of Congress.

The New York State Museum expresses its gratitude to Bank of America, First Lady Libby Pataki, the New York State Senate and New York State Assembly.

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.

Lost Cases, Recovered Lives: Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic, an exhibition examining the lives of early 20th century patients at a former New York State psychiatric hospital, opens at the New York State Museum on January 17th.

Open in Exhibition Hall through Sept. 19, 2004, the exhibition emanated from the discovery of about 400 suitcases in the attic of a building at the Willard Psychiatric Center when it closed in 1995. Through research, based on the suitcases and their contents, and information provided by the New York state Office of Mental Health, much has been learned about the suitcase owners and the history of the New York State mental health system. Assisting the Museum's curators have been Darby Penney, former director of recipient affairs at the New York State Office of Mental Health and current president of the Community Consortium, and Dr. Peter Stastny, a psychiatrist with the Office of Mental Health.

The exhibition focuses on 12 suitcases out of the hundreds that were found because of the rich variety of objects that were found inside them and the compelling histories of their owners. Many of the patients spent decades at Willard and most of them died there. Curators hope their stories will restore a human dimension to a group of people who have been hidden and forgotten.

A special program on the historical context of the Willard suitcases will be held January 24th at 3 p.m. in the Museum Theater. Robert Whitaker, former Albany Times Union science and medical reporter, will present a lecture entitled "The Willard Suitcases: Bearing Witness to Lost Lives and Shedding Light on a Forgotten Chapter of American History." It is free and open to the public. Whitaker's book, Mad in America: Bad Science, Bad Medicine and the Enduring Mistreatment of the Mentally Ill, was named by the American Library Association as one of the best history books of 2002.

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 – An Albany High School senior, and member of the New York State Museum’s after-school program, has received a prestigious 2009 Gates Millenium Scholarship (GMS) from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Ocasio A. Willson, 17, of Albany is one of 1,000 low-income minority students from around the country selected to receive the scholarship, which can be used at the college of his choice to cover tuition, room, board and other covered college expenses, from freshman year through graduation. The United Negro College Fund (UNCF) administers the GMS program.

“UNCF is proud of Ocasio Willson for having earned one of the country’s most prestigious and selective scholarships,” said Larry Griffith, GMS vice president. “Getting a college degree will open up a whole array of opportunities that will last the rest of his life. He is setting an example for students in Albany and around the country.”

Established in 1999 through a $1 billion grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the GMS program provides tuition for low-income minority students who are highly motivated and seeking undergraduate and graduate degrees. The goal of GMS is to promote academic excellence and to provide an opportunity for outstanding minority students with significant financial need to reach their highest potential.

"Ocasio is an example of personal excellence,” said New York State Education Commissioner Richard P. Mills. “He is a standard bearer for all of us. This is yet another example of the power of museums to educate and inspire."

Stephanie Miller, the director of the Museum’s after-school program, and Megan Bailey, the Museum’s assistant youth director, assisted Wilson with his application for the GMS scholarship. As a member of the Museum’s Discovery Squad after-school program for the past 3 ½ years, Willson has mentored younger students and facilitated several educational programs. In his resume he credits the after-school program with creating an “inventive and friendly environment in the museum that stimulates the children’s minds.”

The Museum’s award-winning after-school programs were established in 1987. The Museum Club (ages 8-13) and Discovery Squads (ages 14-18) provide tutoring and educational enrichment opportunities for youths from Albany’s underserved neighborhoods. Students receive homework help and reading support and participate in interactive projects involving Museum exhibitions. In the Discovery Squad teens receive essential job training, academic and personal support, explore higher education opportunities and serve the Museum in a variety of work-based capacities.

Although Willson has not yet decided which college he will attend he plans to study economics and political science and hopes someday to become a U.S. senator. During an interview with NPR’s Linda Wertheimer, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103257428&sc=emaf, which aired nationally on April 19, Wilson spoke about how he and his classmates are using President Barack Obama’s name as slang, not as a joke, but as a way to inspire fellow students.

Inspired by his love of politics, Obama’s candidacy, and his own desire to make a difference, Willson reached out to the community last year to raise $2500 so he could attend Harvard summer school in 2008. He studied the Harlem Renaissance, earned four college credits, an “A” and a glowing letter of recommendation from the professor who taught the course. He also learned valuable writing skills and the importance of time management.

In an essay Willson submitted as part of his college applications, he credits the Harvard experience with helping to transform him from someone who was “without a clear focus to a senior with visions of making a difference through politics.”

Determined to overcome the odds of growing up in a lower-income neighborhood, Willson enrolled in Albany High’s International Baccalaureate diploma program, has earned a 3.6 GPA and is involved in a variety of activities. Demonstrated leadership ability, through participation in community service or other activities, is among the criteria used in selecting the winners of the Gates scholarship. Wilson has received the YMCA’s Black and Latino Achievers Award, was president of the Key Club, and is a member of the Natural Helpers, NY Gear Up and the Counsel for Unity, among other organizations.

The State Museum is a cultural 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. Further information can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the Museum website.

