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Dickenson West Gallery
Whether they arrived hundreds of years ago or just last Tuesday, immigrants have always uprooted themselves for similar reasons. War, poverty, ethnic and religious persecution, and political oppression drive people from their old homes, dreams of peace, prosperity, security and freedom draw them elsewhere. Even when people flee on a moment's notice to save their lives, the decision to go is never simple. Immigrants leave behind a world where people, buildings, landscapes, language and culture are as familiar as the face in the mirror. Arriving here, they must quickly find a way to earn a living, often while wrestling with a language of their own. If they come from another country, they must adjust to a manner of life that is quite different from the America they knew through the distorted lens of the TV screen. They might face discrimination or suspicion from people who were here before them. They must wrestle with the age-old dilemma of immigration - how to gain the good this country has to offer without losing the riches of their native culture. Even if you have lived here all your life, you also know what it is like to leave familiar surroundings for new, sometimes frightening, adventures. If you have ever quit the playpen for the schoolyard - if you have ever learned to walk or read, or stand up to a bully, or play on a team, you will find something very much like your own life in the stories of this diverse group of neighbors. Voices & Visions highlights the life stories of local residents through narratives, photos, artifacts and folk-art. Portions of the gallery provide participatory activities and interactives that explore concepts of acceptance and respect. A small theater stocked with puppets allows children to act out ways to deal with name calling and bullying. In the "Goodbye to Bad Names" corner, children are invited to write down a hurtful or unkind name they have heard or have been called and trash it for good by feeding it through the paper shredder. Edwin A. Link was an explored and experimenter all his life. His greatest contribution to aviation - the development of ground based flight training - made it possible to train large numbers of pilots safely and efficiently. Like other aviators of his day, Link helped to make the romance of flight a practical possibility for nearly everyone. This relationship between the romance and the practicality of flight is explored in the exhibition "Edwin A. Link and the Air Age" at the Roberson Science Center. The exhibition includes examples of pilots' clothing, early aircraft instruments, large scale model aircrafts, World War II posters and artifacts, and film footage from the Binghamton region in the nineteen twenties, thirties, and forties. It also includes interactive stations and games. The centerpiece of the exhibition is a recreation of a World War II era Link Trainer classroom, including an early Link instrument trainer - the Blue Box. Finally the exhibition challenges the visitor to examine his or her own relationship with the airplane, and with other forms of technology.
Community Transformed:
Whether it be the community of our family, our community at work, or our community as a city, we have gone through some amazing transitions which have affected us as individuals and as a whole. Objects in this collection act as keys to the past, unlocking doors of history so we may have a better understanding of who we are. It allows us to experience the change in history and consequently the transformation in our personal lives. The Local History Gallery is set up like a timeline, allowing visitors walking through to experience different stages in our development. Each era is color coded to help define it. Hunter to Farmer: (green) Clash of Cultures: (orange) Society, of Farmers, Artisans and Merchants:
(tan) Industrial Revelation: (red) The Big Change: (blue) Explore our past by viewing the displays in this gallery.
Wurts Gallery, 2nd floor In 1779, George Washington, Commander in Chief of the Colonial Army, ordered Generals John Sullivan and James Clinton to invade Iroquois territory in New York State. Although it saw only one pitched battle the Battle of Newtown near Elmira this scorched-earth campaign against Native American villages and crops led to the Iroquois Confederacys decline in power and the loss of the lands of the Six Nations.
Lee J. Loomis Wildlife Collection This Little Critters
exhibit features "downy young" birds from the Loomis collection
of approximately 4,000 specimens. Also on exhibit are very young
mammals including deer, cougar, skunk, woodchuck and an adult
pygmy shrew. |
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ROBERSON MUSEUM AND
SCIENCE CENTER |
| 30 Front Street, Binghamton,
New York 13905 SITE DESIGN & PROGRAMMING BY
CYBERCity |