An Evening with Ross MacPhee, author of Race to the End

February 1, 2012  6:30 pm

Academy of Natural Sciences

19^th and Ben Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia

215.299.1000

http://www.ansp.org/adult-programs/lectures.php

Exactly 100 years ago, two teams raced for the honor of being the first humans to stand at the South Pole. What motivated this race for glory? Ross D. E. MacPhee, author of Race to The End: Amundsen, Scott, and the Attainment of the South Pole and curator of mammals at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, presents the story of the conquest of the last great geographical prize on Earth and its modern relevance for science and discovery in Antarctica. The author will sign copies of his book

A Visit with Harriet Tubman

February 4, 2012 11 am to 12:30 pm

J. Lewis Crozier Library

620 Engle St. Chester, PA

610.494.3454

http://www.crozerlibrary.org/programs.html

Harriet Tubman kicks off Black History Month at the J. Lewis Crozer Library! Families and African American history enthusiasts of all ages are invited to see renowned local actress and writer Dr. Daisy Century bring the heroic Harriet Tubman to life right in the library!

Ye Ol’ Antique Logging Exhibition and Workshop

February 11, 2012  8:30 am to ?

Estate of John B. Haines, IV

3327 Gerryville Pike, Pennsburg, PA (I know this isn’t really near Philly, but how often do you get to see something like this?  And sleigh rides!)

610.222.4039

This annual winter exhibition was first held by Mr. Haines in 2006 to showcase his collection of antique logging, splitting, cutting and wood milling equipment. Since this time, the event has grown to include exhibition of the region’s premier antique logging equipment, demonstrations and operation of this historic equipment, logging techniques, and even draft animal demonstrations and sleigh rides. Last year, some 600 enthusiasts participated in this event.

The event will be jointly hosted by friend, associate, master antique restoration specialist and enthusiast, Arthur Cooper, who will be on-hand to discuss operation and restoration of many of the rare logging pieces on display at the exhibition. Attendees and fellow antique logging enthusiasts are encouraged to bring and showcase their own logging, sawing or wood cutting equipment.

Heritage Quilts

February 11, 2012-01-29

J. Lewis Crozier Library

620 Engle St. Chester PA

610.494.3454

http://www.crozerlibrary.org/programs.html

 Explore the rich history of the Underground Railroad as local historian Twyla Simpkins shares her Heritage Quilts. Families can investigate the symbols quilters used during the Underground Railroad as African Americans bravely gained their freedom.

To help with the prosperous part, here are some upcoming free events in the Philadelphia area. 

Photo Wallahs: A First Sunday Cultural Film Screening

January 8, 2012  2 pm

University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

3260 South St., Philadelphia

http://www.penn.museum/college-and-adults/994-culture-change-image-and-adaptation-a-film-series-at-penn-museum.html

Each month Penn Museum is showing films on the theme of cultural adaptation. The January film is Photo Wallahs, a documentary which gives a retro view of photography in India before the current digital age.

Come early and enjoy South Indian snacks in the Museum’s Peppermill

A Conversation with Joan Myers Brown and Brenda Dixon Gottschild

January 9, 2012  6-8 pm

African American Museum of Philadelphia

701 Arch St., Philadelphia

http://www.aampmuseum.org/index.php/page/january

You are invited to join us for this exciting conversation between Joan Myers Brown, Founder of the celebrated Philadelphia Dance Company (Philadanco) and her biographer Brenda Dixon Gottschild! Legendary artistic director of Philadelphia Dance Company Joan Myers Brown’s career is explored in dance scholar Brenda Dixon Gottschild”s ground breaking book on Black Dance in Philadelphia.

Gottschild’s book Joan Myers Brown & the Audacious Hope of the Black Ballerina: A Biohistory of American Performance not only tells the story of the founder of PHILADANCO, but explores how Brown’s personal and professional histories reflect the hardships—and advances–of African-American dancers in the artistic and social developments of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. This is an event not only for dance lovers but for anyone who is interested in the cultural history of Philadelphia!