ALBANY -- Windows on New York, the state Museum's newest gallery with an exhibition featuring spectacular collections from across New York opens Friday, November 23.

Recent events have led to postponement of the formal opening scheduled for November 3. That celebration, a day of music and cultural programs, will take place in the spring. But starting on the 23rd, the day after Thanksgiving, the 25,000 square-foot Windows on New York will be open, including the marquee attraction, The New York State Museum Carousel, a fully restored, working carousel that operated in the state from 1916 to 1972.

Windows on New York, as well as the first floor galleries of the Museum, will be open daily from 9:30 am - 5:00pm. A new café: New York State Fare, will open along with the new Windows exhibit, all on the Museum's 4th floor Terrace Gallery Space.

Occupying the dramatic fourth-floor Terrace Gallery, Windows on New York is laid out to orient visitors to the Museum and to the state. For instance, collections devoted to Western New York occupy the western portion of the gallery; Long Island faces south and the Hudson Valley, east. The new gallery highlights as well the Finger Lakes and the Southern Tier; the Mohawk Valley and The Erie Canal; the North and New York City

ALBANY, NY – Researchers at the New York State Museum recently published a new study indicating that some wolves have migrated into New York state and other areas of the Northeast.

Museum curators Dr. Roland Kays and Dr. Robert Feranec used a new isotope test for the first time to determine whether eight wolves found in the Northeast over the last 27 years had been living in the wild or had escaped from captivity. This is an important question for species, such as wolves, that are not known to breed in New York state, but are occasionally discovered here. Results revealed that three of the eight wolves tested were probably natural immigrants because they had a history of eating wild foods. One of these wild wolves was found in Saratoga County in 2001 and the other two came from Vermont in 1998 and 2006. The isotope signatures of five others suggested they had been eating food in captivity, and were therefore probably escaped pets or zoo animals. Kays and Feranec documented their work in a new article published in the Northeastern Naturalist, a peer-reviewed and edited online journal with a regional focus on northeastern North America. The abstract is available at Eagle Hill Institute.

Wolves have been extinct in the Northeastern U.S. since the late 1800s but survive to the north in Ontario and Quebec, and have recently been expanding in the Great Lakes. Although this research shows that there have been at least three naturally immigrating wolves in the Northeast, there is no evidence at this point to suggest that there is an established breeding population. Rather, it is likely that these few wolves migrated to the Northeast from the Great Lakes area or from Canada, looking for potential mates.

Citing other studies, Kays and Feranec note that the recent recovery of wolves throughout much of the Great Lakes region and increased protection of wolves in Ontario make it likely that even more wolves will migrate into the Northeastern U.S. in the near future. “There is substantial suitable habitat in Northern New York and New England that could support a viable population of wolves” says Kays.

If wolves were to become established, this new top predator would probably reduce coyote populations in the Northeast and change the behavior and densities of other prey, such as deer.

Feranec says that the new isotope test that they used “is based on the principle that you are what you eat” and involves measuring the carbon isotopes of hair and bone fragments of the wolves. Animals that eat corn-based pet food or grain-fed livestock accumulate a different carbon isotope in their bodies than those who find their own food in the wild. The isotopes in the hair represent the animals’ diet since its last molt, while those in the bone represent a lifetime average of the animals’ diet.

Kays and Feranec also used this new isotope test to show that a cougar found in Connecticut this past June had spent its life eating typical wild prey, and was not a captive animal that had escaped or been released. The test was requested by the Wildlife Division of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), and confirmed genetic and other evidence showing that this was a wild cougar from South Dakota that migrated through the Great Lakes and New York State, before being hit by a car in Connecticut.

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 Monday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is closed 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.

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ALBANY, NY – A Charlton writer and regional historian will speak and sign copies of her new book, “Strength Without Compromise: Womanly Influence and Political Identity in Turn-of-the-Twentieth Century Rural Upstate New York” at the New York State Museum on Sunday, April18.

Teri Gay will present the free program at 1 p.m. in the Huxley Theater. Her book covers 30 years of research in Warren, Washington and Saratoga counties. It details the untold history of the rural suffrage movement, highlighting the ladies of the Easton Political Equality Club and how they embraced their femininity and womanly influence to win the vote in New York State in 1917. Susan B. Anthony and other noted suffragists of the tri-county region are also featured in this book. Copies will be available for purchase following the presentation.

Mrs. Gay has long had an interest in women’s rights and suffrage. Born and raised in Glens Falls, she has also lectured and written articles about industrial history, artists and sculptors of the Adirondacks, 19th century reformist movements, the Underground Railroad, and historic preservation. She is the former Malta historian and author/editor of “Malta Memories,” published in 2007.

The program is being held in conjunction with the Museum’s current exhibition, “Women Who Rocked the Vote,” on display in the lobby. The exhibition, which opened in March to celebrate Women’s History Month, honors the grassroots suffrage activities of the state and showcases the wagon used by Long Island suffragist Edna Kearns.

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.

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ALBANY, NY – The New York State Museum, in association with the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum, and Soundprint Productions, will present a series of educational videos and live video conferences, beginning February 19, on the early days of NASA and the role that women and African-American pioneers played in the success of the U.S. space program.

