March is Women’s History Month

On Sunday, March 10, 2024, join us for Women’s History Month Family History Day at the Museum. This event for all ages is an opportunity to celebrate the dynamic role women play in making New York history. Enjoy hands-on history, curator-led exhibit tours, and a short-film series, Change-Makers Along the Women’s Rights Corridor, presented by 1st Amendment-1st Vote, Inc.

Women’s History Month aims to highlight the achievements and contributions of women in history—in the arts, sciences, politics, athletics, and other fields. Begun as a local movement by teachers in California to celebrate “Women’s History Week,” National Women’s History Week was first recognized by President Jimmy Carter in 1980. In 1987, Congress passed Public Law 100-9 establishing March as Women’s History Month. 

In recognition of Women’s History Month, the State Museum is commemorating the important role women play in the history of our state, the research of female scientists, and the inspired creativity of female artists. Learn more about these significant contributions by exploring the following educational resources and programs for classroom teachers, educators, and the public from our collections, exhibits, and research. 
 

NYSM Exhibitions and Programs

Women of Science Logo

Women of Science

Learn about current and past NYSM scientists and their research through online presentations.

Women Who Lead

From the Collection: Women Who Lead

On view in New York Metropolis Hall

This exhibit feature highlights some of these items from our collections and proudly presents our newest acquisition, the Women’s Rights Pioneers Monument 1/3-scale model by Meredith Bergmann.

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Women's History Month Online CTLE Credit for Educators

Explore the 360 Gallery Tour of the NYSM's exhibition, Votes For Women: Celebrating New York’s Suffrage Centennial, and earn 1 credit hour of Continuing Teacher and Leader Education (CTLE). Learn about the history of the suffrage movement in New York State through artifacts on display and highlighted women who led this equal rights movement. Participants must complete the online form linked below the video to receive credit. 

Women’s History Month Collections Tour

Women's Suffrage in New York

Monumental Women and the Creation of the Women’s Rights Pioneers Monument

Learn about the groundbreaking monument, Women’s Rights Pioneers, the first statue of real women in Central Park, NYC. Made possible through the work of Monumental Women, the monument depicts three historic women’s rights leaders—Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Sojourner Truth—all hailing from New York State.
Teachers: Earn CTLE (1 credit hour) by watching the video and completing the Online CTLE form for the Women's Rights Pioneers Monument

Donation Ceremony of the Women’s Rights Pioneers Monument

Votes for Women Online

Votes for Women: Celebrating New York’s Suffrage Centennial

This online web feature honors the centennial of women’s suffrage in New York State and raises awareness of the struggle for equal rights up through the present day. View biographies of New York women notable for their contributions to women's rights and discover resources related to the Votes for Women exhibition.

Explore the Votes for Women Online Feature:
http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/votes-for-women

View/Download Educator's Guide and Graphic Organizer (PDF):
http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/sites/nysm/default/votes-for-women-educator-guide_0.pdf

Suffrage Comic by Emily Ree

Suffrage Comic by Emily Ree (PDF)

In this comic, four fictional New York girls explore four events in history when New York women fought for their rights: the 1848 Seneca Falls convention, the 1915 New York State suffrage campaign, the 1977 New York State Women’s Meeting, and the 2016 Women’s March. These stories were written to inspire empathy and help students understand what it might have been like to witness and take part in these events.

Women's Suffrage Videos from the NYSM

New York Women in the Arts & Sciences

Winifred Goldring, portrait

Winifred Goldring, Pioneering NYSM Scientist and State Paleontologist

Discover more about the world's first woman State Paleontologist and the significant contributions she made to the fields of geology, paleontology, and paleobotany throughout her 40-year career at the New York State Museum.

Berenice Abbott: Changing New York

Berenice Abbott: Changing New York

Berenice Abbott (1898-1991), was an American photographer best known for her photographic documentation of New York City as the city grew and transformed throughout the 1930s-1940s. Working for the Federal Art Project, Abbott created “Changing New York,” one of the monumental achievements of 20th-century photography.

View the Online Feature:
http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/berenice-abbott-changing-new-york

View/Download Family Guide (PDF):
http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/sites/default/files/
berenice_abbot-educators-guide_a.pdf

Handkerchief by Marion Weeber, 1937

New Acquisition: Souvenir Handkerchief Designed by Marion Weeber

Learn more about this vibrant screen-printed handkerchief designed by a trailblazing female graphic and industrial artist.

