The William G. Pomeroy Foundation officially opened the next grant round of its New York State Historic Marker Grant Program today, Monday, Nov. 4, 2019.

The marker program commemorates historic people, places, things or events in New York State within the time frame of 1740-1920. Grants cover the entire cost of a marker, pole and shipping.

This grant round is available in the following counties: Fulton, Herkimer, Montgomery, Oneida, Otsego and Schoharie (Region 7); Jefferson, Lewis and Oswego (Region 8); and Cayuga, Cortland, Madison and Onondaga (Region 9).

The NYS Historic Marker Grant Program is open to local, state and federal government entities, nonprofit academic institutions and 501(c)(3) organizations in New York State. Often, municipal historians or local historical organizations (or related nonprofits) will apply for a marker on behalf of a property owner.

Those interested in applying for a marker grant should submit an online Letter of Intent to verify primary sources by Monday, Dec. 16, 2019. Primary source documentation is necessary to support the text on a marker. The final application deadline is Monday, Jan. 20, 2020. To apply for a grant or review application guidelines, visit the Foundation’s NYS marker program page. A complete grant schedule by region is also on the Foundation’s website.

Additional marker grant programs include the Legends & Lore® Marker Grant Program, Historic Transportation Canals Marker Grant Program, National Register Signage Grant Program and National Women’s Suffrage Marker Program. The Foundation’s website also features an interactive, digital map that can be filtered across several categories to view current markers and plaques.

About the Pomeroy Foundation

The William G. Pomeroy Foundation® is a grant-making foundation based in Syracuse, N.Y. One of its initiatives is to help communities celebrate their history with fully funded roadside markers. Since 2006, the Foundation has funded nearly 1,000 roadside markers and plaques in multiple states. Grants cover the entire cost of a marker, pole and shipping. Visit: www.wgpfoundation.org

Findnyculture.org is a new resource developed by the New York State Education Department's Office of Cultural Education to connect teachers to New York's cultural education community. Participating organizations can promote programs, resources, and events for free. The project will also be the most comprehensive list of New York State's cultural organizations, providing opportunities for networking, research, disaster preparedness, and more.

To Participate:

·      Send an email to info@findnyculture.org with your name, title, and organization name to request a secure login. 

·      Login to update your organization’s information and add your events and programs to our statewide calendar. 

Click here to learn more.

Click here to download the flier.

NEW YORK, NY - October 28, 2019 - Urban Archive, the technology nonprofit that creates new connections between people, places, and historical institutions, today announced the release of its first web app, making its popular geospatial application available to anyone with an internet connection for the first time. Since launching an iOS app in 2016, Urban Archive has merged open city data with the digital collections of dozens of museums, libraries, and city agencies, making it easier than ever for the public to explore New York’s changing urban environment in a single place. 

To-date, the location-based platform has mapped nearly 100,000 historical images from the collections of more than 40 organizations, breathing new life into hidden archives and forgotten histories. Urban Archive partners range from large institutions—including the Museum of the City of New York, Queens Public Library, the New-York Historical Society, and the New York City Department of Records and Information Services—to smaller organizations like the Alice Austen House in Staten Island and Village Preservation. The location of each photograph is standardized, verified, and then cross-checked for accuracy by a team of historians and researchers under the direction of Urban Archive before it is published to the platform. 

"New-York Historical has an unparalleled photographic record of New York history, and we’re thrilled that working with Urban Archive allows us to engage more users with our vast photo collections, making history come alive in unique and exciting ways," said Michael Ryan, New-York Historical Society vice president and director of the Patricia D. Klingenstein Library. 