In the Shadow of the World – A Holocaust Story of Survival and Courage

January 15, 2012  2:30 pm

Historical Society of Montgomery County

1654 DeKalb St., Norristown, PA

http://www.hsmcpa.org/

Erica Herz Van Adelsberg was born in 1928 in Mumich, Germany. When she was 13, Nazi soldiers gave her family 24 hours to pack one suitcase each; they were then transported to Westerbork concentration camp in the Netherlands. Later they were sent to the notorious Bergen Belsen concentration camp where thousands died of starvation and disease. Mrs. Van Adelsberg will share her story of survival, courage, and remembrance.

George Washington’s Band of Brothers

November 5-27  12:30 pm

Join a park ranger for a tour of the portrait gallery that will introduce George Washington and his generals, who, against all odds, led the soldiers of the Continental Army to victory over the armies of Great Britain and won American Independence.

And

The Forgotten Native Americans

November 25, 2011 at 3:00

Meet a Park Ranger for a 30 minute program about Native Americans

Both at:

Second Bank of the United States

420 Chestnut Street

http://www.nps.gov/inde/special-programs.htm  (Check out this link for other upcoming FREE programs)

Book discussion on “1491” 

November 28, 7:30 pm

Briar Bush Nature Center

1212 Edge Hill Road, Abington PA

http://www.briarbush.org/

This book challenges the conventional wisdom that the Americas were sparsely populated continents teeming with wildlife before the Europeans arrived on its shores. Instead, early human civilizations altered the wilderness to make it work for them, just as we do today. Author Charles Mann demonstrates the Americas were a far more urban, more populated, and more technologically advanced region than generally assumed and were flourishing with a high degree of sophistication by the time European colonists arrived in 1491.

Civil War Education Series: Christmas Past

December 1, 2011, 7 pm

Hagley Museum and Library

Rte. 141, Wilmington, DE

http://www.hagley.lib.de.us/index.html

“Christmas Past” is a talk by Hagley guide Jane Peters Estes. Many of today’s secular holiday traditions such as the Christmas tree had their beginnings in the mid-nineteenth century. Her program will emphasize holiday happenings during the Civil War era. As part of the program, the first floor of the du Pont family residence, featuring their annual holiday display, will be open for tours.

Of Pictures and Specimens: Natural History in Post-Revolutionary and Restoration France

December 1-3

American Philosophical Society, Benjamin Franklin Hall

427 Chestnut St.

Of Pictures & Specimens: Natural History in Post-Revolutionary and Restoration France is organized by the APS Museum in conjunction with its current exhibition, Of Elephants & Roses: Encounters with French Natural History, 1790 – 1830. It will bring together scholars from the United States and France. Included are presentations on topics related to natural history, from the role of artists and gardeners in botanical science and the representations of a giraffe’s African keepers to the influence of natural history on Balzac’s writing and on the birth of the social sciences. Participants bring interdisciplinary perspectives from material culture, the histories of art and science, visual studies, botany, decorative arts, and cultural history.

Of Pictures & Specimens is free of charge. Please click here to register on or before Monday, November 28, 2011.

An Evening with Jonathon Zimmerman

December 8, 2011-11-20, 6 pm

Historical Society of Pennsylvania

1300 Locust Street

www.hsp.org

Join us for a conversation about current events and the connected parallels, roots, and lessons from history. This discussion will be led by Jonathan Zimmerman, an historian affiliated with the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and featured guest on “That’s History,” a biweekly radio segment coproduced by HSP and WHYY. Teachers may receive Act 48 credit.

Lecture Series  “A Republic if You Can Keep it:” Benjamin Franklin and the Crafting of the Constitution

December 8, 7:30 om

David Library of the American Revolution

1201 River Road, Washington Crossing PA

http://www.dlar.org/

We will close the series with a talk by an audience favorite, George W. Boudreau, Associate Professor of Humanities and History at the University of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. In his lecture, “’A Republic, if you can keep it’: Benjamin Franklin and the Crafting of the Constitution,” Professor Boudreau will discuss Benjamin Franklin’s role in the creation of the Constitution.