Arts & Sciences Videos from the NYSM

Women's History Month 2023

Notable Women in New York History

Discover more about influential women with ties to New York State and how their efforts to elevate the status of women continue to make an impact in New York and throughout the world.

Jennifer Lemak, NYSM Chief Curator of History

NYSM Research & Publications from NYSM Chief Curator of History, Jennifer Lemak

Discover more about Dr. Lemak's ongoing research projects, including a list of her publications.

Unveiled: Wedding Wear in 19th-century New York Virtual Tour

NYSM Coloring Page: Mary Walker

Dr. Mary Walker Coloring Activity (PDF)

Discover fun facts about Dr. Mary Walker, the first (and only) female recipient of the Medal of Honor, through this fun coloring activity for kids!

Additional Resources from the Office of Cultural Education

Women's History Month Events Across NY

2024 Women's History Month Statewide Events

Look no further than the Office of the State Historian for a comprehensive list of Women’s History Month events taking place in person and virtually at museums and historical societies across New York State!

New York State Archives Logo

New York State Archives

For Women’s History Month, access hundreds of ready-to-use primary sources and standards-aligned, teacher-created learning activities on ConsidertheSourceNY.org. Historical records spanning from the Dutch colonial period through the preset day offer students an opportunity to practice their document-analysis skills and discover the role of women in New York State history.
https://considerthesourceny.org/featured-collections/womens-history-mont...
 

New York State Library Logo

New York State Library

Fearless Women: Feminist Patriots from Abigail Adams to Beyoncé (webinar) with Dr. Elizabeth Cobbs
Tuesday, March 5, 2024
https://nyslibrary.libcal.com/event/11671111
 
Eleanor Roosevelt After 1945 (webinar) with Sandra Opdycke
Wednesday, March 20, 2024 
https://nyslibrary.libcal.com/event/11493533
 
Celebrating the 19th Amendment: Women’s Suffrage and Anti-Suffrage Documents for Educators (CTLE webinar) with Senior Librarian Marisa Gitto
Monday, March 25, 2024
https://nyslibrary.libcal.com/event/12020602
 

PBS Logo

PBS

Free multimedia resources ready to use in the classroom! This folder features videos, lesson plans, media galleries, and more, all focused around women’s history and culture. All resources are educator-created and standards-aligned from PBS stations.
https://ny.pbslearningmedia.org/shared/1165858/6239486/

A New York Minute in History Podcast

New York Minute in History

Grace Leach Hudowalski: Champion of and for the Adirondack Mountains

In celebration of Women’s History Month, this episode tells the story of Grace Leach Hudowalski, the first woman to summit all 46 of the Adirondack High Peaks. She was also the first president of the Adirondack 46ers Club as well as its historian for over 50 years. 

New York Minute in History

The Persistence of Dr. Mary Walker

Discover the story of Dr. Mary Walker: physician, heroine of the Civil War, and the only woman in history ever to be awarded the Medal of Honor. Born to progressive parents in western New York, Walker would defy the odds to become a surgeon, spy for the Union Army during the Civil War, and go toe-to-toe with prominent suffragists Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Walker is buried in the Oswego Rural Cemetery.

New York History Minute

The Women’s Rights Movement: From Seneca Falls To Today

Explore the Women's Rights Movement’s progress through the lineage of Coline Jenkins, the great-great granddaughter of suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Jenkins, a women’s rights activist in her own right, has a family tree that touched nearly every major women’s rights milestone in the 19th century and beyond.

New York History Minute

Audrey Munson: America’s First Supermodel

Born in upstate New York, Munson was one of the most famous models of the Gilded Age, and posed for the top American artists in the Beaux Arts movement. Sculptures based on Munson dot the landscape of New York City, and are held in museums around the country. Listen in to learn more about Munson's glamorous life before it took a tragic turn by the age of 40.

New York Minute in History

Georgia O’Keeffe and Her Visit to Wiawaka

Listen in to the latest A New York Minute in History podcast to discover Georgia O’Keeffe's connection to Wiawaka, a women's retreat in Troy, NY, and how the experience may have influenced her work.

A New York Minute in History

Margaret Hastings, the “Shangri-La WAC”

In honor of Women’s History Month, the latest podcast the story of Corporal Margaret Hastings, a member of the Women’s Army Corps who survived 47 days in a New Guinea jungle during World War II.