Urban Archive adds fresh content to the platform daily and regularly releases original “Stories” — curated narratives about specific historical events or themes much like a museum exhibit. By being in a 

Urban Archive Releases First Web App — A Digital Time Capsule for Exploring New York History 

New App Unlocks Rich Visual Record of 100,000 Geolocated Historical Images from the Hidden Archives of 40+ New York Cultural Institutions 

unique position to draw upon the archives of so many institutions at once, Urban Archive’s Stories often shed new light onto our collective understanding of past events. Today, users can browse 370 Stories here, including: 

● The Birthplace of the Metropolitan Opera: a Story about one of the best places to hear an aria, as told by the Museum of the City of New York 

● Mark Twain’s New York: a Story that explores the great American writer’s many connections to New York City, as told by the New-York Historical Society 

● Rebuilding the Bronx: a Story of the disinvestment and physical decay that afflicted the Bronx from the 1970s into the 1990s, as told by New York City Department of Housing Preservation & Development 

● Environmentalism in Brooklyn: a Story of the dynamic history of environmental activism and development, as told by the Brooklyn Collection 

● Good Times in Bay Ridge: a Story that features sites and spots frequented by Bay Ridge locals in the 1940s, as told by the New York City Department of Records and Information Services 

These stories, among others, are indexed under the contributing organization’s profile page on the platform. 

“We are happy to partner with Urban Archive by providing information and historical images to City residents—from tours of City sites that George McAneny helped save (i.e., Castle Clinton) to scavenger hunts amongst grand old Bay Ridge houses,” said Pauline Toole, commissioner of the New York City Department of Records and Information Services. “We have been delighted to share images from the Municipal Archives through their app. The expansion into a web-based version will engage so many more New Yorkers in this history.” 

Unlike existing repositories, Urban Archive visualizes the historical transformation of New York’s built environment in an entirely new way. This new tool geolocates the digital collections of various institutions, centralizes them in one place, and then superimposes these assets with additional data points, including tax-lot data from NYC’s open data portal (PLUTO database). Users can easily navigate the map to uncover new knowledge about the city’s past and present or leverage Urban Archive Search to mine through the metadata and collections at large. 

“By lowering the barriers to interaction with digital collections, Urban Archive presents new and exciting opportunities for the Museum of the City of New York to connect with the public and to create personalized experiences that are based on our current exhibitions,” said Sheryl Victor Levy, vice president of marketing & communications, Museum of the City of New York. “We are grateful for the partnership and for the ability to give exposure to our extensive built environment collection for New Yorkers and visitors from around the world.” 

Explore Urban Archive’s new web app or visit urbanarchive.nyc for more information. 

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About Urban Archive Urban Archive is a technology nonprofit that creates new connections between people, places, and historical institutions. Its mission is to inspire learning that is rooted in what’s local — the architecture, culture, and unique stories of New York. 

To connect with Urban Archive, follow @UrbanArchiveNY on Instagram and Twitter and download the Urban Archive app, available for free in the App Store. For more information please visit urbanarchive.nyc. 

Media Contacts Urban Archive: press@urbanarchive.nyc

Learn More about Museums for All at December 11 Webinar

Are you interested in learning more about Museums for All, an initiative dedicated to expanding community access? Mark your calendar to join staff from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Association of Children’s Museums on December 11 at 2 p.m. Eastern to learn more about how and why more than 450 museums participate in the program. Find more information on attending the webinar on the IMLS website.

Federal Grant Awarded to Fort Ticonderoga to Restore Historic Fort Walls

GRANT WILL FUND RESTORATION OF 18TH-CENTURY NORTH DEMI-LUNE

Fort Ticonderoga, a premiere historic and travel destination, has been awarded the Save America’s Treasures Grant, funded by the Historic Preservation Fund and administered by the National Park Service, Department of Interior through a competitive process.

The property was awarded $465,000 to be utilized in the restoration of the north demi-lune, a stone defensive structure connected to the fort. Originally constructed in the 18th century, the north demi-lune was used to defend Fort Ticonderoga against invaders and was part of the fort’s outer defenses that Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold saw as they crossed Lake Champlain on their journey to capture the fort in May of 1775 securing America’s first victory in the Revolution.

