METC Spring 2024 Newsletter

Museum of Early Trades & Crafts

Calling all Campers!

Camp registration is now open with early bird pricing until March 30! With expanded programming, Camp METC will now run throughout the month of August from Monday through Friday, 9am-3pm, with after-care available until 5pm.

Weekly themes include:

• August 5-9: Food & Fun – How has cooking and toy-making changed since the 1800s? During this session, campers will explore early types of cooking, make treats, and create activities such as marble runs that have been around since the 19th century.

• August 12-16: Creators & Heroes – Enter into our Web of Community to discover how inventors, artists, and tradespeople work together to benefit us all. Learn more about these community superheroes and have fun discovering your own superpowers. Campers will also engage in drawing and creating comic book art!

• August 19-23: Nature & Animals – Everything in nature is connected farming, weaving, animals, and pollinators. Explore the natural world of Garden State using plantbased fibers to create art and learn more about our native animal species.

• August 26-30: Exploration & Travel – Decode the past and imagine the future! With activities ranging from migration to space exploration, our camp detectives will investigate all types of transportation and let their imagination take flight!

Each camp week will include hands-on crafting with local artists; “Collection Connection” with our curator to examine artifacts in our new Viewable Storage Facility; scavenger hunts; water play; and a final art show where parents and caregivers can see the campers’ masterpieces on display.

Join us for one week or all four and see why Camp METC creates Museum Explorers Tangled in Creation. Create, explore, learn, and grow at Camp METC. Visit metc.org/camp to learn more and register.

From the Director

Sharing the past, imagining the future

I recently finished reading the latest issue of Museum, a publication by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) that provides insight, news, research, and resources to thousands of museums across the US. This issue addressed the volatile future our society is facing in terms of climate change, political unrest, the emergence of AI, public values and more. All this made me think about the responsibility of our institution which is dedicated to public trust, and how we can be a resource for our community. As a history museum, our role has always been to provide the public with opportunities to learn from our past, to engage in critical thinking and to ask hard questions about who we are, what we have learned and where we are going. We frequently reflect on the importance of this role, recognizing the critical need to understand and respond to our audiences. This spring, as we embark upon a Strategic Plan to guide our museum through some of the volatile times ahead, we are confident this initiative will also help us ensure that we are meeting your needs as a trusted place for education, exploration, and communication. As part of this process, and in partnership with the AAM, we will be emailing a survey to museum goers asking about their experiences. We hope that you, our valued members and partners, will take just a few minutes to complete this survey which will help us immensely in new program development, outreach and other services that will fulfill our mission to serve all people.

For the last decade, METC has had the good fortune to operate with sound financial planning, thoughtful leadership and staff who understand the power of history. We are experiencing growth, expanding our space, and creating opportunities to collaborate with diverse partners and remain committed to building a museum that values the past as a method to build a better future. We know there are many new stories to tell and many old stories that need re-telling to provide a true account of all people and their places in history. We look to you to help us navigate this uncertain future, but one where we hope we can find common ground and provide a welcoming experience that educates and encourages new and different voices.

With sincere thanks,

Deborah

Farrar Starker, METC Executive Director

We are thrilled to welcome METC’s newest Trustee, Shea Richardson, who joined the METC board in December 2023. Ms. Richardson is a native of Newark and East Orange, New Jersey and a graduate of the East Orange School District. She attended Seton Hall University, majoring in Secondary Education and History and received certification as a School Library Media Specialist. She began her teaching career as a Social Studies teacher at East Orange Campus High School in 2005. In 2016, Shea transitioned into her first administrative role as the Social Studies Department Chair at East Orange Campus High School. She remained in this role until January 2020, when she became the Supervisor of Social Studies for the East Orange School District. After serving as a District Supervisor for three years, Ms. Richardson joined the staff of Philip’s Academy Charter School in Newark, New Jersey as a middle school Vice Principal.

According to Ms Richardson, her role is "to embrace, expose, and empower scholars to know that they hail from bold and fearless ancestors." As a social justice educator and a proud mother of two children, a daughter, Donyah (age 23) and a son, Dreyden (age 16), her ultimate mission is to "encourage our youth to use their voice, mind, passion and special gift(s) to make our community, nation, and world a better place."

2024 CALENDAR OF EVENTS

MARCH IS NJ STEM MONTH!

