Make a world of difference with gifts, books and toys that celebrate world cultures and natural history. Discover exotic jewelry, fair trade crafts and fun accessories. A new line-up of educational toys encourage social interaction, creative growth and reflection. All proceeds benefit the MSU Museum.

Check out more here:

http://museum.msu.edu/GeneralInformation/MuseumStore/

see "holiday shopping"

More Museum Store:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/msumstore

Twitter: http://twitter.com/MSUMstore

The steam tunnel under West Circle Drive from approximately the MSU Library to the Music Building requires emergency shoring. In order to perform the required repairs, the following road closures are planned:

• One-lane closure on Friday, Oct. 30: Starting at 5 a.m., one lane of West Circle Drive may be closed between the Library and the Music Building.
• Complete closure Saturday, Oct. 31 through Sunday, Nov. 1: Starting at 5 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31, West Circle Drive will be completely closed from just east of Kalamazoo Street to just west of the driveway to Parking Lot 11 (the Library/Olds Hall/Administration Building parking lot). Access for delivery vehicles only will be maintained to the Music Building loading dock at all times, and West Circle Drive will be open to temporary two-way traffic for access to the Library, Olds Hall and the Museum, from Auditorium Road to Parking Lot 11. See attached map highlighting this full closure.
• The roadway will reopen at 8 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 1.

What's happening: The project includes earthwork, peastone shoring, sidewalk removal/replacement, asphalt roadway removal/replacement, and steam tunnel bulkhead masonry work. During the period of construction, please use caution around construction areas and equipment.

Museum visitors for Sunday's program: http://museum.msu.edu/Exhibitions/Current/DayOfTheDead.html .
Please note Saturday night/Sunday morning at 2 a.m. also marks the end of Daylight Savings Time.

Recommended alternate parking:
Agriculture Hall surface lot, immediately east of the MSU Museum, off East Circle Drive or the Grand River Ramp 6, accessible off East Circle Drive or from Grand River Avenue, at Charles Street.

Mark Nowak is one of the most interesting poets working. He gave a rousing Our Daily Work/Our Daily Lives brown bag presentation in 2006 on his work linking Ford autoworkers in South Africa and Minnesota through the poetry they wrote in workshops he conducted in both local unions. Mark creates multi-text intersections that are full of surprise, irony, wit and outrage. He soared in his earlier collection, SHUT UP SHUT DOWN (Coffee House Press, 2004) which featured poetic explorations of deindustrialization and blacklisting. His new book, COAL MOUNTAIN ELEMENTARY (Coffee House Press, 2009) is a five text mélange. The book is comprised of reports/memoirs of Chinese mining disasters (arguably the most dangerous workplaces on the globe where scores are killed each year), memories from miners/rescuers connected to the Sago mine disaster here in the US (where 12 miners were killed in 2006 in the worst mine disaster in West Virginia in nearly 40 years), photos from both China's mines and the Sago community, and lesson plans from the American Coal Foundation's curriculum for schoolchildren.

Mark Nowak will read from the new book, COAL MOUNTAIN ELEMENTARY, on Thursday, October 22 in 105 S. Kedzie Hall at 7:30 p.m. This reading is sponsored by Our Daily Work/Our Daily Lives. (Note the special location for this presentation; programs are usually held at the MSU Museum.)

See some video from the play based on Mark's new book and hear an audio interview with Mark and others connected to the theatrical production at the website: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/blog/2009/04/conversation-poet-mark-nowak-and-director-april-daras-discuss-coal-mountain.html.

In conjunction with the book, Mark has also set up a blog which includes an up to minute reporting of mine disasters around the world, check it out at http://coalmountain.wordpress.com/.