The grant project will include the preparation of contract documents for the repairs that will conform to all necessary historic preservation standards. The restoration work itself will prevent further wall movement and deterioration by using modern preservation methods that will safely stabilize this national treasure while preserving its historic integrity. The project will begin in January 2020 and utilize the skills of a consulting structural engineer and preservation architect. Upon completion, this restoration project will allow visitors to safely access the north-demi lune.

“The Save America’s Treasures Grant is a major win for Fort Ticonderoga,” said Beth Hill, Fort Ticonderoga president and CEO. “The ability to fund the restoration of the north demi-lune will provide stabilization for the fort in the future and will allow visitors to safely view the beautiful landscape Fort Ticonderoga has to offer for generations to come. This grant wouldn’t have been made possible without the support of U.S. Senator Charles Schumer and Congresswoman Elise Stefanik. We thank them for their continued efforts to help preserve this treasure that is an important part of our nation’s history.”

“Even before the American Revolution, our founding fathers considered Fort Ticonderoga an American treasure, because of its key role in the French and Indian War. Not to mention, this spectacular gem of Essex County is a major tourist attraction, drawing visitors from far and wide, and boosting our Upstate economy as a result,” said Senator Schumer. “By allowing Fort Ticonderoga to refurbish its original walls, this federal investment will ensure that it is preserved for generations of New Yorkers and Americans to come. I’m proud of the role I played in securing this federal funding, and will always battl

e to maintain and preserve Upstate New York’s historical treasures for the long-term future.”

“I’m grateful to the National Park Service for prioritizing the upkeep and restoration of a North Country historical treasure: Fort Ticonderoga,” said Congresswoman Elise Stefanik. “Advocating for the maintenance of historical sites in my district is a top priority for me and for my constituents. This Save America’s Treasures Grant will be instrumental in ensuring Fort Ticonderoga remains a commemorated site and tourist destination for many years to come.”

The Save America’s Treasure grant will provide visitors safe access so they can continue to experience and appreciate this nationally significant historic site and landscape. From the vantage of the demi-lunes, visitors have views of the Ticonderoga peninsula, Lake Champlain, Mount Defiance, Mount Independence and the Green Mountains of Vermont and can gain perspective on why Ticonderoga was so strategic to the 18th-century world. Public and school tour groups will utilize the space for educational programs as new generations of museum-goers are introduced to Fort Ticonderoga’s remarkable story.

About Fort Ticonderoga:
Welcoming visitors since 1909, Fort Ticonderoga preserves North America’s largest 18th-century artillery collection, 2,000 acres of historic landscape on Lake Champlain, and Carillon Battlefield, and the largest series of untouched Revolutionary War era earthworks surviving in America. As a multi-day destination and the premier place to learn more about our nation’s earliest years and America’s military heritage, Fort Ticonderoga engages more than 75,000 visitors each year with an economic impact of more than $12 million annually and offers programs, historic interpretation, boat cruises, tours, demonstrations, and exhibits throughout the year, and is open for daily visitation May through October. Fort Ticonderoga is supported in part through generous donations and with some general operating support made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

The Strong Museum Receives Rare
Chairman’s Special Award from
National Endowment for the Humanities
($700,000 in Funding Will Support Expansion Exhibits)

ROCHESTER, NY—The Strong is pleased to announce that it has received a $700,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) in the most recent round of federal awards. The museum was the only project nationwide this year to receive the “Chairman’s Special Award,” which highlights major exhibit projects that present significant topics in the humanities. The funding will support the implementation of Digital Worlds (tentative title)—a 24,000-foot exhibit planned as part of the museum’s expansion that will explore the influence of electronic games on cultural history.

“With the help of this grant, The Strong will be able to build a truly one-of-a-kind experience that will make the museum even more of a national destination,” says Steve Dubnik, president and CEO of The Strong. “Support from the National Endowment for the Humanities and other organizations is vital in helping transformative projects like ours to be successful so that we can share the cultural impact of play and electronic games with the world. We’re honored to be selected for the Chairman’s Special Award and appreciate NEH’s recognition of the importance of video games to our ever-changing social history and cultural fabric.”

