News
October 5, 2018October & November Events at the State Museum
“What a pest!”: The Spotted Lanternfly in the United States, Research and Management Responses since 2014
Thursday, October 11 | Noon–1pm
Spotted Lanternfly (SLF) is an invasive pest first detected in the U.S. in Pennsylvania in 2014. SLF is native to China and feeds on more than 65 plant species and has emerged as a pest of critical importance to multiple crops including tree fruit, grapes, hops, ornamentals, and many softwood and hardwood tree species. Dr. Julie Urban has been involved in efforts to control this insect from 2014 to today and is serving as a scientific advisor to USDA-Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in its national response plan to control SLF. Dr. Urban will provide an overview of the current status of SLF in the Northeastern U.S. and an update on its impacts, research, and management.
Halloween Spooktacular
Sunday, October 28 | Noon–3 pm
Join the New York State Museum for the new Halloween Spooktacular filled with tricks and treats for everyone! This event will feature crafts, games, dancing, story-telling, and spooky science. Costumes are encouraged—we will have a children’s costume parade at 3pm. Come out for a spooktacular time!
Walls of the Museum: Rocks and Fossils Older than the Dinosaurs
Wednesday, October 31 | 12 pm
The natural material used to create the exterior walls of the Museum are filled with 365-million-year-old fossils and Llenroc stone. This traditional building stone illuminates New York State’s ancient history. Join State Paleontologist Emeritus Dr. Ed Landing for an educational tour of the outside walls of the Cultural Education Center building.
The Return of Cornplanter’s Pipe Tomahawk
Sunday, November 4 | 1 pm
In 1792 a beautiful pipe tomahawk was gifted to the great Seneca leader Cornplanter by George Washington and became part of the NYS Museum collections in 1850. For nearly 70 years, this tomahawk was in the hands of private collectors, having been stolen from the State Museum between 1947 and 1950. Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous collector, the pipe tomahawk returned to Museum in June 2018. Come learn about the remarkable history of this pipe tomahawk, Cornplanter, and the beginnings of the Museum’s ethnology collections with Dr. Gwendolyn Saul, Museum curator of ethnography.
Remembering New York’s Colonial Past through Archaeology, History, and Art | Presentation and Panel Discussion
Sunday, November 11 | 2–4 pm
Archaeological excavations of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century sites in New York have explored the conflict, struggles, and negotiation between indigenous peoples and waves of Europeans from the Netherlands, Germany, France, England, and elsewhere. Interpreting this complex layering of cultural encounters is difficult. Archaeological and historical research using fieldwork and existing collections continues to provide new insights into New York’s past. New research can challenge our assumptions about the past and show how the collective memory is constantly changing.
The Museum is honored to host William Starna, professor emeritus of anthropology at SUNY Oneonta; Paul Huey, retired senior archeologist at the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation; and Albany artist Len Tantillo, who will each provide a perspective on how New York’s colonial past has been studied, interpreted, and remembered.
Thanksgiving with Tom the Turkey
Saturday, November 24 | 11am–2pm
Join us to celebrate Thanksgiving with Tom the Turkey and his friends! Enjoy fun crafts, games, storytelling, and much more with your favorite animals found in New York State.
