Posts tagged museums

Weekend Day Trip: Museums

Every now and again I try to get off campus for a full day on the weekends, I thought I would make a couple of posts that highlight some fun things to do in the area during a weekend day trip. This post focuses on Museums.

MassMOCA

MassMOCA:

Also known as The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art is in nearby North Adams. In the picture above is Sol LeWitt’s last installation: A Wall Drawing Retrospective. They have a lovely restaurant cafe and weekly performances and events so you can make a full day out of it. Wilco also plays their “Solid Sound” concert in the summer.

Norman Rockwell Museum:

In Stockbridge MA, this museum has what feels like the complete collection of Norman Rockwell’s work. The above photo of Curious George was taken in the lobby during a show dedicated to the work of Margret and H. A. Rey, the creators of Curious George. In the town of Stckbridge there is a wonderful main street with a general store that has the most amazing ice cream from SOCO Creamery (which I first found out about while listening to an ice cream special on VPR).

The Bennington Museum:

Located in Bennington’s Historic district, the Bennington Museum is a historical collection of artifacts from the Battle of Bennington, pots and vessels from Bennington Potter’s long ceramic tradition, the work of Grandma Moses, and many other things that have to do with Bennington’s history and modern cultural artifacts.

The Clark:

(photo cred: http://www.flickriver.com/photos/acidgalore/4532803983/)

Only 30 minutes away in Williamstown, MA, The Clark holds the private collection of Sterling and Francine Clark as well as research and academic programs. Williamstown also has a lovely cafe where you will often find Williams students studying and some super yummy Indian food and Sushi!

Williams College Museum of Art:

(Photo cred: http://raycroft-meyerlandscapearchitecture.com/gallery2_38.html)

Also in Williamstown, MA, the WCMA has a wonderful and diverse collection. It is connected to the campus and is a great addition to an afternoon at the Williams College library.

Hildene: The Lincoln Family Home:

(Photo Cred: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g57312-d105211-Reviews-Hildene-Manchester_Vermont.html)

I only just heard that Lincoln’s vacation house was located 20 minutes away in Manchester, VT. New weekend plan: eat at Up For Breakfast, a yummy diner style breakfast only restaurant in Manchester, and then go to Hildene for an afternoon of American History :).

-Caseysimone

I am SO PUMPED about my senior work this week. After a kind of traumatizing start (I started writing a week later than I scheduled, then spent a whole day staring at a blank Word document and flipping the eff out), I am finally in a really confident place and feel good about what I have so far. Double spaced, I have five pages. It doesn’t sound like much BUT that means I’m already halfway done with the first part of my three-part, 35 page paper! It’s been really scary to sit in front of so much research and raw information and not know what to do with it, but after I gave myself a whole day to really truly freak out about it, I feel a lot more capable. Look at that awesome and productive-looking screenshot. SO MUCH WINNING HERE. - Meg

I am SO PUMPED about my senior work this week. After a kind of traumatizing start (I started writing a week later than I scheduled, then spent a whole day staring at a blank Word document and flipping the eff out), I am finally in a really confident place and feel good about what I have so far. Double spaced, I have five pages. It doesn’t sound like much BUT that means I’m already halfway done with the first part of my three-part, 35 page paper! It’s been really scary to sit in front of so much research and raw information and not know what to do with it, but after I gave myself a whole day to really truly freak out about it, I feel a lot more capable. Look at that awesome and productive-looking screenshot. SO MUCH WINNING HERE.

- Meg

This week I

  • interviewed Richard Hodges, the director of the Penn Museum at the University of Pennsylvania. (If you want to go to grad school for archaeology and go on to be a big shot, UPenn is where you go.)
  • interviewed George Bass, the father of underwater archaeology and the first archaeologist to excavate the entirety of an ancient wreck from start to finish. He also founded the most popular archaeological museum in Turkey. HOW COOL.
  • was invited by the Association for Research into Crimes Against Art to be a guest writer on their blog.
  • ate the most amazing processed meat at Ben’s Chili Bowl (with my friend and fellow FWT-er Madison) and the Shake Shack in Dupont Circle, all for under $7 each.
  • did work in the Starbucks in my old internship building and surprised my friends Becky and Stevie at their FWT internships at Smithsonian Folklife and Smithsonian Folkways!
  • will be interviewing James Delgado, the director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Maritime Heritage Program. He also explored the Titanic, what what.

One of the purposes of field work term is to help us figure out what we do and don’t like in a job. So far, full-time research in D.C. with the National Mall only five metro stops away and countless coffee shops to work in and cheap eats all around and a handful of great people to hang out with and a schedule I can create myself and talking to the most famous people in the archaeology, museum, and cultural heritage fields is ok, I guess.

- Meg ‘12