"Our Daily Work / Our Daily Lives" is an MSU program that focuses on the artistic traditions of workers and on workplaces as contexts for the expression of workers culture. The richness and diversity of workers' experiences and workers culture is explored and presented through an ongoing series of exhibits, lectures, and presentations; writing and research projects; reunions; and demonstrations and discussions. The program was established in 1992 and is coordinated by the Michigan Traditional Arts Program at the MSU Museum and the Labor Education Program in the College of Social Science's School of Labor and Industrial Relations. In addition to a brown-bag lecture series, the MSU Museum maintains historical and contemporary artifacts symbolizing workers culture, and has conducted research and produced special exhibitions with workers culture as the central theme.

MSU Museum assistant curator of mammalogy and ornithology Pamela C. Rasmussen will be a featured guest on an Oct. 31 presentation of the national "Michael Feldman's Whad'Ya Know?" broadcast life from the MSU Concert Auditorium.

Rasmussen, an ornithologist and assistant professor of zoology at MSU, specializes in birds of South Asia and recently helped in the rediscovery of a rare Banggai crow thought to be extinct. Read more here: http://news.msu.edu/story/6958/ .

Michigan Radio and the Wharton Center are bringing the broadcast of "Michael Feldman's Whad'ya Know?" to East Lansing. The program is a fast-paced two hour comedy/quiz/interview show, currently broadcast on nearly 300 public radio stations across the United States. Learn more about the show here: http://www.notmuch.com/ .

Tickets are on sale at Wharton Center:
http://www.whartoncenter.com/boxoffice/performance.aspx?pid=893

"Michael Feldman's Whad'Ya Know?" can be heard locally at 12 noon on Saturday, Oct. 31 on WUOM 91.7 Ann Arbor/Detroit, WVGR 104.1 Grand Rapids, and WFUM-FM 91.1 Flint. WGVU Grand Rapids 88.5 also carries the show on Saturday at 11 a.m.

Honoring individuals who continue traditions with excellence is the focus of two annual programs coordinated by the Michigan State University Museum: the Michigan Heritage Awards (MHA) Program, and the Michigan Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program (MTAAP).

Nominations for 2010 awards and apprenticeships are due Monday, Nov. 30, 2009.

2010 Michigan Heritage Awards:
Since 1985, the MSU Museum's Michigan Traditional Arts Program has --through its Michigan Heritage Awards -- honored the achievements of Michigan artists for traditions in family and community. The awards recognize these traditions in the areas of performance, material culture and community leadership. Previous awardees receiving the 2009 MHA awards were: Willard Finch of Stockbridge for decorative architectural painting; Les Ross Sr. of Marquette for Finnish "lumberjack" style harmonica playing.

"The attention and honor extended to these artists through the Michigan Heritage Awards is important not only to them but to all of us who cherish the state's cultural heritage," explains LuAnne Kozma, assistant curator of folk arts at the MSU Museum and coordinator of the MHA program. "We seek nominations from all over the state so that the award program continues to reflect the great diversity of skills, ethnicities and backgrounds of Michiganders," she adds.

2010 Michigan Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program:
The Michigan Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program supports the continuation of traditional folk arts practiced in Michigan that are learned informally from one another in small groups and families -- ranging from decoy duck carving and birch bark canoe making to storytelling, mehendi (henna) art application, and regional and ethnic foodways. A master works with an apprentice artist in the same community, passing on the skills and knowledge about a particular traditional art. The Apprenticeship Program awards a stipend in support of the instruction time the master artist spends with the apprentice. "Like its natural resources, Michigan's cultural traditions are a treasured resource to be nurtured for future generations, which is why the Apprenticeship program is so successful in providing incentives to traditional artists to pursue their art and pass on these skills to others," says Kozma. "Many master and apprentice teams tell us that their apprenticeship was one of the most meaningful times of their lives, providing the opportunity and the means to pass on a living tradition to someone who will continue the tradition as well," she adds.

Because of Michigan's unique natural and physical elements, together with its incredible diversity of social, occupational, recreational, ethnic, and religious traditions, it is no wonder that the state hosts thousands of individuals and businesses who produce a wide variety of crafts, according to Kozma. Some of these crafts are unparalleled in their form, technical mastery, and creativity; some have deep meanings to the communities from which they spring; all contribute to the economy of the state.

