Sharing Hoosier History

Bringing history to life has always been important to me. As an Air Force kid, I had the opportunity to visit castles, Roman ruins and ancient burial sites. Each new place I visited was a chance to gather experiences and turn them into stories of the people who lived there and the wonders they encountered. I [...]

Bats…are they smarter than your 4th grader?

Wildlife experts were at the museum this week, educating school children about bats and helping to dispel popular misconceptions about them.  Why are the important (they eat icky bugs and pollinate flowers in our gardens) and how have they survived despite human population growth?    As I did some research on them myself, I came across this [...]

Finding history in the outdoors

One of the fun things about my job is the opportunity to leave the office and explore the state. On May 27, the Performing Arts & Education Department did just that, and visited Marian College’s EcoLab, whose staff has been involved in demonstrations at the museum for the exhibit Footprints: Balancing Nature’s Diversity. Many who [...]

Chasin’ Away the Blues

Today was the third morning I sighted a Great Blue Heron on my drive to work, in the same area as before. About a mile north of T.C. Steele State Historic Site, Salt Creek runs westward on its way to Lake Monroe. The turn-off onto T.C. Steele Road is at the little town of Belmont, [...]

Phosphorescent Fireflies, Luminescent Lightning Bugs

As a favorite sign of spring, hearing peepers barely beats seeing the first fireflies. Last night I returned home after dark and decided to sit out on the porch for awhile and enjoy the breeze. I’m glad I did, because before long I noticed on-and-off flashes of a firefly. Soon I spotted a few more.
Call [...]

‘Circle City Socialites’ Invade the L.S. Ayres Tearoom

Proving once again that the Indiana State Museum is all about “adventure” and investigating all aspects of Indiana culture and history…we hosted a roller derby team in the L.S. Ayres Tearoom this morning. 
The team is about to launch a fundraiser cookbook, so decided to use the historic tearoom as a backdrop for a friendly photoshoot.  [...]

Say it 3x Fast: Loblolly

That is Lob-lolly (rhymes with Holly), as in Loblolly Marsh Wetland Preserve, part of the Limberlost State Historic Site in Geneva, Indiana.  The marsh is being reclaimed and features thousands of Indiana’s natural wonders of flora and fauna, plants and wildlife, etc.  I went for a visit recently and even through the mist of May [...]

Not Technically a Cemetery

When choosing a final resting place there are so many things to consider. How would you like to be remembered? Choose your words carefully, because they will be carved in stone. But what type of stone — granite, sandstone, siltstone, slate, marble, limestone, whetstone? Or, perhaps white bronze is more your style.
As for embellishments, symbolic [...]

50 Ways to Say Thank You

In spring 2008, the Indiana State Museum partnered with the Quilter’s Guild of Indianapolis (QGI) in an outreach program focused on the Quilts of Valor program, a nationwide program that collects charity quilts to give soldiers who were injured while fighting in the conflicts of Afghanistan or Iraq. The program coincided with the museum’s exhibit [...]

Considering a Pet?

Warm weather and spring showers have crept in this year and it’s a good time to think about our pets and the other wild critters that share this great state with us. Since it’s also the time of year when we think of baby animals, we should keep in mind that pet over population can affect [...]