The Museum School at the Springfield Museums offers courses and experiential learning opportunities for both children and adults on an ongoing basis. Registration is now underway for fall courses and trips – for complete course descriptions, travel itineraries, fees and to register, visit springfieldmuseums.org or call 413.263.6800, ext. 377 or 382.
The Springfield Museums will once again participate in the Smithsonian Museum magazine’s Museum Day Live! program on Saturday, September 28, 2013. Museum Day Live! is an annual event in which participating museums across the country allow free admission to anyone presenting a Museum Day ticket. Each ticket allows free admission for two people.
The story of the Jewish community in the Pioneer Valley is detailed in a new exhibit at the Springfield Museums titled One Hundred Years of Jewish Life in the Valley: From Shtetl to Suburb. The exhibit is on view in the Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History from September 17, 2013 to March 2, 2014. The exhibit is sponsored by Temple Beth El, with generous support from Jewish Endowment Foundation, Harold Grinspoon Foundation, Chez Josef, Dave’s Soda and Pet City, and Jewish Geriatric Services. The media partner for the exhibit is The Jewish Ledger. MassMutual is the 2013 Premier Sponsor of the Springfield Museums.
Next month, the Springfield Museums will play host to an exhibit of evocative watercolors by artist Josie Vargas. The exhibit, titled Fiesta: Flora and Fauna from Puerto Rico, will be on display at the Michele and Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts from September 10 through May 11, 2014. The exhibit is part of the Springfield Museums’ annual Hispanic Heritage Month events, which are sponsored this year by Baystate Health. MassMutual is the Springfield Museums Premier Sponsor for 2013.
The Springfield Museums will be open six days a week starting September 1.
The Springfield Museums at the Quadrangle and the Springfield City Library will host “LittleFest,” an event to promote a love of reading in young children, on Saturday, September 14, from 10 am to 5 pm.
The African Hall Subcommittee of the Springfield Museums will present the 22nd annual Ubora Award and the 5th annual Ahadi Youth Award at a ceremony on Saturday, September 21, at 6 pm, at the Michele & Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts at the Quadrangle. Springfield residents Katie and Bob Glasgow have been selected to receive the Ubora Award, and Raekwon Wheeler will receive the Ahadi Youth Award.
Each fall, the Springfield Museums pay tribute to Springfield’s role in transportation history with their annual History on the Move car show. This fall’s event will take place on Saturday, September 7, from 9 am to 3 pm on the museum grounds at the Quadrangle. Pre-1980 cars, including vintage automobiles manufactured in Springfield, will be exhibited. Among the vehicles on display will be a 1922 Hupmobile Touring car, a 1942 US Air Force Jeep, a 1954 Kaiser Darrin, and many other makes and models.
The Springfield Museums’ monthly tours and lecture schedule kicks off in September with the return of the popular Thursday Museums à la Carte lectures, held weekly at 12:15 pm 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.
The Springfield Science Museum’s large rooftop telescope will be open once again for public sky-gazing on Friday, September 6 at 7:30 pm as part of the Stars Over Springfield observatory series.