The National Endowment for the Arts and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs fund these traditional arts programs. For information on the Michigan Heritage Award or Apprenticeship programs, contact Kozma at the MSU Museum, at (517) 353-5526. A gallery of past awardees is online at http://museum.msu.edu/s-program/mh_awards/mha.html . Heritage Award winners and MTAAP masters and apprenticeships are featured in a special exhibition at the MSU Museum, "Michigan Artists: Passing on Traditions," and are recognized at the MSU Museum's annual Great Lakes Folk Festival in East Lansing each August. Many of these tradition-bearers also demonstrate their skills and/or perform at the festival in workshops and showcases.

Nomination forms are available on line at http://www.museum.msu.edu/s-program/mtap/Programs&Services .

The MSU Museum's Michigan Traditional Arts Program promotes cross-cultural understanding in a diverse society through documentation, preservation and presentation of the state's folk arts and folk life. The MSU Museum is located on West Circle Drive, next to Beaumont Tower on the Michigan State University campus in East Lansing, and is the state's first Smithsonian Institution affiliate. One of the oldest museums in the Midwest, the MSU Museum recently marked 150 years of discovery.

Known to science only by two specimens described in 1900, a critically endangered crow has re-emerged from hiding on a remote, mountainous Indonesian island thanks in part to a Michigan State University scientist.

The Banggai crow was believed by many to be extinct until Indonesian biologists finally secured two new specimens on Peleng Island in 2007. Pamela Rasmussen, a Michigan State University assistant professor of zoology and renowned species sleuth, provided conclusive verification.

An ornithologist who specializes on the birds of southern Asia, Rasmussen studied the two century-old specimens known as Corvus unicolor in New York's American Museum of Natural History. She compared them to the new crow specimens in Indonesia's national museum, to lay to rest lingering speculation that they were merely a subspecies of a different crow. The more common slender-billed crow, Corvus enca, also is found in the Banggai Islands, and likewise is all black.

"The morphometric analysis I did shows that all four unicolor specimens are very similar to each other, and distinctly different from enca specimens. We also showed that the two taxa differ in eye color -- an important feature in Corvus -- as well," Rasmussen said. "Not only did this confirm the identity of the new specimens but also the specific distinctness of Corvus unicolor, which has also long been in doubt."

The rediscovery was spearheaded by professor Mochamad Indrawan of the University of Indonesia, chair of the Indonesian Ornithologists' Union, who conducted ecological field studies. He was assisted by collaborator Yunus Masala and by the Celebes Bird Club, members of which secured the new specimens that are now cataloged at the Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense in Java.

Before Indrawan and collaborators could publish their findings confirming the crow's identity, other birdwatchers in the mountains of Peleng photographed and recorded Banggai crows, which Rasmussen said confirms the distinctiveness of the species.

Indrawan and Masala now have turned their efforts toward protecting the rare species, which is hunted by local residents. That includes making recommendations for protection of its forest habitat through sustainable agriculture methods and, perhaps, eco-tourism, to address the residents' livelihood needs.

A photo of the Banggai crow debuts this week in volume 14 of the influential Handbook of the Birds of the World. "It was very exciting to see photos of such a rare species about which almost nothing is known, especially since the photos were of such high quality," said Chief Editor Josep del Hoyo. He called the rediscovery "spectacular."

Rasmussen, Indrawan and colleagues have submitted the detailed paper confirming the species' rediscovery for publication. Rasmussen's visit to Indonesia to take specimen measurements and make comparisons was made possible through a planning visit for a MSU Study Abroad program to Malaysia and Indonesia.
Rasmussen, who also is assistant curator of mammalogy and ornithology at the MSU Museum, is the author of the two-volume Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. Her work on uncovering the ornithological frauds of British collector Col. Richard Meinertzhagen has won international attention, detailed in Nature, the May 2006 The New Yorker, and The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2007.

