My Experience at the Everhart

What is so special about  museums, that millions of people travel around the world to visit them each year? Is it the education, the engagement or works of art? Every museum offers different opportunities for its community to engage and educate themselves on the objects that reside in them. This

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Preserving the Past: Examples of Preservation Science within the Everhart’s Collection

Over time, all objects begin to deteriorate. Some objects break down more quickly than others. Archaeologists routinely find inorganic materials like stone, ceramics and metals. Organic things like wood, bone, animal skins, feathers, and textiles are the first to rot away, except under specific conditions. The survival of all artifacts

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Coming Together Through Folk Art

Our world is full of so many different forms of art and cultural expression that our communities depend on for creative ways to bring us closer together. Folk and traditional arts not only provide us pathways of discovery to history and heritage but open us up to a unique experience

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Reflecting on “Forming The Maslow Collection”

While The Maslow Collection, in its entirety, is comprised of about 600 works by 150 different artists, “Forming the Maslow Collection: A Reflection on the New York City Art Scene in the 80s and 90s” contained less than 40 works in total. Nevertheless, this exhibition provided visitors with the opportunity

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Everhart Museum Opening Day, 1908

This May 30th will mark the 112th anniversary of the opening of the Everhart Museum. The modest dedication exercise was kept brief at the insistence of the Museum’s donor, Dr. Isaiah Fawkes Everhart, as “he does not approve of any stiff programme and is quite anxious that the ceremony shall

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Crowdsourcing in the Humanities: How You Can Help from Home

Crowdsourcing…what is it? According to The American Historian, crowdsourcing is the practice of obtaining information or input into a task or project by enlisting the services of a large number of people, either paid or unpaid, typically via the Internet. “When done well, crowdsourcing can result in widespread interest from

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Mystery Object: What is it?

So we will admit, this object is a little odd. And to be honest, it stumped a few people at the Museum who were trying to figure out exactly what it was. But after a little research and a lot of digging, we finally have some answers. This mystery object

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Object of the Month: May 2020

May’s Object of the month is a taxidermy mount of a young swan with an interesting history. The June 22, 1955 edition of The Scranton Times carried the following photo/caption:  Just over a month later, the same paper reported that tragedy had struck: “Baby Swan Dies of Indigestion One of

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The Tulip Flower & Folk Art

With spring beginning to show it’s signs all around us, anticipation of the soon to be blooming flowers are certainly present in many of our thoughts. Tulips, a spring bloom, will be flourishing before we know it. The tulips name originated from the Turkish pronunciation of a Persian word meaning

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Traditions at Home: Pysanky

Easter 1990. This is me at 7, sitting in front of a coal stove in the basement of my grandparents house in Northeastern Pennsylvania. I learned the traditional folk art of Ukrainian egg decorating, or Pysanky, from my grandmother over 30 years ago.  Pysanky, meaning “to write”, is a centuries

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