The Barnum Museum begins its line-up of Fall programs on Sunday, October 9th at 2 pm with an illustrated talk, From the Ends of the Earth: Yale’s Peabody Museum and 150 Years of Exploration, Discovery, and Education. The program will be presented by Dr. Richard Kissel, Director of Public Programs at Yale University’s Peabody Museum of Natural History in New Haven, Connecticut. That museum’s current exhibition celebrates the 150th anniversary of the institution. “Treasures of the Peabody: 150 Years of Exploration & Discovery” features 150 artifacts and specimens from the museum’s collections along with stories about the scientists and researchers who have shaped people’s understanding of life on Earth. More than mere curios, these objects represent key cornerstones in our understanding of the natural world. Dr. Kissel will bring these fascinating stories to life as he talks about the parade of personalities that have been part of the Peabody’s history–including Buffalo Bill and our own P.T. Barnum!
Don’t miss the opportunity to hear the amazing stories behind the acquisition of key artifacts such as the dog-sized dinosaur fossil found in Connecticut; a specimen collected by Charles Darwin on the voyage of the HMS Beagle; the first T. rex fossil ever discovered; Gargantua the gorilla; and much more. Dr. Kissel will also discuss the connection between O. C. Marsh, a nineteenth-century American paleontologist whose enormous collection was given to Yale in 1889, and P. T. Barnum, who was an avid collector of natural history specimens for his own museums.
Dr. Kissel is a paleontologist, science educator, and author with more than 20 years of experience within the museum field. He is also a featured scientist online at NOVA’s scienceNOW and the National Park Service’s National Fossil Day site, and a faculty member for the online Museum Studies Graduate Program at Johns Hopkins University.
The program will begin at 2 pm. It is free to members, and there is a suggested donation of $5 per person for others. The talk will be held in the People’s United Bank Gallery, located behind the historic Barnum Museum building at 820 Main Street, Bridgeport, CT. On-street parking is free on Sundays. Visit www.barnum-museum.org for more information or call (203) 331-1104 during business hours Monday through Friday.
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