Rasmussen is also part of a team developing a new exhibition at the MSU Museum to open in January 2010, which explores Charles Darwin's ornithology observations and the development of the theory of evolution -- through to research happening at MSU today where researchers are undertaking diverse studies on avian disease, rehabilitation, habitat change, selective breeding practices, neuroscience, behavior and vocalizations.

Learn more at MSU News, including photos and an audio clip:
http://news.msu.edu/story/6958/

Curator profile:
http://museum.msu.edu/ResearchandCollections/Profiles/?show_profile=11

Recent media reports:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33292766/ns/technology_and_science-science/
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091013104340.htm
http://newslite.tv/2009/10/14/extinct-banggai-crow-found-ali.html
http://blog.jcmnaturalhistory.com/?p=889
http://www.labspaces.net/100145/Long_feared_extinct__rare_bird_rediscovered

Former Michigan State University Museum Director C. Kurt Dewhurst will become president of the American Folklore Society (AFS) at the group's annual meeting Oct. 21-25 in Boise, Idado. Dewhurst was elected last year and will now serve a two-year term with the 2,200-member organization's scholars, teachers, librarians and cultural workers.

Dewhurst is the former director of the Michigan State University Museum, and is now curator of folklife and cultural heritage at the MSU Museum as well as director of arts and cultural initiatives at MSU.

"The American Folklore Society has played a significant role in the study and appreciation of intangible cultural heritage and is now actively engaged in international deliberations concerning folklore, intellectual property, and intangible cultural heritage," Dewhurst notes. "The AFS impact has been growing by fostering new international relationships and though innovative collaborations. I anticipate that my work at MSU will be enriched by the global perspective I will gain as president of AFS," he explains. The American Folklore Society, founded in 1888, is an association of people who study and communicate knowledge about folklore throughout the world. The society takes a leading role in national and international folklore projects, such as the H-Folk international folklore scholarship listserv, development of the Ethnographic Thesaurus, and federal arts and culture policy and program development. The society has been accredited as an official non-governmental participant in the activities of the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore. Recently AFS, along with three university presses, has been awarded a five-year grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support the publication of books in "underserved" fields of the humanities.

Learn more:
http://www.afsnet.org

Curator profile:
http://museum.msu.edu/ResearchandCollections/Profiles/?show_profile=12

The Michigan State University Museum will host and coordinate activities in celebration of the 2009 El día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) in connection with the Cristo Rey Community Center in Lansing. Featured Oct. 28 - Nov. 12 will be a twin ofrenda (multimedia installation) will be on exhibition at the MSU Museum Community Gallery and the Cristo Rey Community Center in Lansing. The ofrenda is dedicated to the border-crossers fallen while pursuing a better life in the United States.

El día de los Muertos, an ancient Mexican celebration in which families reconnect with departed ancestors, provides a special opportunity to remember and celebrate the life and legacy of those who have moved ahead into the sacred lands of Mictlan, the realm of the "fleshless" or the dead. El día de los Muertos is observed Nov. 1 and 2, in connection with All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. The MSU Museum and the Cristo Rey Community Center Day of the Dead celebration will enhance understanding of Mexican American culture while providing a unique opportunity to experience artistic expressions and traditions. In addition, faculty in the history department and other units at MSU will focus on the diverse Day of the Dead traditions in Mexico and the United States.

Performances include:

• Sunday, Nov. 1 - at sunset (approx. 5:30 p.m.)
"Mictlan in Aztlan" Performance at MSU Museum Auditorium
• Wednesday, Nov. 4 - at sunset
"Mictlan in Aztlan" Performance at Cristo Rey Community Center (1717 N. High Street, Lansing)
• Also of interest for kids: "Dia de los Muertos sugar skulls"
Sunday, Nov. 8, 2-4 p.m., Community Gallery
A drop-in activity at the MSU Museum: try your hand at making and decorating sugar skulls made for ofrendas to celebrate Dia de los Muertos ($1 suggested donation).