The National Endowment for the Humanities supports humanities research, education programs, cultural preservation, films, exhibitions, and virtual reality projects across the United States. This year, they awarded $29 million for 215 projects including The Strong’s.

“NEH grants help strengthen and sustain American cultural life, in communities, at museums, libraries, and historic sites, and in classrooms,” says NEH Chairman Jon Parrish Peede. “NEH is proud to help lay the foundations for public engagement with America’s past by funding projects that safeguard cultural heritage and advance our understanding of the events, ideas, and people that have shaped our nation.”                                              

The Strong’s project—Digital Worlds—will tell the story of how video games have shaped the way that people connect, play, and learn. It will include two distinct areas, tentatively titled Level Up and High Score. In Level Up, guests will be fully immersed in the world of video games and assume the role of a character on a quest as they move through interactive spaces that put them directly into the video games, asking them to complete puzzles, navigate mazes, solve riddles, and face obstacles. In High Score, guests will learn about the evolution of the video game industry and how the games are made. The space will put an emphasis on gaming artifacts from the museum’s world-renowned collections and explore how game designers wed the humanities, art, and STEM fields to create immersive, compelling games.

Says Jon-Paul Dyson, The Strong’s vice president for exhibits and director of the International Center for the History of Electronic Games, “Video games are perhaps the most important medium of the 21st century. Just as the novel fueled imagination in the19th century and film and television defined the cultural narratives of the 20th century, electronic games today are rapidly driving cultural and social change. We look forward—with the help of NEH—to continue to tell that important story to visitors from around the world.”

The new exhibits are slated to be open to the public in 2022.  
 

About The Strong
The Strong is the only collections-based museum in the world devoted solely to the history and exploration of play. It is home to the International Center for the History of Electronic Games, the National Toy Hall of Fame, the World Video Game Hall of Fame, the Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play, the Woodbury School, and the American Journal of Play and houses the world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of historical materials related to play. 

About the National Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency created in 1965. It is one of the largest funders of humanities programs in the United States. Because democracy demands wisdom, NEH serves and strengthens our republic by promoting excellence in the humanities and conveying the lessons of history to all Americans. The Endowment accomplishes this mission by awarding grants for top-rated proposals examined by panels of independent, external reviewers.

Did you know that New York State is home to more than 1,800 museums? It's a fact! The Empire State ranks #2 in the nation for number of museums, according to the institute of Museum and Library Services, an independent federal agency. READ MORE

Mid-Hudson Children’s Museum Receives International Award for its Poughkeepsie Waterfront Market 

TORONTO, ONT. – The Mid-Hudson Children’s Museum has been recognized by the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC) with the 2019 Leading Edge Award for Business Practice for its creation and operation of the Poughkeepsie Waterfront Market.

ASTC is the international professional association for all science centers and museums worldwide, and is comprised of over 350 museums from 20 countries. Now in their 15th year, the Roy L. Shafer Leading Edge Awards are presented annually by ASTC to recognize extraordinary accomplishments in business practice, visitor experience, and leadership in the field of science centers and museums worldwide.  The award is presented at the 2019 ASTC Annual Conference in Toronto, Ontario (Canada) on September 21.

The 2019 Roy L. Shafer Leading Edge Award for Business Practice recognizes the Mid-Hudson Children’s Museum’s effort to fight urban food insecurity in the City of Poughkeepsie by making fresh, locally sourced food accessible to city residents and families; ensuring affordability of food options; and educating the public on nutrition and meal preparation using food available at the market. The project grew from Museum’s strategic shift toward deepening community wide impact and engagement.

