November 2010

The central exhibit of the musum is 'On the Edge of the Inland Sea', a 12,000 year walk through time that leads visitors on a journey from the end of the last Ice Age to the mid-20th century. It uses thousands of artifacts, historic film footage, photographs and graphics to explore the history of Northeast Wisconsin.

Included are its geology, biology and ecology; Native American life; French, British and Yankee settlements, as well as the later wave of European immigration; and the development of lumbering, farming, business and industry as Green Bay grew into a modern city. The entrance to the exhibit is a replication of a melting glacier as it recedes back over the landscape.

The Discovery Room features hands-on exhibits for children as young as pre-school age.  It includes a series of fourteen Discovery Baskets (each with a theme, such as insects, dinosaurs, or art) with props, books, toys, etc. plus instructional activity sheets.

The Local History Room is dedicated to documenting Monroe County life in all periods through collecting artifacts, documents, photographs, and genealogical resources.  It is locally focused, allowing county residents to display their collections of historical artifacts.

The original house served as the headquarters of Major General Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben during the American Revolutionary War and was the place where the Society of the Cincinnati was founded. The original home was destroyed by a fire in 1931, but was restored in 1975. The history of the museum encompasses the Wappinger Indians to the Verplanck family in its entirety. This site also offers children's educational programs which demonstrate the active history in their lives today.

The museum features a walkable replica of a Milwaukee street around the turn-of-the-century - roughly the 1880s to just prior to World War I. The 25 buildings are represented at about three-quarters size or less.  There is also a separate exhibit which recreates an European village during the fifty years between 1875 and 1925.

The Third Planet exhibit focuses on prehistoric planetary development.  The focus of the hall is the revolutionary concept of plate tectonics which makes the hall the first in North America to use this paradigm as a central theme for the presentation of earth science to the public.  The dinosaurs are well represented in a diorama, which at the time of installation, was the largest diorama in the North America and the first in the world to to recreate life-sized models of dinosaurs in their natural habitat. The diorama is based on MPM's expeditions to Montana. All plants and animals reproduced in the diorama were found as fossils and provide a real depiction of the animals and plants that co-existed in that area over 60 million years ago.

The property had acquired the name Locust Grove in 1771, when Henry Livingston Jr. purchased it from his own father, who had farmed it since 1751. The estate was later sold to John and Isabella Montgomery who used the land for farming operations. Samuel Morse in turn bought the land from them in 1847, three years after his breakthrough with the telegraph. He hired Davis in 1851 and began working with him to remodel and expand the Montgomerys' cottage into an Italianate villa, which is still the current look of the home. The unique combination of landscaped lawns, vistas, and architecture makes Locust Grove one of the most handsome Hudson River estates.

Gracie hosted elegant dinner parties at his country estate for visitors including Alexander Hamilton, Rufus King, Joseph Bonaparte, and Washington Irving. Major losses during the years after the War of 1812 forced Gracie to sell his estate in 1823 to Joseph Foulke. In 1857, the Mansion was bought by Noah Wheaton. After Wheaton's death in 1896, the City of New York appropriated the estate, incorporating its 11 acres of grounds into the surrounding park that was renamed for Carl Schurz in 1910. After years of use as a comfort station and ice-cream stand, Gracie Mansion became the first home of the Museum of the City of New York. When the museum moved to a larger building, Parks Commissioner Robert Moses convinced City authorities to designate the Mansion as the official residence of the mayor. In 1942, Fiorello H. La Guardia moved into Gracie Mansion.

The home, once used as military headquarters, contains exhibits on 18th century life and original furniture.

Situated at the strategic junction of the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers, the 18th-century brick mansion served as military headquarters during the French and Indian War, the Revolutionary War, and the War of 1812. The restored, Dutch colonial house museum contains 18th-century furniture donated by Alice Shelp, a Van Schaick descendant, and features rotating collections from the New York State Museum.

The church itself is one of the most historic buildings in all of Dutchess County. This unlikely location was used as a military prison during the American Revolution. The 4th New York Provincial Congress met in the church in 1776, making Fishkill the state capital, until it was later moved by Congress in 1777. Part of the New York State Constitution was written inside of the the church as well.

This great tavern has accommodated guests on various occasions, including the Continental Army's Commander-in-Chief General George Washington who, with his chief provisioner Samuel Fraunces, dined in the comfortable atmosphere of The Old '76 House. A restoration process was completed in 1986 to preserve the vast Revolutionary history of the tavern. In all, over two years of painstaking preservation work, research and modern construction went into forming what is now the '76 House-- restored to its former glory and, once again, a great American meeting place and restaurant. Special live music is offered in the restaurant Wednesday through Saturday.

The Dyckman Farmhouse Museum is a visual treat for everyone who looks up and sees it perched above Broadway at 204th Street. The Dutch Colonial style farmhouse was built on this site by William Dyckman c. 1784 and was originally part of several hundred acres of farmland owned by the family. Today, nestled in a small park, the farmhouse is an extraordinary reminder of early Manhattan and an important part of its diverse Inwood neighborhood.

Opened to the public in 1916, the farmhouse and park have been host to a wide range of public programs -- from educational crafts for children to concerts on the back porch.