The MSU Museum Store also features assorted handmade, fair-trade clay Day of the Dead figures from Mexico.

The project is developed by MSU Professor of History Juan Javier Pescador, who has included segments studying Day of the Dead cultural traditions in his MSU history courses. Pescador also created a Day of the Dead installation for the MSU Museum's Great Lakes Folk Festival this past summer for a special program featuring Latino traditions.

"Visitors will gain a better understanding of Mexican American culture and a unique opportunity to experience how academic, artistic, performance and outreach work comes together in the process," notes Pescador.

The MSU Museum features three floors of special collections and changing exhibits and is open seven days a week free of charge (donations are encouraged). Located on West Circle Drive next to Beaumont Tower on the MSU campus in East Lansing, the MSU Museum is accessible to persons with disabilities. Hours are Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. -5 p.m.; and Sunday, 1-5 p.m. Visitor parking is available in front of the building and at metered spaces at the Grand River Ramp, one block away at the corner of Grand River Avenue and Charles Street. For more information, call (517) 355-2370 or see http://museum.msu.edu .

Thanks to all the dashers, runners, walkers, strollers, rollers and four-legged friends who supported the MSU Museum at the Michigan State Federal Credit Union Dinosaur Dash on Sunday, Oct. 4.

Find results: http://museum.msu.edu/Events/DinosaurDash/Results.html

Or go to Playmakers.com for results and photos:
http://www.playmakers.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=318:dinosaur-dash&catid=72:playmakers-greater-lansing-ace-series&Itemid=105

See Lansing State Journal photo gallery:
http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=A3&Dato=20091004&Kategori=NEWS&Lopenr=910040801&Ref=PH

Also from LSJ: Dino Dash success led to birth of race series
http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20091006/SPORTS05/910060337/-1/sportshome/Dino-Dash-success-led-to-birth-of-race-series

More photos -- order from TimeFramePhoto:
http://www.timeframephoto.com/g/09_dinosaur_dash

MSU Museum Director Gary Morgan talks to the State News about the day's events:
http://www.statenews.com/index.php/article/2009/10/museums_annual_dino_dash_raises_20k
[scroll down to "WATCH"]

Watch on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAHeVuNOFm8

It's mighty fun for Mid-Michigan residents at the MSU Federal Credit Union Dinosaur Dash, a 5K run/walk, set for 10 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 4, at the Michigan State University Museum. Meanwhile, the Museum Mile and the Mini Dash make for dinosaur-size fun and fitness for the whole family. The race event is a fall-time favorite, including the fast, flat trek around campus, as well as outdoor activities and three floors of exhibits indoors. The event benefits educational programs year-round at the MSU Museum, the state's natural history and culture museum and Smithsonian Institution affiliate.

The MSU Museum and cultural institutions nationwide invite visitors near and far to come experience and enjoy National Arts and Humanities Month this October.

National Arts and Humanities Month was started in 1985 by Americans for the Arts, Washington, D.C., as a way to promote the arts for all people. Today, cultural institutions all around the country plan special programs and events that celebrate the arts. Find out more at http://www.AmericansForTheArts.org .

Robert L. Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts and national coordinator of Arts and Humanities month, observes, "Everyone recognizes the creative and cultural value of the arts and humanities. National Arts and Humanities Month offers us a chance to celebrate the often overlooked economic, educational, and civic engagement values that the arts impart in our daily lives."

The Michigan State University Museum has several engaging exhibits and programs on tap this month, for students, faculty, staff and the community:

Special Programs at the MSU Museum during October:

Sunday, Oct. 4, 10 a.m.

Michigan State University Federal Credit Union Dinosaur Dash

5K run/walk and Museum Mile, Mini Dash for kids

Thursday, Oct. 8, 12 noon - 2 p.m.