DVAG – SAA Roundup
Monday, November 14th – 6:00pm

upstairs at Fergie’s Pub – 1214 Sansom St.

Informal gathering with attendees of August’s annual Society of American Archivists (SAA) meeting who will debrief and share notes with anyone interested in what they learned at the conference. This is a good opportunity for people to learn about the conference, people they should connect with and some of how people are thinking and talking about issues nationally. Also a good way to chat with other DVAG members in a more informal setting.

RSVP here or just show up: http://www.doodle.com/e8scttvq5sqytep6

Comparative Responses to the Outbreak of Deadly Epidemics from the Revolutionary Era to Today

College of Physicians 

19 S. 22^nd St.

http://www.collphyphil.org/Site/programsevents.html

November 9, 2011 6:30 pm

Bring Out Your Dead (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1993) is a classic study of the 1793 yellow fever epidemic and the massive impact it left on Philadelphia. Join us as the three co-authors of the introduction (Anne Coxe Toogood, Kenneth R. Foster, PhD, PE, and Mary F. Jenkins) to Bring Out Your Dead compare the response of the medical community to the 1793 yellow fever epidemic to that of contemporary responses to HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis A and B and other viruses. The speakers will set the social, demographic, geographic, and rudimentary medical context for the outbreak of this epidemic in 1793.

Philadelphia‘s Lost Waterfront

Penn Book Store 3601 Walnut St.

http://upenn.bncollege.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/BNCBcalendarEventListView?langId=-1&storeId=10056&catalogId=10001&CSRT=6602851804089186039

November 10, 2011 6:30 pm

Local historian Harry Kyriakodis chronicles the history of the city’s original port district, from Quaker settlers who first lived along the Delaware to the riverfront of the twentieth century. Tracing local histories along Front Street, Delaware Avenue and Penn’s Landing, Kyriakodis deftly rediscovers the story of Philadelhia’s lost waterfront.

Kyriakodis is a founding member of the Association of Philadelphia Tour Guides and regularly leads walking tours throughout the city.

Powell House

244 S. 3^rd St.

http://www.philalandmarks.org/powel.aspx

November 11, 2011  1-5 pm

To celebrate Veterans Day, the Powel House will offer free admission and tours of the house to veterans, active members of the military, and their families. Each family will also receive one complimentary bottle of Dr. Physick’s soda, produced exclusively for Landmarks.

Remembering Our Early Veterans

Second Bank

420 Chestnut St.

http://www.nps.gov/inde/second-bank.htm

November 12-13, 4 pm

On Veteran’s Day weekend, learn more about ht e Continental Army and Navy by joining a park ranger for a 20 minute program.

Didn’t find much out there this week.  The intersection of various disciplines, plus the inspiration of an exhibit at APS makes this event sound pretty interesting.   If you have an event coming up that you think would be of interest that is free (or really inexpensive) let us know! 

Between Architecture, Nature and Technology: Material Analogs

October 20, 2011, 6 pm 

American Philosophical Society Museum

104 S. Fifth Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106

Please RSVP via email.

Email

http://www.apsmuseum.org/greenhouse-projects/

How do you create a greenhouse that is also a work of art? “Look to nature,” says Jenny Sabin, an architect, artist, and designer. A 2011 Pew Fellow, Sabin is in the forefront of a practice “that applies insights and theories from biology and mathematics to the design of material structures.”

In this talk she will discuss her Greenhouse and Cabinet of Future Fossils as both a cutting-edge structure where architecture, nature, and technology intersect, and as a work of art that riffs on themes in the current APS Museum exhibition, Of Elephants & Roses. The evening will include a walkthrough of the structure and the lecture. The exhibition will also be open.

