The Springfield Museums have received a gift of $1,000,000 from Mr. Allen Swift of West Hartford to purchase the Verizon building at 85 Chestnut Street in Springfield for the purpose of creating a new history museum. Swift also donated his 1928, one-owner, Springfield-built Rolls-Royce automobile to form the basis of the new museum's transportation collection.
Following the devastating tsunami that hit Indonesia in December 2004, the violent hurricanes which destroyed vast sections of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida, and the horrific earthquake in Pakistan, concern about natural disasters has soared. The Springfield Science Museum will explore the causes and effects of some of the disastrous events that plague our planet in the special exhibition Earth Attacks: Volcanoes, Earthquakes and Tsunamis, on view at the museum from February 18 through September 3, 2006.
The Springfield Museums' Weekend Family Fun series will continue on Saturday, Feb. 11, from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. with Young at Heart: Valentine's Day Delight. Activities are free with museum admission. Weekend Family Fun programs are sponsored by T.D. Banknorth.
Dr. Adolfo Roitman, curator of the Shrine of the Book, which houses the Dead Sea Scroll collection at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, will present "From Serpent to Satan: The Story of Paradise in Literature and Art" at the Springfield Museum of Fine Arts on February 2 at 7:30 p.m. The lecture is free to the public and will be followed by a reception with Dr. Roitman.
The Museum of Fine Arts has scheduled Currier & Ives: Defining America, a four-part Sunday afternoon lecture series which will explore the social and artistic impact of the 19th-century printmakers Nathaniel Currier and James Merritt Ives.
The Springfield Museums will present the following Museums à la Carte programs in January. Museums à la Carte programs are held on Thursdays at 12:15 p.m. in the Museum of Fine Arts.
Members of the Springfield Stars Club will set up telescopes for public sky-gazing on the Springfield Museums' Quadrangle on Friday, January 6, at 7:30 p.m.
Once Upon a Time in a Castle Far, Far Away..." a local collector created an intricate diorama of a besieged castle in France during the Hundred Years War (1337-1453).
Enter the magical world of lords, ladies, and knights in shining armor with the Museums' December School Vacation Week programming.