Geology of Michigan Honors Seminar Open House

Hall of Evolution upgrades include touchable fossils

Thursday, Oct. 8 - 12:15 - 1:30 p.m., MSU Museum Auditorium

Our Daily Work/Our Daily Lives Brown Bag:
"Faces from an American Dream: Photographing the Post-Industrial Landscape" - Martin Desht, Photographer (sponsored in conjunction with an exhibit at the MSU College of Law)

Sunday, Oct. 11 - 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m., Main Gallery

"Open Mike" - Stories Inspired by African Textiles

Please join Michigan State University faculty for a storytelling session about their work over the past few decades in Africa. Bring an African textile to show and speak about or just come to hear some fascinating history.

On Exhibit At the MSU Museum:
"Festive Images: The 2009 Great Lakes Folk Festival Exhibition," in the Community Gallery (Ground Floor) through Oct. 25. http://museum.msu.edu/Exhibitions/current/FestiveImages.html

"Michigan Eats: Regional Culture Through Food," on exhibit in the Heritage Gallery through Nov. 15. http://museum.msu.edu/Exhibitions/Current/Michigan_Eats.html

"Threads of Change: The Transformation of West African Textiles," on exhibit in the Main Gallery through Nov. 29 http://museum.msu.edu/Exhibitions/Current/the_transformation_of_west_african_textiles.html

"Tanzania in Deep Time: A View from the Rift Valley," in the West Gallery through December 2009. http://museum.msu.edu/Exhibitions/current/tanzaniaInDeepTime.html

HALL OF EVOLUTION, MSU MUSEUM

THURSDAY, OCT. 8, 12 NOON - 2 P.M.

The Michigan State University Museum's Hall of Evolution exhibition has undergone an evolution of its own. An MSU Geology Honors Seminar recently completed work enhancing it with touchable specimens for sight-impaired visitors.

The inspiration for the course came two years ago when Danita Brandt, associate professor of geological sciences, began working with a sight-impaired student and quickly realized she would be unable to complete a gallery tour and class assignment. Museums worldwide historically have difficulty serving the sight-impaired population because exhibitions rely on text on the wall and objects behind cases to convey interpretive information.

Brandt, an adjunct curator at the MSU Museum, consulted with MSU's Office of Supportive Services to get ideas for integrating museum experiences in a more hands-on way that would allow visitors to touch, discover and learn from the museum specimens. In all, Brandt, her students and MSU Museum Curator of Exhibitions Juan Alvarez made plans to add eight fossil casts to the Hall of Evolution exhibition to create a touchable exhibit. Plans are also in the works to add English and Braille text labels.

Featured are the skull of the fossil fish Xiphactinus, two fossil amphibian skulls, a large eurypterid (an extinct arthropod), several trilobites (another group of extinct arthropod), and molars from a mammoth and mastodon.

"We also gave thought to texturally interesting specimens -- the boomerang-shaped amphibian skull and the other amphibian skull with the deeply incised ridges on the skull," explains Brandt. "The different chewing surfaces of the mammoth and mastodon molars is quite striking visually and tactile."

The seminar students had to carefully consider durability and how the fossil replicas would stand up to handling, as well as avoiding prehistoric creatures that might be too spiky and hazardous to touch.

An audio tour was also developed with the help of MATRIX, the Center for Humanities Arts, Letters and Social Science at MSU. (See: http://evolution.matrix.msu.edu/ ) The Hall of Evolution exhibit at the MSU Museum is constructed as a time line, with exhibits of fossils arranged in chronological order from the Cambrian Period (about 500 million years ago) to the Pleistocene Epoch or "Ice Age" that ended about 10,000 years ago. The fossils are accompanied by diorama paintings showing the animals as they appeared in life.

"It's a modest first step, but this project certainly helped us appreciate the barrier that sight-impaired visitors face when visiting the average museum," says Brandt.

