Category Archives: Museum

BUILD IT LAB today and next 4 Saturdays at Museum of Discovery

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NewMOD 021Starting today and continuing on Saturdays through February 21, the sound of hammering and sawing will fill the galleries of the Museum of Discovery during its latest project, “Build It Lab,” a hands-on exploration into the world of construction.  In partnership with AGC Arkansas, the state’s largest association of commercial contractors; University of Arkansas at Little Rock; and Home Depot, “Build It Lab” will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on five consecutive Saturdays, January 24 through February 21, and promises to offer visitors an interactive view into the many phases of construction ranging from framing to wiring to painting.

Museum visitors each Saturday will engage in five hands-on activities related to framing, waterproofing, plumbing, wiring, roofing, soundproofing and painting.  Some of these activities include an introduction to hammering and sawing, circuit blocks, marble runs and painting with the aid of stencils.  The activities will be facilitated by area construction professionals, Home Depot employees and museum staff.

In addition to the hands-on projects, students from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Construction Management program will build a playhouse, focusing on a different construction phase each Saturday.  Once the house is complete, the Museum of Discovery will donate the building to a school for their playground.

“The mission of the Museum of Discovery is to ignite a passion for science, technology and math in a dynamic, interactive environment,” said Kelley Bass, museum CEO, “and Build It Lab is going to give our visitors the chance to do just that as they engage in hands-on construction activities while also observing UALR students building the playhouse that later will be awarded to an Arkansas school.”

“Workforce development continues to be a topic at the forefront of the minds of many Arkansans,” said Richard Hedgecock of AGC Arkansas, “We are proud to partner with these great community leaders to open the eyes of young people, and their parents, about the possibilities offered to them through construction careers.”

“Build It Lab” participation is included in regular museum admission.  For more information, visit www.museumofdiscovery.org or contact 501-396-7050.

First Old State House Brown Bag Lunch Lecture today focuses on Capt. Robert Sanders Burke

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oldstatehouseToday at noon at the Old State House Museum, Richard Hartness discusses “Local Hero: Captain Robert Sanders Burke, Home Guard Commander”

The new year’s first Brown Bag Lunch Lecture is presented by Richard Hartness and is the story of a south-central Arkansas farmer/surveyor, turned citizen-soldier, elected by his neighbors to lead them in their defensive quest to save their homes and farms from the ravages of enemy invasion. During the Civil War, Robert Sanders Burke was elected Captain of a group of Montgomery County mounted volunteers, initially called “Burke’s Company,” and by war’s end was mustered into Confederate service as Company “B.” Newton’s group, like many others, was composed primarily of boys too young for conscription and older men, who may have served on other units before joining local “home guard” militias.

Richard Hartness is the president of the Cross County Historical Society and is currently enrolled in the Ph.D. program in Heritage Studies at Arkansas State University, where he is researching information on the first tenured Black professors in Arkansas’s colleges and universities. In February 2013, Hartness was honored by the Cross County Chamber of Commerce as their “Distinguished Citizen of the Year, 2012.”

Honoring Dr. King’s Legacy, the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center hosts a day of service

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mtcc mlkIn honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center is hosting its annual MLK Challenge today.

The MLK Challenge is a service program designed to engage youth ages 12-18 in volunteerism with a full day of service projects that challenge them mentally and socially. Participants will travel to various community sites including Little Rock Summer of Solutions, Millennium Adult Day Care, Oakland Fraternal, Helping Hand of GLR, and Dunbar Community Gardens to complete a range of service projects. Participants must register prior to the event.

For more information, call Elvon Reed at 501-683-3592.

 

PEANUTS exhibits next up at the Clinton Library

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CPC PeanutsNEW TEMPORARY EXHIBIT “PIGSKIN PEANUTS” & “HEARTBREAK IN PEANUTS”
January 17 – April 5, 2015

In honor of the 65th Anniversary of Charles Schulz’s Peanuts, we will be hosting two new exhibitions that will premiere at the Clinton Center from the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center in Santa Rosa, California. “Pigskin Peanuts” will feature Schulz’s football-themed Peanuts comic strips. It will also highlight how Charles Schulz often explored the theme of fairness in his comic strip and believed in giving everyone equal opportunity. “Heartbreak in Peanuts” underscores the prevalence of love in the comic strip. Students will experience the joys and sorrows of unrequited love Peanuts-style. Both exhibitions will feature reproductions of Charles Schulz’s original Peanuts strips, student activities within the exhibition, 5-foot sculptures of Charlie Brown and Snoopy, and themed objects and ephemera.

 

“PIGSKIN PEANUTS” & “HEARTBREAK IN PEANUTS” FAMILY-FRIENDLY EXHIBIT OPENING & RECEPTION

January 16, 2015
5:30 p.m. Doors Open
6 p.m. Program Begins

To celebrate the grand opening of “Pigskin Peanuts” & “Heartbreak in Peanuts,” the Center invites guests of all ages to a very special reception. Our guest host, Snoopy, will be serving some of his favorite foods: pizza, chocolate chip cookies, hot chocolate, and root beer! Our other special guest, Karen Johnson, executive director at the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center, will lead an interactive discussion about the artist, the exhibits, and his wonderful cast of characters. Be one of the first to see this exciting tribute to Charles Schulz and his beloved Peanuts gang.

