A little taste of history one morsel at a time
Today at the museum we ponder time and our quest to keep it. We’ve used the sun, the moon, water, sand, coiled springs, pendulums, quartz, electricity, and wireless technology to wrap our hands around time. The Michigan State University museum has a delightful and informative display of antique clocks. The Westclox electric clock (photo above) is... Continue Reading →
This past weekend, my daughter and I entered a world of pure imagination, Willy Wonka style. We attended the Michigan State University Museum’s 27th Annual Chocolate Party Benefit. We devoured scrumptious cakes, luscious mousse, and succulent truffles, all while enjoying a visual taste of the museum’s artifacts. There were no oompa loompas, but instead, a... Continue Reading →
In honor of Leap Day, I give you the leaping, gliding, amazing planetetherium. No, this is not some alien virus, but a prehistoric mammal of the Paleocene epoch (50+ million years ago). The planetetherium was approximately 10 to 12 inches in length, and an herbivore. Its unique, bat-like membrane of skin, stretched between front and... Continue Reading →
It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change. ~ Charles Darwin, naturalist and author of On the Origin of Species (1859). The Michigan State University Science & Culture museum celebrated Charles Darwin’s 207th birthday this past weekend. The museum was filled with scientists young... Continue Reading →
Check out this marcelwaver, a real game changer in hair fashion. Invented in 1882 by Marcel Gateau, this handy device used a heated rod and tongs to create the wavy bobs popular in the 1920s. Prior to the marcelwaver, women dampened their hair with either water or a waving lotion (think: perm chemicals), and with... Continue Reading →
This gorgeous flapper dress from the 1920s is on display at the Michigan State University museum. The dropped waist and simple, angular lines mimic the Art Deco style of the time. Many considered flapper girls outrageous and immoral with their raised hems, bobbed hair, and free-spirited lifestyle. Add dancing the Charleston and you’ve got full-blown scandal.... Continue Reading →
Check out these gorgeous hatpins on display at the MSU museum. This exhibit really sparkles! Hatpins date as far back as the 1400s, when they were used to secure wimples, a cloth headdress that covered the hair and neck (think: nuns). Their height of popularity ran from the 1880s until the 1920s, when the snug... Continue Reading →
Museum Bites 