As a result of the class, Brandt's students made a presentation at the spring Undergraduate Research Symposium to share their experience of the museum as a learning laboratory.

"It's significant that Dr. Brandt identified this need and then used it as a learning experience for her students," says Julie Avery, MSU Museum educator and curator who has worked with services for the sight-impaired with the State of Michigan. "We're delighted the MSU Museum was able to mobilize and help make the exhibit more meaningful to visitors and hope it's the first of many steps in this direction."

An open house is set for Thursday, Oct. 8, the Lions Club international "World Vision Day," 12 noon - 2 p.m. in the Hall of Evolution.

The MSU Museum features three floors of special collections and changing exhibits and is open seven days a week free of charge (donations are encouraged). The Museum Store features a variety of educational toys, museum-produced publications, gemstone jewelry and authentic Michigan-made crafts. The museum is located on West Circle Drive next to Beaumont Tower on the MSU campus and is accessible to persons with disabilities. Hours are Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. -5 p.m.; and Sunday, 1-5 p.m. Visitor parking is available in front of the building and at metered spaces at the Grand River Ramp, one block away at the corner of Grand River Avenue and Charles Street. For more information, call (517) 355-2370 or see http://museum.msu.edu .

Visit the Michigan State University Museum for an educational program presented Oct. 11 in conjunction with the exhibition, "Threads of Change: The Transformation of West African Textiles."

Michigan State University faculty will present an "open mike" storytelling session about their work in Africa over the past few decades. While working in more than two-dozen African countries, a number of exceptional textiles were collected by some of the 170 MSU African Studies faculty and their families. Many are bringing a textile and a story to share about their experiences. Visitors are invited to bring an African textile to share stories, or just come to hear some fascinating history.

The program is set for Sunday, Oct. 11, 2-3:30 p.m. in the Main Gallery. The program is presented free of charge and refreshments will be served.

"This exhibit showcases West African textiles and illustrates how these garments have transformed over time. From the striking designs of Malian mudcloth to the intricate weavings of kente cloth from Ghana, visitors can see not only the beauty of these clothes but also how they have been affected by their historical and cultural contexts," notes Chris Worland, guest curator and fabric artist.

"Threads of Change: The Transformation of West African Textiles" runs through Nov. 29, 2009.

The MSU Museum is Michigan's natural history and culture museum and the state's first Smithsonian Institution affiliate. The MSU Museum features three floors of special collections and changing exhibits and is open seven days a week free of charge (donations are encouraged). Located on West Circle Drive next to Beaumont Tower on the MSU campus, the MSU Museum is accessible to persons with disabilities. Hours are Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.; and Sunday, 1-5 p.m. Visitor parking is available in front of the building and at metered spaces at the Grand River Ramp, one block away at the corner of Grand River Avenue and Charles Street. For more information, call (517) 355-2370 or see http://museum.msu.edu .

FOUR BLOCK VASE OF FLOWERS
Maker Unknown
ca. 1850
78" x 78"
Kitty Clark Cole Collection

Although little is known about the history of this quilt or the person who made it, Four Block Vase of Flowers contains visual clues that help to tell us when it was made. The quilt was created using appliqué, a technique in which pieces of fabric are cut out and stitched to a base fabric. Appliqué quilts with floral designs set in the four-block format found here were very popular during the mid-nineteenth century. Also popular during this time period was a red and green color palette. Often the dyes used to create these colors turned out to be unstable and it is not uncommon to find appliqué quilts from the mid-nineteenth century that contain fabrics that have faded from their original hues to shades of brown.

The MSU Museum's Great Lakes Quilt Center has evolved from the sustained and significant quilt-related activities and resources at the Michigan State University Museum and the museum's long-standing interest in and commitment to preserving and presenting traditional arts history. See this quilt and learn more at: http://www.museum.msu.edu/glqc/collections_2007.107.05.html and http://www.museum.msu.edu/glqc/index.html