O Say Can You See?

Exploring historical connections in China

It is good to be back at the National Museum of American History after a ten-day visit to Shanghai, China. The main reason for my trip was to attend the triennial conference of the International Commission on Museums (ICOM), a diplomatic forum made up of museum professionals from 137 countries and territories. I was there to represent the museum in the intercultural dialogue taking place, and to further our understanding of America’s role in international museums. However, I did leave time to explore this extraordinary city that has had such spectacular growth over the past twenty years. I had a chance to see and experience many of the landmark projects associated with this growth, including the World Expo Centre that attracted more than seventy million visitors (mostly Chinese) in five months, the Mag-Lev train that reaches a top speed of nearly 260 miles per hour, a new twelve-line subway system that serves more than 3.5 million riders each day, and the world’s tallest observation deck at the top of the Jin Mao Tower in the financial center.

So much for superlatives—I was also there for the history. In spite of the relentless commitment to rebuild the city, some impressive remnants of 19th and early 20th century architecture remain, especially in the Bund district along the Huangpu River. I also had a chance to venture out of the city on two day trips to Suzhou, where I.M. Pei has designed a beautiful museum for art and antiquities, and to Hangzhou, a city with extraordinary sculptures of Buddha and one of world’s largest Buddhist temples. I was impressed with the strong presence of history, traditional culture, and religion in spite of the efforts to modernize. Like China, our nation has and will continue to search for a balance between looking to the future and preserving the past.

Science and Technology Museum, Shanghai, China. Image from Flickr user Wolfgang Staudt.

One of the museums I visited in Shanghai was the Science and Technology Museum, which features a natural history exhibition sponsored by our own donor and good friend Ken Behring. At a museum reception, Ken introduced me to Mark Johnson, who teaches an advanced placement class in American history at the Concordia International School in Shanghai, and whose students participated in last year’s National History Day program. Mark invited my wife, Cathryn, and me to meet his class, and asked me to talk about the National Museum of American History. The students were amazing, very engaged in the study of American history and the use of primary sources in their research. They had lots of questions about the museum and my work as director.

Brent Glass and his wife Cathryn with Mark Johnson and his students at Concordia International School in Shanghai, China.

After meeting Mark’s class, we joined him as he led a tour of the city for teachers from international schools in East Asia. We saw several historic sites associated with major events such as the Opium Wars, the influence of western powers in the 1920s and 1930s, and the rise of Communism after World War II. We concluded our tour in the Jewish ghetto where more than twenty thousand Holocaust refugees settled after escaping from Germany and Austria. The refugees made it to Shanghai with the help of a courageous Chinese diplomat stationed in Vienna. The story of how they survived during and after WWII is told in a small but powerful exhibition in a former synagogue that now serves as a memorial and a museum. One of those refugees was Michael Blumenthal, whose family left Germany in 1939 and resettled in the United States after the war. In 1977, he was named Secretary of the Treasury by President Carter.

The story of these refugees and the story of the millions of Chinese who have endured a traumatic history—invasions, civil war, famine, and revolution—is inspiring. To see such a booming, lively, and culturally rich region that has grown in the face of these challenges reminded me of the resilience of the human spirit against overwhelming odds. At this holiday season, that is an important lesson to remember.

Brent Glass is Director of the National Museum of American History.

Editor’s Note: Do you teach American history/culture abroad? What are some the unique opportunities and challenges of teaching American history in another country?

 

 

Preserving the Maid of Cotton collection

During my internship with the Archives Center I’ve had the opportunity to work on the Maid of Cotton Collection. Running for more than 50 years (1939-1993), the Maid of Cotton program was a beauty contest sponsored by the National Cotton Council. The program was created to promote the cotton growing businesses in the Southern states. Contestants were judged on beauty, personality, intelligence, and poise, but family background was also considered, and many contestants came from families with rich cotton growing histories. Contestants were required to be women between the ages of eighteen and twenty five, never previously married, and born in one of the cotton growing states. 

Finalists at the 1954 Maid of Cotton contest. Maid of Cotton Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

The Archives Center has the complete collection of records from the Maid of Cotton program, including administrative files, photographs, scrapbooks, and videotapes. The comprehensiveness of this collection offers researchers a unique documentary record of topics including beauty, racism, feminism, and cultural values.