The Mid-Hudson Children’s Museum opened the Poughkeepsie Waterfront Market in 2017, and in doing so, became the first children’s museum in the United States to open a public farmers market as a strategy to reduce food insecurity among the families it serves. “Here in Poughkeepsie, the impact of their work is significant. According to the USDA, MHCM is located at the epicenter of one of the worst food deserts in the country,” states City of Poughkeepsie Mayor, Rob Rolison. “In fact, there is no grocery store in this part of our City, and too often low-income residents have no options to even acquire fresh food to feed their families. Because the Museum works with some of our most vulnerable inner-city families, it saw firsthand how food insecurity and hunger was affecting its neighbors and the young children it serves.”  Since 2017, it has become a national model for museums looking to increase their impact on their local communities. 

The Poughkeepsie Waterfront Market is a seasonal farmers market that runs weekly on Monday afternoons from June through September in the Pavilion of the Mid-Hudson Children’s Museum. The Market is open to the public and features farm fresh vegetables, fruits, eggs, poultry, baked goods, maple products, honey, pickles, beer and other agricultural products available from local Hudson Valley farms.  With a grant from MVP Healthcare, the Market was able to become a certified SNAP Market in 2018 in addition to participating in the WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program.  Combined, these two programs help to ensure the affordability of fresh produce and farm products for low-income individuals and families.  

Named Hudson Valley Magazine’s “2019 and 2017 Best Museum” and Hudson Valley’s “2018 and 2017 Favorite Kid-Friendly Museum,” the Mid-Hudson Children’s Museum is the ideal destination for families with young children. With exhibits that focus on early literacy, art, STEM, and the local community, the museum provides an educationally rich environment through which children have the opportunity to develop foundational skills, to engage in purposeful play, and to develop interpersonal connections. The Museum is located in the heart of the historic waterfront in Poughkeepsie, nestled between two city parks, just steps away from the Poughkeepsie Metro-North Train Station, Walkway Elevator and fabulous restaurants. The Mid-Hudson Children’s Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9:30 am to 5:00 pm and Sundays from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm, and on select Monday holidays. Admission is $10.00 per person. Children under 1 year are free. Visit mhcm.org or call (845) 471-0589 for more information.

Rochester Museum & Science Center Request for Qualifications- Inspiring Women Exhibition:

Celebrating regional woman who changed our world

In 2020, the Rochester Museum & Science Center (RMSC) and more than 15 community partners will launch an exhibit celebrating women of western New York who changed our world. To help ensure equitable representation and authentic voice in the presentation of featured stories, we are seeking diversity and inclusion consultants to participate in the exhibit development process.

RFQ for Diversity Consultants - final2.pdf

Please provide feedback about the RFQ process and referrals to the Project manager contact below:

Kathryn Murano Santos, Senior Director, Collections and Exhibitions

Rochester Museum & Science Center

657 East Avenue

Rochester, NY 14607

kmurano@rmsc.org

585 697 1929

RIT and Genesee Country Village & Museum seal partnership with $1.3 million gift

University and museum will collaborate on projects, research and exhibits

(left to right) RIT Liberal Arts Dean James Winebrake, Genesee Country Village & Museum President and CEO Becky Wehle, and Anne and Phil Wehrheim meet at the museum.

Credit: A. Sue Weisler/RIT.

Rochester Institute of Technology has received a $1.3 million gift to endow its partnership between the university and Genesee Country Village & Museum.

The gift comes from RIT alumnus Philip Wehrheim and his wife, Anne. Wehrheim received a degree in business from RIT in 1966.

The gift marries Wehrheim’s interest in both RIT and the museum. 

“For me to be able to do this for the museum and also for my alma mater is a perfect fit,” he said.

James Winebrake, dean of the College of Liberal Arts, said that while his college will manage the gift, the fund will support projects involving all colleges at RIT.

“Experiential learning is a hallmark of our university,” Winebrake said. “This gift will guarantee opportunities for our students to gain valuable experience while benefitting the museum and the community for years to come.”

Becky Wehle, president and CEO of the living history museum in Mumford, N.Y., 12 miles southwest of RIT’s Henrietta campus, said she is enthusiastic about the potential the gift holds for both organizations.

