With TV crews from Russia, Spain and CBS News, as well as correspondents arriving from Germany, China, France, Denmark and other points of the compass, Springfield’s D’Amour Museum exhibit of art forgery and fakes has struck a resounding global chord. Perhaps no one is more surprised at this wellspring of interest than the show’s guest curator, Colette Loll.
The Springfield Museums have received a major gift from Smith & Wesson to help support the continued stewardship of the historic firearms collection at the Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History. That collection, one of the most historically significant in the world, includes 1,600 Smith & Wesson firearms covering every era of the company’s existence as well as over 400,000 archival documents dating back to the company’s founding in Springfield in 1852.
Let’s dial it back to 1870 for a moment, to the time when author Jules Verne left his mark with 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Verne wrote his classic science fiction novel years before it became a Walt Disney film. His submarine and high tech gadgetry were way ahead of their time, and they made a lasting impression.
Changchun Railway Vehicles Co. wants to build a $30-million railroad car factory in Springfield for many of the same reasons the Wason Manufacturing Co. was successful in the same business 150 years ago. Springfield has good access to transportation networks, north and south as well as east and west, said Lu Xiwei, president of the Changchun Railway Vehicles, following a Tuesday afternoon tour of the Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History, where company officials learned not only of Wason but of Rolls-Royce, Indian Motocycle and Smith & Wesson.
The Springfield Science Museum’s large rooftop telescope will be open for public sky gazing on Friday, April 4 at 7:30 p.m. as part of the “Stars Over Springfield” observatory series. These programs are organized by the Museum and the Springfield Stars Club, and take place on the first Friday of each month from September through May. Each event features an introductory talk on topics such as space exploration, seasonal sights of the night sky, current astronomical research, or upcoming events like eclipses or comet appearances. This month, Tim Connolly from the Electron Microscope Lab at Baystate Medical Center will present “The Pathology of our Night Sky,” examining what telescopes allow us to see versus our naked eye.
The Springfield Museums’ monthly tour and lecture schedule continues in April with the popular Thursday Museums à la Carte lectures, held weekly at 12:15 p.m. in the Michele and Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts. Admission is $4 ($2 for members of the Springfield Museums); visitors are invited to bring lunch (cookies and coffee are provided). The programs are sponsored by Big Y World Class Market. For more information about Museums à la Carte, call 413.263.6800, ext. 488. This month’s lectures include:
The coming of spring also brings the return of the Springfield Museums’ annual Festival of Flowers, April 3-6, 2014. This year’s celebration will feature over 50 objects from the art, history and science collections creatively interpreted by local florists, designers, and garden club members. The festival, once a mainstay of the Museums calendar, returned last year to the delight of area flower fans, and this year’s event features even more floral arrangements inspired by some of the Museums’ signature collection items.
Steampunk Springfield: Re-Imagining an Industrial City will kick-off in spectacular fashion with an Opening Soiree on Friday, March 21, 2014 at 6:30 p.m. Like the project itself, the evening promises to be engaging, multi-faceted, and provocative. The event is sponsored in part by Ideal Insurance.
The Festival of Flowers helps return spring to the Springfield Museums, from April 3 through 6. Galleries throughout the art, history and science museums will be in bloom, with more than 50 museum objects being interpreted by area florists, designers and garden club members.
The African Hall Subcommittee of the Springfield Museums is seeking nominations for the 23rd annual Ubora Award and the 6th annual Ahadi Youth Award. The African Hall Subcommittee is a volunteer group comprised of educators, business people and community leaders from the African-American community. The nomination deadline for both awards is March 31, 2014.