Philadelphia Responds: The Civil War Home Front
October 13, noon-5
Historical Society of Pennsylvania
1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia

Behind battle lines, the everyday experiences of civilian men and women during the Civil War reveal fascinating accounts of bravery, perseverance, devotion, and passion. On this day, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania will display highlights from its collections to share stories of the Philadelphia Civil War home front.

Friends of the Free Library Fall Sidewalk Sale
October 14, 12-6 and October 15, 10-6
Book Corner
311 N. 20th, Philadelphia

Their tag line is “featuring thousands of books all under $2.” Who doesn’t need more books? Ok, I don’t need more books, but I’ll probably buy more anyway.

Home Movie Day
October 15, 2 – 5pm
@ PhillyCAM
699 Ranstead Street, Philadelphia

The Philadelphia Film Archivists Collective, in association with this year’s host PhillyCAM and sponsor Bryn Mawr Film Institute, present Home Movie Day, a celebration of amateur film and filmmaking!

Anyone may submit their 16mm, 8mm, or super8 home movies for screening at this free event. They will be inspected and projected by film archivists between 2 and 5pm on Saturday, October 15 at PhillyCAM’s new community media center in downtown Philadelphia. Films can be brought to PhillyCAM on the day of the event or to one of our advanced drop off locations on or before October 12th: Bryn Mawr Film Institute (824 W. Lancaster Ave, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010 att. Alexis Mayer) or with John Pettit (jpettit@temple.edu)

In its fifth year locally and ninth year internationally, Home Movie Day provides a rare opportunity for Philadelphians to see their movies that have sat in boxes unseen and forgotten for too many years. Expect to see family holidays, milestones, and vacations, but don’t be surprised to encounter a child’s masked avenger fantasy film or a demonstration of an obscure hunting skill. The charm of this singular event is in watching fashions change, families grow, and history unfold.

photograph from Charles Foxwell exhibit

Archives Week has been celebrated annually at the Monmouth County Library Headquarters in Manalapan since 1996. This year, on Saturday, October 15, Archives and History Day, the keynote speaker will be Monmouth County Historian Randall Gabrielan speaking on Charles R.D. Foxwell (1875-1944) of Red Bank, a photographer, athlete, fire fighter, and Justice of the Peace. Other programs will be held during the day, including one on National History Day. Sixty history organizations will have display tables. A schedule is on the Monmouth County Archives website, http://visitmonmouth.com/archives

Registration is not required for individual attendees for Archives and History Day on October 15 and the event is free.

In another Archives Week program, Newspaper Archives in New Jersey will be the theme of a seminar from 9:30 to noon on October 12 at the Monmouth County Library. The speakers will be Ronald Becker, Rutgers Special Collections and University Archives; George Hawley, Newark Public Library; Jessica Myers, Plainfield Public Library; and Gary Saretzky, Monmouth County Archives. Later that day, at 1pm, Gary Saretzky will give a slide lecture on the history of photojournalism. Registration for the October 12 morning seminar, which includes refreshments, is requested. Please contact Shelagh Reilly at sreilly@co.monmouth.nj.us or 732-308-3771 to register. No registration is required for the lecture.

Attendees at Archives Week events may view two related exhibits in the Monmouth County Library that will be on view from October 3 to 31: an exhibit of forty photographs printed from the Red Bank Register Negative Collection at the Monmouth County Archives; and an exhibit of photographs by Charles R.D. Foxwell.

Date:
Thursday, June 16, 2011
3pm – 5pm

Please RSVP: http://bit.ly/DVAGPhilArch
Note: Photo ID necessary upon entry into the building

Location:
3101 Market Street
Suite 150
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Directions:
Visit Archives website at:
www.phila.gov/records/Archives/Archives.html

Hosted by:
City of Philadelphia
Department of Records
City Archives

Refreshments starting at 3:00 pm
Program at 3:30 pm

1 – Welcome and Introduction
Joan Decker, Commissioner of Records

2 – Presentation
Creating the “Augmented Reality by PhillyHistory.org” Application
Deborah Boyer, Azavea

3 – Tours and “Show and Tell” Table
following Presentation