Maid of Cotton scrapbook.

I’ve had the task of examining the Maid of Cotton scrapbooks, which date primarily from the 1950s and 1960s. Each scrapbook contains newspaper clippings, photographs, and correspondence chronicling a certain year’s Maid of Cotton contest, with special emphasis on the winner and her tour promoting cotton around the United States and the world. I’ve been looking through the scrapbooks, describing their contents, and re-housing items using acid-free archival materials. In order to preserve the scrapbooks, I carefully remove any staples and paper-clips on the loose materials. I then remove any loose materials that are not secured to the scrapbooks and make a separate folder for them. I also document the scrapbook’s contents, noting objects we wouldn’t expect to be in the scrapbook, like contest itineraries and wedding documentation of former Maids of Cotton. The last step is to build custom boxes for each scrapbook. These boxes are for the long-term storage and preservation of the scrapbooks. After this process, the scrapbooks will be prepared for research.

Preparing a document for preservation.

Intern Shana Oltmans working on Maid of Cotton scrapbook.

Starting on November 29, 2010, several objects from the collection will also go on display in the case outside the Archives Center, first floor west. Come check out the Maid of Cotton collection for yourself!

Shana Oltmans is an intern with the Archives Center at the National Museum of American History.

 

Thanking our legacy donors

Recently, Director Brent Glass hosted a “thank you” luncheon for a small group of the museum’s planned giving donors. The highlight was a presentation by Associate Curator Tim Winkle and Senior Objects Conservator Beth Richwine, who treated us to a look at early 19th century fire hats.

In early America, firefighters were strictly volunteers, and fire companies took great pride in their role as protectors of their communities. Their fire engines, uniforms, and hats were elaborately decorated to reflect this pride. In 1788, a convention of firemen in Philadelphia urged its members to add their personal and company names to hats to help identify themselves at the scene of a fire, and this added personalization led to even more elaborately designed hats. Volunteers wore these hats to fight fires but also in parades, which is why they are sometimes known as “parade hats.”

In addition to seeing the hats, we also learned about the behind-the-scenes work that went into conserving and preserving one of them. The hat pictured here, from the Rapid Company No. 2 of Salem, took 100 hours of work to remove the black coating (still shown on half), revealing the intricate designs hidden underneath. The process included a variety of tests, from X-Ray fluorescence and infrared examination to ultraviolet light and paint sample analysis.

At this time of Thanksgiving, all of us at the museum are grateful for the generous donors whose gifts help make our work possible. At the luncheon last week, we had an opportunity to share our thanks with a special group of these donors—those who have made planned gifts that will benefit the museum. A planned gift can be as simple as including the museum in a will, trust, retirement plan, or life insurance policy, or establishing a charitable gift annuity. These gifts provide the museum with critical funding while helping donors leave their mark at the nation’s history museum.

As Director of Individual Giving, it is always a treat to be part of special donor events like these. Not only do I get to see amazing artifacts and learn more about the museum’s collections, but I also get to meet the generous individuals who are leaving their legacy at the museum for the benefit of future generations of visitors.

If you are interested in learning more about a gift, please contact us. To learn more about fire hats, check out our online collections, or see some in person in the artifact walls on the museum’s first floor.

Amy Karazsia is the Director of Individual Giving at the National Museum of American History.

Thanksgiving in a can

For early Thanksgiving meals, I bet someone went out and hunted a turkey, gathered some cranberries, and harvested some spinach and beans. Today, we might purchase our freshly killed turkey (“hunted” by someone else), buy a container of fresh cranberries, and get our veggies from the local farmers’ market. How we obtain the food has changed, but the ingredients are essentially the same.

It would seem that Thanksgiving dinner has evolved along a straight line, but I think it made a big detour. There was a time, in the mid-20th century, when the idea of Thanksgiving dinner was similar but the “raw ingredients” were anything but natural and basic. Sure there was turkey, cranberry sauce, and trimmings. The turkey, however, was frozen and inoculated with something mysterious to keep it moist; the cranberry sauce was striped, thanks to the indentations of the can from which it emerged; the green beans appeared more grey than green because they were covered with mushroom soup containing merely a hint of mushrooms and fried onions, also canned, that were more heavy on the flavor additives than the onion. 

