Winter 2021 Treasures at the Springfield Museums
The Museums are honored to be able to share pieces from the collections and images from around the Quadrangle in the weekly column Treasures at the Springfield Museums in the Springfield Republican.
Continue reading to learn about the content we shared during the winter months of 2021!
Even T-Rex is winter weather ready!
A true Treasure at the Museums, and visitor favorite, this life-sized replica of a Tyrannosaurus rex, the 20-foot-tall meat eater who lived 65 million years ago, can be found in the Springfield Science Museums’ Dinosaur Hall.
Peacefully cohabitating in Dinosaur Hall is a full-sized replica of a Stegosaurus skeleton, made from an actual skeleton at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
While Tyrannosaurus Rex and Stegosaurus cohabitate in Dinosaur Hall, these two dinosaurs did not walk the planet at the same time- which is a good thing!
Tyrannosaurs Rex was carnivores equipped with pointy, serrated teeth, a powerful, pulverizing jaw, and a voracious hunger for meat, and Stegosaurus was a slow moving herbivore, happy just to be snacking on ferns.
Do you remember the first time you saw the T-Rex?
It’s Grinchmas at the heart of Seuss in Springfield. A walk through the festively decorated quadrangle green will put you in the holiday spirit, and help you, like the Grinch, remember what the holiday season is all about, *“Maybe Christmas,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas… perhaps…means a little bit more!”
The Springfield Museums cannot wait to share Grinchmas with visitors, and are excited to share this year’s holiday adventures.
“Our Grinchmas is all about JOY!” said Family Engagement Coordinator Jenny Powers. Powers and her team have been hard at work crafting a unique Grinchy game. “We created a game families can play together over one day or several days, exploring our five museums and all the wonder-filled things inside the galleries, all knit together with a Grinch theme,” she said. “So get out your How the Grinch Stole Christmas books! You’ll need to know your facts!”
We hope you will have the chance to test your Dr. Seuss knowledge this holiday season.
*From: Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, New York: Random House, 1957.
The Springfield Museums latest exhibit How People Make Things inspired by Mister Rogers’ Factory Tours, celebrates the story of how things are made.
Innovation, ingenuity, and industriousness have defined Springfield, Massachusetts since its founding. The Springfield Museums are excited to showcase “Springfield Firsts” within the exhibit on display in the Springfield Science Museum.
Related to this, many may not realize that some of the earliest Phantoms ever produced by the Rolls-Royce Company were actually made here in Springfield. In 1919, the British automaker sought to establish a plant in the United States and Springfield, Massachusetts was selected as the site due to its high number of skilled craftsmen. In total, 2,944 vehicles were produced in Springfield during the company’s time here, and among these were a number of the company’s newly introduced flagship vehicle, the Phantom.
The Automobile Gallery in the Wood Museum of Springfield History is a true treasure for the car enthusiast in your life, and the perfect place to explore more “Springfield Firsts”!
The Rolls-Royce automobiles on view are a single owner, 1928 Springfield-made Phantom I donated by M. Allen Swift (pictured) and a 1925 Silver Ghost Piccadilly Roadster formerly owned by S. Prestley Blake, co-founder of Friendly’s.
Inspired by the special exhibit The Outwin: American Portraiture Today, which was organized by the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery and is currently on view at the D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts, the Springfield Museums invited artists from the Connecticut River Valley and Hartford County, CT, to submit work that complemented themes explored in The Outwin to be displayed in the Community Gallery at the D’ Amour Museum of Fine Arts. Themes explored include identity, human connection, and responses to the current political and social environment.
The second phase of the Community Gallery exhibition, This Is Us: Regional Portraiture Today, opened on Saturday, February 6. Beautiful and moving art works from the region and a strong representation of art from the city of Springfield fill the gallery. Works on view include paintings, drawings, prints, photography, sculpture, paper cutting, and digital illustration.
“The second phase of the call for portraiture garnered approximately 50 outstanding entries, 21 of which will be on view in the upcoming display,” said Maggie North, Curator of Art at the Springfield Museums. “The works that were selected include self-portraits, portraits of friends or family members, and even portraits of historical figures that continue to inspire us today. Visitors will see familiar faces, but they will also be invited to engage with new people and stories through this exhibit.”
Our community is the Museums most valued treasure, and we are so appreciative of the opportunity to showcase local talent!
One of these turtles is not like the other!
Here, Woody the Wood Turtle (right) is cautiously meeting new plush-toy friends. Woody lives in the Solutia Live Animal Center found in the Springfield Science Museum.
The Solutia Live Animal Center opened in April of 1995. Designed with realistic habitats, life-like vegetation, and moving water, and featuring some very unusual creatures — fish that walk on land, turtles that look like leaves and frogs that produce poison.
Dan Augustino, the Aquarist for the Springfield Museums, detailed how Wood Turtles “stomp” for Earthworms, “In the wild, Wood Turtles will stomp the ground, and worms will come to the surface because they think the stomp is rain.”
A real living, breathing treasure of the Museums, the Solutia Live Animal Center is a hidden gem.
How People Make Things: Hands On Discovery at the Springfield Museums!
Every object has a story of how it is made. How People Make Things, inspired by the Mister Rogers’ Factory Tours, celebrates that story—the people, the manufacturing processes and the technology used to make everyday objects in our world.
Innovation, ingenuity, and industriousness have defined Springfield, Massachusetts since its inception. We are excited to invite all to come discover our latest exhibition, come in and explore using your hands, tools and machines to cut, mold, deform and assemble.
Through the duration of this exhibits stay in the Springfield Science Museum, we will be sharing local Springfield stories of “How People Make Things” on our social media platforms.
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