Saturday, August 22nd 2009, 1-4pm
The Arkell Museum at Canajoharie announces a special exhibition opening Moving Frontiers: Early Transportation in the Mohawk Valley during the Family Day Celebration.
Moving Frontiers is an exhibition of images, objects and revealing quotes of an era when people and supplies traveled only by water, road and rail in the Mohawk Valley. Ronald Burch, Curator of Art and Architecture at the New York State Museum, developed the exhibition from paintings and objects he located in private and public collections throughout the Mohawk Valley. Visitors to the exhibition will see a cutter sleigh, a model of the DeWitt Clinton train and many painted views of early forms of transportation. The show will remain on view through November 4, 2009.
“This family day will be a great chance to check out our new exhibition and see some wonderful performances related to the theme of transportation,” said Andy Albertson, Arkell Museum Curator of Education & Public Programs. “The exhibit will be brought to life with music, stories and demonstrations at the family day.”
At 1:30pm, storyteller Kate Dudding will delight families in the Great Hall with tales related to the Mohawk Valley’s past. Dudding, a Clifton Park resident, has been telling stories since 1995 at many Northeast venues including Saratoga’s First Night, the Norman Rockwell Museum, the New-York Historical Society and The Egg in Albany.
At 2:30pm, musician and songster Gary Van Slyke will present nineteenth century music in the museum’s Great Hall. Van Slyke is well-known in the Capital Region for his entertaining blend of music and human service. He amuses audiences with his guitar, mandolin, harmonica and penny whistle. Van Slyke has been a musician for more than 45 years.
Throughout the afternoon, Albert Fennes, Captain of the Wheelmen of New York State, will offer an historic bicycle demonstration and answer questions about bicycling as a means of transportation.
Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site‘s Tricia Shaw will be on site with traditional canal tavern games and a towpath mule puppet activity for kids. Shaw will also offer a selection of transportation and Erie Canal related merchandise from the Crossing’s gift shop to complement the Arkell Museum’s offerings.
A Moving Frontiers scavenger hunt will be available for families wishing to take a closer look at the new exhibit, which will be on view from 12:30 to 5pm on August 22.
The results of the Mohawk Valley Family Photography Project will also be on view. The Photo Project began when the Arkell Museum opened in the fall of 2007 and showcases local families’ photos of important architectural features and historic agricultural traditions of the Mohawk Valley.
Moving Frontiers: Early Transportation in the Mohawk Valley is supported in part by the New York Council for the Humanities. The exhibition was developed in conjunction with the 2009 Western Frontier Symposium of the same name, also supported by the Humanities Council. For more information on the symposium, please visit www.oldfortjohnson.org/symposium.html.
Arkell Museum Family Days are free to museum members and to visitors residing within the following zip codes: 12166, 13317, 13339, 13410, 13428, and 13459. For all others, regular museum admission of $7 for adults, $5 for students and senior citizens (with children 11 and under free) applies.
The Arkell Museum is open Monday – Friday 10:00 am – 5:00 pm, Saturday -Sunday 12:30 – 5:00 pm. For information call 518-673-2314 or visit www.arkellmuseum.org.