It tasted delicious because it tasted like Thanksgiving and it was prepared with love. Quick, modern, and easy were the mantras, rather than fresh, local, and organic. Ignorance was bliss, and sometimes yummy.

If you are feeling nostalgic for a Thanksgiving meal the Jetsons would love, here is a favorite of the Braskich family, courtesy of Naomi Coquillon, Education Specialist at our museum. She wants you to enjoy its bright green color, and notes that in her house, it is a side dish—not a dessert!

Pistachio Fluff
2 packages instant pistachio pudding mix
1 20 oz. can crushed pineapple, drained
1 ½ cups miniature marshmallows
1 12 oz. container frozen whipped topping, thawed
½ cup chopped pecans

In a large bowl, combine pudding mix and pineapple. Add nuts then marshmallows and mix well. Fold into whipped topping.

Sprinkle with additional pecans. Serve chilled.

We hope you have a peaceful and joyful Thanksgiving. Will any artificially flavored, brightly colored, or instant recipes be enjoyed at your feast?

Kathy Sklar is the business program manager at the National Museum of American History.

 

Welcoming our littlest visitors

Sure, toddlers love dinosaurs and things that they can climb on. But did you know they also love history? When parents want to take their preschoolers to a museum, they often think they’ll only be welcome at a children’s museum. Many assume that history is for older kids, and that a museum like ours won’t have anything to offer the very young. But we love little kids here, and little kids love our hands-on activities, our interesting collections, and, of course, our trains.

Children participating in an activity with Mary Pickersgill as part of the Star-Spangled Banner exhibition.

Young children don’t “get” history the way a 4th grader would; you shouldn’t feel pressured to try and explain the Civil War to your three year old. But little kids are beginning to understand that things change over time, and are developing a rudimentary sense of now, the past, and long long ago. Looking at artifacts in the museum and comparing them with the objects around them can help toddlers develop this sense of time while nurturing their critical thinking skills.

As a mom to two kids under five, I know that no matter how educational the experience, the first thing we harried parents are looking for in an outing is convenience. So I’ll start with a few logistical tips:

-We’re free, so don’t feel like you need to stay all day. An hour or two is about the most little ones can handle. Come in, see a few things, grab a bite to eat, and you can be back home (or to your hotel room) in time for nap.

-You can enter the building from the National Mall or from Constitution Avenue. Both entrances are stroller-friendly and close to the Metro.

-Bringing one large diaper bag will be easier than several small bags. You will have to go through a bag check when you arrive.

-Lockers are available near the Constitution Avenue entrance if you want to stash coats, backpacks, etc. They cost only a quarter (and you get your coin back when you return the key).

-We now have a huge family restroom on each floor. All of our women’s restrooms have benches where you can nurse, though you’re of course welcome to nurse anywhere in the building!

-The Stars and Stripes Cafe offers a variety of kids meals.Make sure to use one of the elevators on the west side of the museum to get to the Lower Level.

So once you’re here, and settled, what to do? You can start by picking up an Under-5 Discover! Guide at the welcome desks near each of the front doors (or download one ahead of time). This tour will introduce you to some of the faces of American history, and get your little ones moving their bodies. Make sure to stop on the first floor of the museum to visit the Spark!Lab’s Under-5 Zone, and our Invention at Play exhibition, both brimming with opportunities for your little ones to touch, create, and explore.

Or, make up your own tour of the museum. Go on a hunt to see how many animals you can find (hint: there’s a buffalo on the second floor…) Or see if you can count all of the wheels in America on the Move, our exhibition that’s jam-packed with trains, cars, buses, and even a subway car you can ride on.

If you’re really on top of things, bring along a book from the library. Children learn history best through stories, and a great book can give your kids a new perspective on an amazing object. There are plenty of benches, but if you prefer, feel free to sit down on the floor! For some great reading ideas, check out our OurStory website, which includes a bibliography of recommended kids’ books about history.

Whatever you do, remember to have fun, and don’t try to do too much. In future posts, we’ll recommend specific books, activities, and exhibitions for this age group. In the meantime, tell us if you’ve had a great time at the museum with your little kids. What did you do? What did they like?

Megan Smith is an Education Specialist at the National Museum of American History. Her preschool daughters love the ruby slippers.