The free “Out of This World” program is designed for students aged 10 to 14, with the goal of engaging, inspiring and educating youth, especially underserved youth, about the pioneers who broke through barriers to make significant contributions to science and engineering.

The first program on February 19 will be held at 11 a.m. in the State Museum’s Huxley Theater and will address the issue of “Race and the Space Race.” The live video conference will originate from the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) and will allow students to talk with the pioneers who shaped American space history. Answering their questions will be NASA pioneers Morgan Watson, the first African-American engineer at NASA, and Julius Montgomery, the second African-American hired at what was then Cape Canaveral.

Watson worked on heat transfer in rocket engines and helped design the heat shield that protected the liquid oxygen fuel from the heat of the escaping gases. Montgomery was involved in building circuits and dealing with missiles and rockets that misfired.

Several artifacts at NASM will be shown via videoconference, including the first ultraviolet camera, designed by African-American scientist George Caruthers; a Sputnik replica and Explorer 1. Participants will also hear President John F. Kennedy’s historic speech directing NASA to land a man on the moon.

The second video conference will be during Women's History Month on Friday, March 5 at 3:30 p.m. It will allow participants the opportunity to talk with women scientists, engineers and astronauts about the role that women played in the space race.

For more information about the program and to hear a history of “Race and the Space Race,” narrated by former astronaut Dr. Mae Jemison, visit http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/programs/ootw.

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.

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-- Spirit of the Woodstock Generation: The Photographs of Elliott Landy opens June 19th at the New York State Museum as part of a summer-long festival at the Museum featuring a Woodstock concert series and special programs, commemorating the 35th anniversary of the 1969 Woodstock Festival.

The exhibition, in the Museum's Crossroads Gallery through September 6th, will present more than 50 original photographs taken by Elliott Landy, official photographer of the Woodstock Festival. Striving to raise the awareness of Americans about the anti-war movement, Landy began photographing demonstrations against the Vietnam War in 1967 while working for underground newspapers in New York City. He felt a profound connection to the music of this era and his growing reputation as a photographer gave him intimate access to some of the most important musicians of that time. The exhibition includes photographs of Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, The Band, Richie Havens, Joe Cocker, Frank Zappa, Eric Clapton, Jim Morrison and others, along with images of the peace demonstrations.

The exhibition will be enhanced by dozens of objects from the Museum's own collections, while others were obtained from key personalities of the Woodstock Festival and from the public. Many items were offered after the Museum invited the community to loan Woodstock memorabilia for the exhibition. Objects on display will include such items as festival tickets, a program, poster and clothing worn at the festival, including a jacket and hat seen on the cover of Life magazine. There also will be objects from the private collection of Michael Lang, an organizer of the 1969 festival, such as the motorcycle Lang rode in an iconic scene from the movie "Woodstock."

In conjunction with the exhibition, the Museum also will host a series of concerts, beginning in June, featuring musicians who performed on the 1969 Woodstock stage including Melanie, John Sebastian, Country Joe and former members of the Fish.

A panel discussion on Thursday, August 12th - "Woodstock: The Music, the People and the Times," will feature Landy and Joel Rosenman, who financed the 1969 festival along with the late John Roberts. They and other panelists will give perspective to this pivotal event in American history. The moderator will be Parry Teasdale, the editor of the The Independent in Hinsdale, N.Y. who documented the original Woodstock festival using what was then revolutionary portable television technology.

The Museum plans other programming throughout the summer including a karaoke night, craft activities and a free tie-dye workshop on Saturday, August 10th. Registration for the workshop is required by July 8 and may be made by calling (518) 473-7154. Participants must bring a white or light-colored tee shirt.

To celebrate the opening of the exhibition, the public is invited to attend "A Taste of New York" reception featuring foods and beverages from around New York State on Tuesday, June 22 from 7 to 9 p.m. Special guests of the evening will include Melanie, who will perform some of her songs, Landy, and all of the surviving organizers of the 1969 festival - Artie Kornfeld, Rosenman and Lang.

The Woodstock exhibition has been made possible by Baum Image Group, Inc. of Valley Cottage, N.Y., with support from the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, which owns the original Woodstock Festival site in Bethel, N.Y.

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 is seeking memorabilia relating to the 1969 Woodstock festival for use in its upcoming exhibition "Spirit of the Woodstock Generation: The Photographs of Elliott Landy."

The exhibition is planned for June 19 through September 6 to coincide with the 35th anniversary of the Woodstock festival. It will feature photographs taken by Landy, one of the festival's two official photographers, as well as other objects. The Museum is soliciting items from personal collections to complement the exhibition and will consider Woodstock-era photographs, ticket stubs, rock and roll memorabilia, jewelry and clothing worn at the festival, posters, programs, Woodstock souvenirs, or any appropriate objects with a connection to the historic event.

Those with objects they can loan for the exhibition should contact the Museum at NYSMWEB@MAIL.NYSED.GOV by May 1. Due to space limitations, the Museum may not be able to exhibit all objects submitted.

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.