The Springfield Museums’ monthly tour and lecture schedule continues in October with 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. For more information about Museums à la Carte, call 413.263.6800, ext. 488. This month’s lectures include:

• Oct. 2 – Mt. Everest-A Climbers Perspective. Michael R. Matty, President, St. Germain Investments, shares his insights on his climb of the world’s tallest peak.
• Oct. 9 – The Power and the Glory: Ancient Egypt. Amy S. Dane, art docent and world traveler, reveals the secrets of this great ancient civilization. (Part of Mass. Archaeology Month series)
• Oct. 16- A Tourist View of North Korea. Anush Dawidjan, world adventure traveler and storyteller, describes her 5 day stay and offers of her impressions of daily life in North Korea.
• Oct. 23 – Colonial Portraiture:  From Battlefield to Living Room. Robin Hoffman & Jodi Stiffelman co-founders of ArtScapades, discuss the life and works of important colonial artists like John Singleton Copley and Gilbert Stuart.  
• October 30 – Teddy Roosevelt: Mind, Body and Spirit! Ted Zalewski, actor and author, brings “TR” to life while giving voice to the words, writings, and beliefs of the great president.

Also scheduled in October are informal half-hour “mini-tours” every Sunday at 1 PM by volunteer docent educators. The tours highlight a different element of the unique collections of one of the four museums, and are free with Museum admission (check with the Welcome Center staff or the Museums’ website for an updated schedule of mini-tours). Topics for October are:

• Oct. 5 – Architecture around the Quadrangle; Dave Carlson, Quadrangle Green
• Oct. 12 – Currier & Ives; Betty Romer, D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts
• Oct. 19 – Norman Rockwell's World; Arch Battista /Diane Huot , Wood Museum of Springfield History
• Oct. 26 – Sante Graziano’s Mural in 20th Century Gallery; Dawn Whitney, DMFA

Monthly Walking Tours are presented on second Saturdays in collaboration with the Armoury-Quadrangle Civic Association (AQCA). On October 11, join historian Fran Gagnon for a tour titled Haunted by… The Four Ghosts of Chestnut Street Named George, one of the many “ZombieFest” events presented in conjunction with the Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau. Walking tours are free for Springfield Museums and AQCA members, $5 nonmembers, and start at the Museums’ Welcome Center.