News Articles

Objects from the NYSM Shaker Collection

From the Collections: Shakers and the New York State Museum 

Published January 17, 2024 | Social History

2024 marks the 250th anniversary of the Shakers coming to colonial America. The Shakers were a small sect of Quakers that started in Manchester, England in 1747. They were formally known as the United Society of Believers in Christ’s First and Second Appearing. Because of the zealous fervor...

Devonian of New York

New Publication on the Devonian Features Significant Contributions from NYSM Geologist

Published December 11, 2023 | Devonian Geology

 

The Devonian Period occurred between 419.2 million and 358.9 million years ago. Devonian-age rocks in New York State have been utilized by geologists, paleontologists, and educators to study the development of life, understand geological processes, and teach about the history of the...

Spiller Newspaper Weight Collection

Spiller Newspaper Paperweight Collection

Published December 7, 2023 | Cultural History

Mortimer Spiller was born in 1922 to Russian immigrants who settled in LeRoy, New York. Spiller’s college training in business and advertising was interrupted by service in World War II. After the war, he was eager to complete his education and put his degree into practice. In 1947, while...

Daniel Huntington (1816–1906) The Atlantic Cable Projectors, 1895

The Atlantic Cable Projectors (1895) returns to the New York State Museum

Published December 5, 2023 | Cultural History

Daniel Huntington (1816–1906)
The Atlantic Cable Projectors, 1895...

NYSM Logo

NYSM's State Survey Geologists join federal partners in collaborative Aerial Mapping Project in Northwestern, New York 

Published September 29, 2023 | Geologic Mapping

Geologists within the New York State Museum have been conducting geological mapping in partnership with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) for 40 years. This long-standing collaboration has helped the State Museum study and map the distribution of rocks and sediments across New York’s...

Archaeologists at work on a terrace above the Hudson River.

Indigenous Activity in the Hudson Highlands

Published August 1, 2023 | CRSP

Archaeologists from the NYSM’s Cultural Resource Survey Program kicked off this year’s field season with a survey in the Hudson Highlands in an area overlooking the Hudson River not far from Manitou Mountain. This is within the traditional homeland of the Muh-he-con­neok, the People of the...

NYSM Bald Eagle

The NYSM's Bald Eagle

Published July 3, 2023 | Ornithology

Happy Fourth of July from the NYSM! This bald eagle, currently on display in Birds of New York Hall, is one of the oldest specimens from our collections and even pre-dates the discovery of the Cohoes Mastodon by sixteen years! The specimen, an adult male, was part of the personal collection of H...

an iconic 1970s Yankee Boss and a stunning custom chopper crafted by Fabro Industries

Iconic New York Motorcycles on Display!

Published June 30, 2023 | Exhibitions

July 1 through December 3, 2023   |   NYSM Lobby

Join the New York State Museum in celebrating the release of the second edition of The Motorcycle Industry In New York State: A Concise Encyclopedia of Inventors, Builders, and Manufacturers. Delve into the extraordinary 120-year...

Juneteenth Across New York State

Celebrating Juneteenth in New York

Published June 12, 2023 | History

Although slavery in New York State was abolished on July 4, 1827, the institution of slavery in the United States did not officially come to an end for another thirty-eight years. On June 19, 1865, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation and two months after the end of the Civil...

NYSM crew and volunteers sifting in late August 2019

NYSM Bioarchaeology Staff Study Remains of Revolutionary War Soldiers

Published May 11, 2023 | Bioarchaeology

In 2019, bones dating back to the late 18th century were uncovered at a Lake George Village construction site. For the past four years, NYSM bioarchaeology staff Lisa Anderson, Julie Weatherwax, and Alexandra DeCarlo have been working together with the DEC to learn more about the remains to help...

National Endowment for the Humanities Logo

NEH Announces $35.63 Million for 258 Humanities Projects Nationwide

Published April 19, 2023 | History State History

This article originally appeared on the National Endowment for the Humanities website.

