Witches, fairies, ninjas, oh my!

Written by Joanne Williams, program developer at Whitewater Canal State Historic Site
The Whitewater Canal State Historic Site was magically transformed on Oct. 17 and 24! The Ben Franklin III became a haunted pirate ship and our horses, Mike and Jerry, turned into Jack-O-Lanterns and walking skeletons. We were visited by witches, fairies, ninjas, clowns, princesses [...]

History was dead and crawling …

Written by Anne Fairchild, eastern region program manager for the State Historic Sites
This year, history was dead and crawling at the Lanier Mansion State Historic Site.
It is always fascinating to ponder the mysteries and beauty of architectural elements. But it turns out that it is way more fun to “spook up” your own architecture. And that’s just what we [...]

Unparalleled Paisley Shawls

Written by Christine Atkinson, arts program developer at T.C. Steele State Historic Site
It’s finally here! The Unparalleled Paisley Shawls exhibit has been installed at the T.C. Steele State Historic Site. Site staff was on hand to help Indiana State Museum curators reveal these beautiful textile pieces. The day went smoothly, despite some hitches with the [...]

Antiquing at Lanier

Written by Gerry Reilly, site manager at Lanier Mansion State Historic Site
After about a year of planning, the first Annual Madison Antiques Market was on Sunday, Oct. 4. There was a wide variety of items from the late 19th and the early 20th century offered by 35 dealers. Some of the treasures I saw were an early [...]

Fresh from the Lab

Written by Michele Greenan, Natural History and Archaeology Collections Manager at the Indiana State Museum
Archaeology requires a lot of patience, sometimes tedious fieldwork and perhaps a little guesswork. So finds like this one are especially exciting and fun to work on.
We recovered a ceramic vessel in southern Indiana last year during excavations at what is often [...]

More Than Just a Cup of Tea

Written by Angela Lucas, program developer at Vincennes State Historic Sites
Part of preparing for a living history event like Muster on the Wabash, is seeing the world through the eyes of those you are portraying. I represent the women’s view of military life in 1812. My alter ego, Lydia Bacon, traveled with her husband Josiah [...]

Golden Troupe on Parade

The Golden Troupe collection is now available online for all to enjoy and research. This collection is a definite must-see for anyone who loves theatrical costumes and props. The collection contains over 664 objects that range from quite elaborate complete costumes to many wigs, shoes, hats and musical instruments.
The troupe was based out of New [...]

Indiana State Museum wants to Honor Your Hoosier Hero

We’re working on a Veterans Day project and we need your contribution. Last year, we introduced a new component to our Veterans Day celebration that consisted of a community photo mural. We sent a call out for photos of Hoosier veterans and active military personnel and then turned those photos into magnets that were displayed [...]

Processing Lincoln

After all of the artifacts from the Lincoln Museum in Fort Wayne arrived at the Indiana State Museum at the beginning of June, museum employees began processing the collection. Each artifact in the Lincoln collection must be cataloged following museum standards in the Indiana State Museum database. Digital images are taken of each artifact that are then linked [...]

Gazing Globes

Mysterious ‘Sphere of Light’ spotted at T.C. Steele State Historic Site
Scientists declare: “It’s more than just a fad.”
Occasionally, the appropriateness of the gazing globe that graces Selma Steele’s garden falls under question — usually by younger visitors to the site who assume these globes are a new thing. But they weren’t new even in Selma’s day. [...]