In 1895, a certain prominent city leader thought that it was important to create a place where the people of Pittsburgh, the “wage-earners”, could go and learn more about their world. A place where people could expand their horizons, see the masterworks of art and sculpture, and learn about parts of the world they would never be able to visit. We are immeasurably lucky to have this institution in our city and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History deserves continued patronage by visitors and locals alike for its long history and invaluable collections.
But I would like to make an argument here that the Carnegie Museum deserves our visits for a very personal reason – I fell in love there……with history (I am such a geek).
I visited the Carnegie like most kids who grow up in Pittsburgh do, during school trips and with family. I was always struck upon entering the Hall of Architecture; I felt transported to Europe and I got to see a replica of my favorite sculpture – the Nike of Samothrace. I simply can’t image the skill it took to make stone look like it’s flowing, like the wind is rippling through layers of cloth. It is amazing and I love visiting the full-sized replica, someday I hope to visit the real thing at the Louvre.
In high school, as a budding archaeologist, I participated in several classes at the museum, and later I even worked there for a time. Our classes were held on Mondays, so we had the relatively rare opportunity to wander through the museum while it was closed. My classmates and I would race through the old Dinosaur Hall and North American Wildlife exhibits in the dark, and almost got locked inside the Egypt Hall once. (I hope the Carnegie staff can forgive these minor transgressions, I swear we didn’t touch anything….nothing important, anyway.)
As with any relationship, the more time we spent together the more I got to know the museum and, as a child and young adult, the Carnegie held a very dear place in my heart. My time there was a large part of why I grew up to love history and archaeology and learning about other cultures. It felt like we had something special - the Carnegie Museum was MY museum.
But sadly, as happens with all young love, people change and grow up and get facelifts. Today’s Carnegie houses a large renovation of the Dinosaur Hall (you may have heard about this). Gone is the incorrectly aligned T. Rex who reared up at you as you entered his domain and stood before his (also incorrect) mural. The Dinosaur Hall is now state-of-the-art, with engaging learning portals and views of paleontologists working in their lab. Other areas of the museum are undergoing similar updates and facelifts. Gone, the old Victorian-style exhibits in the North American Wildlife Hall. (I can report however that the hall on the 3rd floor still retains its old attic charm if you’re able to find it).
Although I have twinges of nostalgia walking through these new halls, I can learn to live with these changes and find the new beauty, even if it’s not quite as magical as the original (at least in my mind, anyway). But here’s my point….the Carnegie of my childhood may be changed, I may never have that attachment to these new halls that I do to the old versions, but that’s ok.
As a child I had the opportunity to connect with, explore, and engage with life on this planet from the earliest dinosaurs to the cultures of today, all right here in my own city. I encourage everyone to make time to visit the Museum, so that the opportunities I had are still around for kids today and into the future. Let them discover and learn and fall in love with this new Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Let it become the museum of their hearts, when they think of those special places from when they were young. Whatever they grow up to do, the Carnegie allows kids (and all of us, really) to expand their horizons, and imagine amazing things, and most of all, to make that learning personal - a part of their own history.
But I would like to make an argument here that the Carnegie Museum deserves our visits for a very personal reason – I fell in love there……with history (I am such a geek).
I visited the Carnegie like most kids who grow up in Pittsburgh do, during school trips and with family. I was always struck upon entering the Hall of Architecture; I felt transported to Europe and I got to see a replica of my favorite sculpture – the Nike of Samothrace. I simply can’t image the skill it took to make stone look like it’s flowing, like the wind is rippling through layers of cloth. It is amazing and I love visiting the full-sized replica, someday I hope to visit the real thing at the Louvre.
In high school, as a budding archaeologist, I participated in several classes at the museum, and later I even worked there for a time. Our classes were held on Mondays, so we had the relatively rare opportunity to wander through the museum while it was closed. My classmates and I would race through the old Dinosaur Hall and North American Wildlife exhibits in the dark, and almost got locked inside the Egypt Hall once. (I hope the Carnegie staff can forgive these minor transgressions, I swear we didn’t touch anything….nothing important, anyway.)
As with any relationship, the more time we spent together the more I got to know the museum and, as a child and young adult, the Carnegie held a very dear place in my heart. My time there was a large part of why I grew up to love history and archaeology and learning about other cultures. It felt like we had something special - the Carnegie Museum was MY museum.
But sadly, as happens with all young love, people change and grow up and get facelifts. Today’s Carnegie houses a large renovation of the Dinosaur Hall (you may have heard about this). Gone is the incorrectly aligned T. Rex who reared up at you as you entered his domain and stood before his (also incorrect) mural. The Dinosaur Hall is now state-of-the-art, with engaging learning portals and views of paleontologists working in their lab. Other areas of the museum are undergoing similar updates and facelifts. Gone, the old Victorian-style exhibits in the North American Wildlife Hall. (I can report however that the hall on the 3rd floor still retains its old attic charm if you’re able to find it).
Although I have twinges of nostalgia walking through these new halls, I can learn to live with these changes and find the new beauty, even if it’s not quite as magical as the original (at least in my mind, anyway). But here’s my point….the Carnegie of my childhood may be changed, I may never have that attachment to these new halls that I do to the old versions, but that’s ok.
As a child I had the opportunity to connect with, explore, and engage with life on this planet from the earliest dinosaurs to the cultures of today, all right here in my own city. I encourage everyone to make time to visit the Museum, so that the opportunities I had are still around for kids today and into the future. Let them discover and learn and fall in love with this new Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Let it become the museum of their hearts, when they think of those special places from when they were young. Whatever they grow up to do, the Carnegie allows kids (and all of us, really) to expand their horizons, and imagine amazing things, and most of all, to make that learning personal - a part of their own history.
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