Press

On June 30th the New York State Museum will open a new exhibition that highlights the current research of museum scientists and historians.

The exhibition will be near the entrance to Adirondack Hall in the Research and Collections Gallery, which will be dedicated to rotating exhibitions featuring research work conducted at the museum.

One portion of the new exhibition showcases artifacts and documentation of the archeological excavation of the former Ballston Village, the original seat of Saratoga County between 1796 and 1816. Visitors also will be able to use a computer interactive to peer into the lives of 18th century Albanians researched through the museum's Colonial Albany Social History Project. There also will be a display on Molecular Phylogenetics which will, among other things, show how DNA is extracted from insects. The exhibition also will feature a new geological map for the west-central region of the Adirondacks and research posters.

The Ballston archaeology district excavation was undertaken under the direction of Christina Rieth, who was recently appointed New York State archaeologist. The district was identified by archaeologists prior to the renovation of Middle Line Road in the town of Ballston through the Cultural Resource Survey Program (CRSP), an applied research program of the Museum, which assists state and federal agencies with their historic preservation mandates. A survey in 1997 identified 14 archaeological sites including the county courthouse, tavern, store, print shop, jail, blacksmith shop and several residences. An extensive excavation in 1999 found eating utensils, architectural remains, bottle fragments and items associated with the courthouse. Historic photographs, maps and newspaper articles were also used to reconstruct life in the community. These items will be on display. Ballston Village reverted back to a farm community after a fire destroyed the courthouse in 1816 and it was relocated to Ballston Spa. Local businesses and homeowners soon followed.

Stefan Bielinski, a community historian at the Museum, founded the Colonial Albany Social History Project in 1981. He has worked with a diverse group of students, descendents, community members and professional historians in a cooperative research program dedicated to understanding early American community life as it existed in Albany before 1800. Today, the project lives in a database of over 16,000 people which museum visitors will be able to access via the computer interactive in the new gallery. More information can be found on a website at www.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/welcome.html.

Another portion of the new exhibition showcases modern evolutionary research being conducted at the
Museum, highlighting the research of Jason Cryan, a molecular phylogeneticist and entomologist. Dr. Cryan uses
comparative DNA sequences to determine evolutionary relationships among groups of insects. His research deals
primarily with plant-feeding insects from around the world, many of which are destructive to agricultural crops, yet whose evolutionary histories are essentially unknown. Phylogenetics is an important science because knowledge of a group's evolutionary history is necessary to interpret the geographic distribution, behavior, life history, and ecology of that specific group.

Also on display are selected posters shown by the Museum's scientists at recent conferences. These include posters presenting the results of research on toxic molds, believed to cause health problems, and on Kimberlites, rare rocks formed from very hot liquid generated deep in the earth. Another poster focuses on Bentonites, ancient volcanic ash layers from around 400 million years ago, their preservation in sedimentary rocks, and what they tell us about volcanism in the eastern United States during the Devonian Period. The Fulton Chain-of-Lakes Geology map illustrates the bedrock geology of the west-central region in the Adirondack State Park near Old Forge.

The State Museum, a cultural program of the New York State Department of Education, was founded on a tradition of scientific inquiry. Started in 1836, the museum has the longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey in the United States. The museum is located on Madison Avenue in Albany. Further information is available by calling 474-5877 or visiting the museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.