|
As the days grow shorter and the year progresses steadily toward an end, this is a good time to look back on 2002. It has been a gratifying twelve months in many ways for the Museum and Research Center. Like you, we have progressed in the shadow of the larger changes and uncertainties that have become a part of our world since last fall.
It has been a busy year and this has made it pass quickly. On the list of things that have been new this year are four special exhibits that have appeared in the Mashantucket Gallery since January, including the current one Across Borders: Beadwork in Iroquois Life. It runs through February 16, 2003. In case you missed any of the past shows, they were:
Gifts of Pride and Love: Kiowa and Comanche Cradles
Mikwite’lmanej Mikmaqi’k, Let Us Remember The Old Mi’kmaq
Art in 2 Worlds: The Native American Fine Art Invitational 1983-1997.
Another significant change has been the hours of operation for the Museum’s permanent exhibits. We are now open seven days a week, all year round, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., last admission at 4 p.m. This avoids the confusion of semiannual changes and allows us to better serve the increasing number of school groups that visit us.
We also have a new redesigned and expandable web site and a new web site address: www.pequotmuseum.org. It makes accessing information much easier for you and adding information easier for us. We will be working on adding and cross-linking information from other web sites and including articles that have appeared in our newsletter, including past issues. The eventual goal is to make our web site a resource for users who want to visit the museum and for those who can only visit us electronically.
I am happy to report that our September 20-21 History Conference was a great success, with more than 200 attendees listening to leading scholars and experts presenting papers summarizing their original research on eighteenth century Native American communities. Excerpts from two of the presenter’s work appear in this issue. Our monthly lecture series "Conversations in the Disciplines" this year has included a rare book expert and scholar, a wildlife expert and an Academy Award-winning filmmaker. Gary Farrugia, editor and publisher of The Day, is the speaker on December 14 at 3 p.m. in the auditorium.
The past year also has witnessed the introduction of an outreach program to schools and other groups, the expansion and redesign of the Museum newsletter and the addition of course credits for educators and students taking designated museum programs. Some of the recent changes here have been inspired by comments from you, our members and visitors. As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions on what we have done, as well as on what you would like to see us offer in the future. You can reach me at tbell@mptn.org or Pequot Museum, PO Box 3180, Mashantucket, CT 06338.
I am already looking forward to 2003 and the challenges and changes it will bring. It doesn’t hurt that the days will soon be getting longer again. I hope to have the opportunity to visit with you in the year ahead.
|
|