Saturday, January 17, 2015
10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Clinton Presidential Center

The Clinton Center will host family programming on Saturday, January 17, in coordination with the grand opening of our newest exhibitions, “Pigskin Peanuts” and “Heartbreak in Peanuts” from the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center in Santa Rose, California. The curator of the exhibition will kick-off the program with an interactive discussion and prize giveaways. Snoopy will also make appearances for guests to have photos taken. There will also be “Peanuts”-themed activities  for the family to enjoy.

Snoopy Appearances:
10:00 – 10:30 a.m.
11:00 – 11:30 a.m.
Noon – 12:30 p.m.
1:00 – 1:30 p.m.
All appearances will be in the lobby of the Clinton Center.

This event is FREE and open to the public, but regular admission is required to tour the exhibitions.

Arkansas Political History at Old State House

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OSH logoThe Arkansas General Assembly convenes today, while tomorrow is the inauguration day for the Governor and other Constitutional officers.

To learn more about Arkansas’ political past, visit the Old State House Museum.  Two of their permanent exhibits are especially of note this week.

First Families of Arkansas

The “First Families” of Arkansas varied in their background and experience. James Miller, the First Territorial Governor, spent little time in Arkansas, and his wife Ruth remained in Massachusetts. James Conway, the first governor of the state of Arkansas, came to Arkansas as a surveyor in 1820 and served in the Territorial Legislature. Conway was a founding member of an Arkansas dynasty known as “the Family,” a political alliance that dominated Arkansas until the Civil War. Conway’s wife, the former Mary Jane Bradley, came from a prominent Arkansas frontier family and was actively involved in furthering her husband’s political career.

Beginning in the 20th century, Anna Roark Brough served as her husband’s campaign manager. First Lady Brough, an active suffragette, posed on the steps of the capitol during a 1919 rally advocating voting rights for women.

 

On The Stump: Arkansas Politics, 1819 – 1919

In 1819 when the Arkansas Territory was created, the elimination of property requirements for voting combined with the raucous spirit of the frontier produced a new style of mass participation in American politics. The results were crude and often vulgar, but thoroughly democratic. This manifested itself in Arkansas politics less centered on political parties of Arkansas and the ideology of citizens than on the personalities of those involved. So personal were the politics of the times that political campaigns often culminated in duels. Carl Moneyhon, Professor of History at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, served as author and guest curator for On the Stump. Additional materials were provided by the museum’s staff.

 

In addition, the Old State House Museum website has features on the men who have served as Governor of Arkansas.

Tonight END OF THE LINE at Old State House “2nd Friday Cinema”

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End of the lineJanuary’s installment of Second Friday Cinema features End of the Line, a 1987 movie directed by Arkansan Jay Russell and featuring Arkansans Mary Steenburgen and Levon Helm. The film is about two rail workers from Little Rock who hop aboard a train to Chicago in a last ditch effort to save their jobs and way of life.

Joining in the cast are Wilford Brimley, Barbara Barrie, Bob Balaban, Henderson Forsythe, Holly Hunter and Bruce McGill.  Perhaps, most importantly, Kevin Bacon is one of the stars making this a key component of “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” games everywhere.

The movie was filmed in Central Arkansas.  The Culture Vulture very clearly remembers working overnight to construct balloon arches for a scene to be filmed at the Missouri Pacific rail yards the next day. The Culture Vulture later donned his 1970s era band uniform (with fake satin tunic, dark pants, dark shoes and fuzzy black cowboy hat) and stood in the August heat for several hours while a “simple” scene was shot and re-shot countless times.

Ben Fry, general manager of KLRE/KUAR and coordinator of the film minor at UALR, will introduce the film and lead a discussion after the screening.

The screening starts tonight at 5pm at the Old State House Museum, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

 

For 2nd Friday Art Night, Historic Arkansas Museum welcomes Kevin Kerby

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Kick off the next year of 2nd Friday Art Nights at Historic Arkansas Museum with a free performance by local favorite Kevin Kerby!
“His music is best described as muscle in a series of loosely-wound audio snapshots of Little Rock, wedged somewhere between Paul Westerberg’s know-it-all scowl and Jeff Tweedy’s ear for pop poeticism.”
In other words, you don’t want to miss this free performance by a treasured Arkansas songsmith.
While there, explore our galleries and two contemporary art exhibits featuring Arkansas artists.
UNDER PRESSURE: The Arkansas Society of Printmakers Exhibition
The Arkansas Society of Printmakers mark their third year with an impressive exhibition  showcasing both traditional printmaking and contemporary works that utilize new technologies and innovative methods. The exhibition continues in the Trinity Gallery for Arkansas Artists through February 8, 2015.
“this is the garden: colors come and go” Works by Rachel Trusty
Rachel Trusty’s solo exhibition takes its name from the classic poem by e.e. cummings. The exhibition includes paintings, sculpture and mixed media works which center around floral motifs.
Works by Rachel Trusty have appeared in galleries, shows and competitions across Arkansas as well as in Massachusetts and New York. Trusty was named one of “Five Arkansas Artists You Should Know” by Arkansas Times in 2014.
The exhibition continues in the 2nd Floor Gallery through February 9, 2015.