Category Archives: Museum

“Arkansas and the Cold War: Titan II Missiles in Cow Pastures” explored at Old State House Museum today at noon

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MK6_TITAN_IIDue largely to the political largess of Wilbur D. Mills, Arkansas was home to numerous Titan II missile silos throughout the Cold War era.

Today at noon at the Old State House Museum, John Rowley explores this little-known or largely-forgotten part of Arkansas history. “Arkansas and the Cold War: Titan II Missiles in Cow Pastures,” was the basis for his master’s thesis at Arkansas Tech.

During the Cold War era, the sparsely populated, agrarian state of Arkansas seemed far removed from the realm of nuclear proliferation. Washington D.C., Moscow, New York and Havana easily come to mind when considering nuclear threat or strategic defense. Damascus, Judsonia, Antioch, Blackwell, and Searcy seemed insignificant in comparison. However, Arkansas’s role in the Cold War was more significant than one might think, playing an integral role in national defense and the United States’s policies of communist containment.

Arkansas’s Cold War involvement became apparent when eighteen Titan II missiles were commissioned and activated within the state in the early 1960’s. The arrival of these weapons coupled with mismanagement by federal agencies changed both the physical landscape and the political atmosphere of the state.

Holiday Open House and Sweet Potato Pie Baking Contest today at Mosaic Templars Cultural Center

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mtcc-say_it_aint_saysThe Mosaic Templars Cultural Center will host its annual Holiday Open House this afternoon from 2pm to 5pm.  

One of the features is the “Say It Ain’t Say’s” Sweet Potato Pie Baking Contest.  The Holiday Open House is a festive and fun opportunity to enjoy a day full of holiday cheer. We will have a wide variety of entertainment and this year’s event will feature our 3rd annual “Say It Ain’t Say’s” sweet potato pie contest, in honor of Little Rock’s black Santa, Robert “Say” McIntosh. Bring the kids to check out an awesome variety of holiday craft stations. Free and open to the public.

Two of the MTCC sister museums will also have holiday events this afternoon.  The Old State House Museum and the Historic Arkansas Museum will also be hosting holiday open houses.  All three museums are programs of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

The 47th Annual Christmas Frolic & Open House today at Historic Arkansas Museum

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hamfrolic2014This marks the 47th year that Historic Arkansas Museum has hosted an annual Christmas Open House.  For many families, attending this event on the first Sunday afternoon in December is a multi-generational family tradition.
This event celebrates Christmas as it was in the 1800s with living history, carols, reenactments, live music, dancing and more. Visitors come from across the state every year for our famous hot cider and ginger cake, as well as Arkansas Made holiday shopping in the Museum Store.
Among the activities will be blacksmithing demonstrations, the Arkansas Country Dance Band, Lark in the Morning, Sugar on the Floor, fiddler Ricky Russell and friends, Carolers in the Kitchen and the Aeolus Recorder Konsort.
Admission is free. The event runs from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm.
Two of HAM’s sister museums will also be hosting holiday events today.  The Old State House Museum and Mosaic Templars Cultural Center both have Holiday Open Houses this afternoon.  All three museums are agencies of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

Old State House Holiday Open House this afternoon

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IMG_9317[1]Today from 1:00 p.m. until 4:30 p.m., the Old State House Museum will host its annual Holiday Open House.

The traditions of joyous family holiday celebrations past can be relived at Holiday Open House. Visitors will find the Old State House colorfully decorated for the season.

Fun, hands-on activities will be available to children; they can create unique holiday cards and more. Delightful carols will be performed by local music groups.

Visitors will also enjoy delicious cookies and punch.

Call (501) 324-9685 for more information. Admission is free.

Two of of the Old State House Museum’s sister institutions, Historic Arkansas Museum and the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, will also be celebrating the holidays with activities today.  All three museums are agencies of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

Science with Santa at the Museum of Discovery today

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science with santaToday from 9am to 3pm, the Museum of Discovery becomes Santa’s Scientific Workshop with “Science with Santa”

Staff has worked with Santa’s elves to turn the museum into the North Pole with wintry science experiments for guests, Explore Store toy demonstrations, a hot chocolate bar and pictures with Santa (with a science background.)

Here is the Event Schedule:

Photos with Santa
9 to 11 a.m.
Science demos with Santa Claus and Kevin Delaney
11:30 a.m. to noon
Photos with Santa
12:30 to 2 p.m.
Science demos with Santa Claus and Kevin Delaney
2:30 to 3 p.m.

Regular museum admission applies (free for members.)

Museum of Discovery’s mission is to ignite a passion for science, technology and math in a dynamic, interactive environment.

Red, Blue and Brownbag – Election Analysis by Jay Barth at the Old State House today at noon

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Barth, Jay- 2012(2)As the season of Red States and Blue States gives way to Red & Green Christmas decorations, the Old State House Museum offers a final chance for post-election analysis today as part of the Brown Bag lecture series.  The program will take place at noon today.

Dr. Jay Barth will present a wrap-up of the recent elections in Arkansas, and provide an analysis of how they may affect local, state, and national politics moving forward. Dr. Barth is the M.E. and Ima Graves Peace Distinguished Professor of Politics at Hendrix College, and has long followed the trends of the Arkansas electorate.  His political analysis has been featured locally, regionally and nationally.

He is the 2014 recipient of the Diane Blair Award for Outstanding Achievement in Politics and Government from the Southern Political Science Association.  In 2008, he received a Butler Center Fellowship, The Butler Center for Arkansas Studies.  He is the author, with Diane Blair of the 2nd edition of Arkansas Politics and Government: Do the People Rule?

Grants for Rep, ASO announced by National Endowment for the Arts

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nea-logo-960Two Little Rock cultural institutions were among the nine Arkansas recipients of National Endowment for Arts grants recently announced.

These were Art Works and Challenge America grants. Art Works grants supports the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts and the strengthening of communities through the arts. Challenge America grants offer support primarily to small and mid-sized organizations for projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, economics or disability.

The Arkansas Repertory Theatre received $10,000 to support the production of Matthew Lopez’s The Whipping Man. This play is set during Passover 1865.  As the annual celebration of freedom from bondage is being observed in Jewish homes, a wounded Confederate officer returns from the Civil War to find his family missing and only two former slaves remaining.

The Rep  will partner with the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center and the Jewish Federation of Arkansas to explore the play’s themes and the role of both the African-American and Jewish communities in Arkansas history.

The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra received $10,000 Little to support performances, workshops, and related outreach activities featuring violinist Randall Goosby. Goosby, the first-place winner of the 2010 Sphinx Competition, will be in residence in Central Arkansas conducting free workshops and music demonstrations for community members and student musicians drawn from economically disadvantaged schools.

In addition, TheatreSquared in Fayetteville received $10,000 for its Arkansas New Play Festival. This is presented in Fayetteville and Little Rock. The Little Rock performances are in conjunction with the Arkansas Rep.

Other Arkansas recipients were the Walton Arts Center, Fort Smith Symphony, Sonny Boy Blues Society (for the King Biscuit Blues Festival), Low Key Arts of Hot Springs, Ozarks Foothills Film Festival and John Brown University.