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) today announced $35.63 million in grants for ...

Cowrie Shells Moneta (left), Annulus (center), and a Reticulated Cowrie Helmet (right) from the NYSM Historical Archaeology Collection.

Reticulated Cowrie Helmet Shells: A Small Reminder of the Link between New York and the Caribbean

Published February 23, 2023 | Historical Archaeology

Billions of Moneta and Annulus cowries from the Indian Ocean were traded for enslaved people along the west coast of Africa from the 15th through 19th centuries. Much larger reticulated cowrie helmets, native to the warm waters of the Caribbean, were not traded for enslaved...

Madam C.J. Walker’s Glossine hair paste and an advertisement (NYSM Collection H-2010.45.30-31)

From the Collections: Madam C.J. Walker’s Glossine Hair Paste and Advertisement

Published February 22, 2023 | Social History

Madam C. J. Walker (1867–1919) was a successful entrepreneur, businesswoman, philanthropist, and social and political activist during a time when both African Americans and women were not common in the world of business. In 1906, she started her own hair product business specifically for African...

Women Who Lead

From the Collections: Women Who Lead

Published February 22, 2023 | Exhibitions

On view in New York Metropolis Hall 

The State Museum’s collections represent the diverse achievements of women across New York. This new exhibit feature brings together objects and artworks that highlight the contributions of women. Audiences will see State Paleontologist Winifred...

Silver spoon from the Powell Farmstead with Hannah Elizabeth Powell’s (nee Kilbourne) initials.

African American Farmers in the Upper Hudson Valley, 1820–1880

Published February 7, 2023 | Historical Archaeology

Agriculture has been central to the cultural history of the Hudson River Valley from the first indigenous farmers to 17th-century Dutch farms, and finally through the development of modern mechanized farming during the 19th century. Regrettably, the role of free African American farmers in the...

Bowfin species: A&B - Amia calva from South Carolina, C - A. ocellicauda from Ontario.

Science Tuesday: "Living Fossils!"

Published December 12, 2022 | Ichthyology

Bowfin fishes are recognized as evolutionary relicts or ‘living fossils’ that historically were distributed worldwide, going back almost 150 million years and living alongside dinosaurs. These fishes retain many of the morphological traits of their fossil ancestors and are found only in the...

DNA Research in Ornithology at the NYSM

Science Tuesday: DNA Research in Ornithology

Published December 12, 2022 | Ornithology

Museum specimens are important sources of DNA, used by researchers to discover the evolutionary relationships among species. NYSM zoology curators save small samples of muscle and other tissues from the specimens they prepare for our collections. The tissue samples from fish, bird, and mammal...

Projectile Points from the McVaugh Collection

The McVaugh Donation: Important Collections Come in Small Packages

Published November 28, 2022 | Native American Archaeology

Over the years, the NYSM has received donations of very large archaeological collections numbering hundreds of thousands of specimens—but small collections can also be important. One such donation, modest in size but rich in content, was made to the NYSM in 2019 by the McVaugh family.

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Erie Canal, double locks in Rexford, NY

Transporting Grains on the Erie Canal

Published October 25, 2022 | Economic History

On October 26, 1825, the Erie Canal officially opened from Albany to Buffalo. The canal was an immediate success: shipping costs plummeted, and new services and goods became widely available. Cheap, reliable transportation opened new markets to farmers and businessmen, creating a commercial...

Singer industrial sewing machine, ca. 1972, collection of the NYSM.

New Acquisition: Singer Industrial Sewing Machine, ca. 1972

Published September 14, 2022 | Social History

One sewing machine, two stories:

Some artifacts in our collection hold the stories of multiple individuals. This ca. 1972 Singer industrial sewing machine, recently donated to the NYSM, belonged to Tsui Ping Chu, an immigrant from Hong Kong. Chu used it in her home to sew clothing for her...

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