“RIT is an extraordinary place with world-class programs, faculty and students who have already proved to be great partners throughout the past three years,” she said. “We are thrilled that Phil and Anne Wehrheim’s support will allow the partnership to expand and benefit both institutions.”

$1 million of the donation will be used to endow the partnership, which could include funding research projects and stipends for faculty and students to work collaboratively with museum staff. The remaining $300,000 will be used to establish and maintain exhibit space for students who worked with the partnership to highlight fruits of the collaboration.

The museum and RIT have worked together on numerous projects in recent years, and a memorandum of understanding to collaborate was signed in 2016 to “develop, promote and implement mutually-beneficial projects and activities” related to their respective missions. Students used 3-D printing to fabricate appropriately-sized hands for mannequins, worked with Amelia Hugill-Fontanel, assistant curator in the Cary Collection, to dismantle and move the museum’s 19^th-century printing press and developed streetscapes of the historic Corn Hill neighborhood of Rochester.

Over the past three years, more than a dozen RIT students have served as interns at the museum, working in the curatorial, marketing and gallery departments.

 “This partnership provides students and faculty from across the university with an incredible opportunity to combine theory and practice in a meaningful way through multidisciplinary projects,” said Juilee Decker, associate professor of museum studies and chair of the RIT-GCV&M Partnership Steering Committee.

Since the museum partnership began three years ago, faculty members also have been taking advantage of it in their classes. 

A multi-disciplinary team of engineering students this fall will work to develop a process for managing the museum’s maintenance records. The database will be helpful for documenting work done as well as for planning and budgeting future restoration.

Photography students from RIT’s College of Art and Design shoot photos there each year; a group of researchers from hospitality and tourism management in the Saunders College of Business are conducting market research on a project on authenticity and sincerity in project exhibits; and students and faculty are using technology to enhance the visitor experience during museum tours using volumetric renderings to tell stories.

Wehrheim grew up in Scottsville, a village between RIT’s Henrietta campus and Mumford, and said he’s always been “a bit of a history buff,” thanks, in part, to his mother, who sold antiques and gave him an appreciation of fine artwork and glass.

He was close friends with Stuart Bolger, the founding director of the museum, and served on its board of trustees for more than 15 years, supporting projects including bringing buildings to the museum property. He was chair of the board when the museum started to discuss a partnership with RIT and was instrumental in bringing it to fruition.

“I love the place. It’s great,” Wehrheim said. “The people there have been wonderful.”

While a student at RIT, he credits his experiential learning – at the time, called “work block” – to help him succeed in school. RIT’s co-op program continues today, as one of the oldest and largest in the nation.

“You schooled for about a three-month period and worked for a three-month period,” he said. “As a young guy, I was very impressed with how well it worked. I was a very practical learner and didn’t like sitting in a classroom. I liked hands-on learning. So, I sing the praises of the school for that reason, and this partnership continues that tradition of learning.”

For more information, contact Greg Livadas at 585-475-6217 or Greg.Livadas@rit.edu.

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Genesee Country Village & Museum is the largest living history museum in New York and the third largest in the country. The museum, with its 19^th-century historic village, John L. Wehle Gallery, vintage baseball park and nature center, is located in Mumford, 20 miles southwest of Rochester and 45 miles east of Buffalo. Visit www.gcv.org for more information.

Rochester Institute of Technology is home to leading creators, entrepreneurs, innovators and researchers. Founded in 1829, RIT enrolls about 19,000 students in more than 200 career-oriented and professional programs, making it among the largest private universities in the U.S.

The university is internationally recognized and ranked for academic leadership in business, computing, engineering, imaging science, liberal arts, sustainability, and fine and applied arts. RIT also offers unparalleled support services for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. The cooperative education program is one of the oldest and largest in the nation. Global partnerships include campuses in China, Croatia, Dubai and Kosovo. 

For news, photos and videos, go to www.rit.edu/news.

To follow RIT on social media, go to www.rit.edu/socialmedia.