METC has participated in the celebration of NJ STEM MONTH since its inception in 2018, and has again received a small grant from New Jersey STEM Pathways Network to support our Makers Day program. NJ STEM Month highlights the Garden State’s incredible accomplishments in science, technology, engineering, math, and innovation. This year we will focus on the potato and everything this versatile spud can do during NJ Makers Day on March 16. (see below for details)

March 16 NJ Makers Day: METC

Presents the Potato! Join us and dive into our favorite vegetable, the potato! We will create potato stamps, make potato batteries to power a lightbulb, and use potatoes to create oobleck.

March 28 Cabaret Coffeehouse

Experience an extraordinary fusion of literature and performance! Artists from Madison's local theatre company, A Work of Heart Productions, will passionately interpret their favorite passages from the new wisdom-filled book, "The Work of Heart" by Nicole Lippey with live acting, music, and dance. Join us for a magical night filled with artistic expression and making every moment a genuine work of heart. Treats and beverages will be served.

Members, get a sneak peek at the Cabinet Installation in the Viewable Storage Facility at metc.org/members-only

April 6 Makerspace

Stop by the METC Education Annex anytime between 11am and 3pm for our collaborative workspace geared towards kids ages 5 to 12! Children must be accompanied by guardians at all times.

April 10 A Celebration of Poetry and Native Plants

In celebration of National Poetry Month and Earth Day, we have partnered with The Native Plant Society of New Jersey, Montclair State University, and The Nature of Reading Bookshop for an evening of poetry and rich conversation that will highlight “Leaning Toward Light: Poems for Gardens & the Hands That Tend Them.”

April 16— Craft Club: Spring Crafts

Have a half-day at school? Drop in for our Craft Club from 14pm as we welcome spring and create pipe cleaner flowers and paint flower pots.

Give a warm METC welcome to our new staff

Michaela Piepoli—Museum Educator

Michaela is so excited to be joining the METC team as a Museum Educator! She received her Bachelors in History from Kean University this past May. While in school, she took great interest in education and learning how to teach history well. Interning at Liberty Hall Museum in her senior year, Michaela found her groove in the world of Museum Education, particularly in historic sites. She loved it so much that she decided to make it her career! Along with her work, Michaela is taking online classes through Seton Hill University to earn a Graduate Certificate in Genocide and Holocaust Studies.

When not working or writing papers, she enjoys reading books (YA Fantasy and Historical Fiction mostly), taste-testing local coffee shops, trying all of the workout classes at her local community center, and spending quality time with her loved ones.

Stanley Ramirez Museum Assistant

Stanley Ramirez attended Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Florham Campus and obtained his B.A. in Film and Animation with a minor in Computer Science in 2017. Originally from Jersey City, Stanley has prior experience in guest engagement and has worked with all ages at The Liberty Science Center. It was here that he learned how enjoyable working at educational institutions can be. He is excited to share his passion for art and technology, and is looking forward to assisting METC in any way he can.

Fun facts about Stanley: 1. His favorite movie is The Fifth Element, 2. His favorite animated film is Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, 3. His favorite movie quote: “I’m just a simple man, trying to make my way in the universe.”

Exhibit Extended! BOOKED 18: SEE/ING

Don’t miss the opportunity to enjoy this extraordinary collaborative exhibit by Book Arts Roundtable. The exhibit has been extended for view at METC through Mid-May.

Each of us sees things differently. And there are infinite possibilities. We can see things imaginatively, objectively, or surprisingly. And we can even choose not to see.

As you walk through this new exhibition, you are encouraged to discover your own unique way to look at art. METC is proud to partner with The Book Arts Roundtable on their 18th annual exhibition envisioning a world of“SEE/ING”. We invite you to explore and discover what SEE/ING means to you.

PATCHWORK OF CONNECTIONS

We hope you had the opportunity to experience Patchwork of Connections in the windows of the Education Annex during February. During Black History Month, we celebrated the achievements, contributions, and resilience of all Black people and highlighted the richness and complexity of Black culture and heritage.

Updates from our Education Annex

Winter Field Trips

The Education Department enjoyed collaborating on a variety of school field trips this winter. The two most popular programs were Tale of the Dragon and A Child’s Life. Tale of the Dragon is an interactive preschool program that features a discussion of mythological creatures and the story of St. George and the Dragon. We added a new craft component of coloring and decorating laser cut wooden dragon ornaments. A Child’s Life in Early America is an exploration and reenactment of the chores and daily routines of children in 1800s New Jersey, including an activity of making clay marbles similar to what children would have used in the 19th century. A Child’s Life in Early America also includes games with modern marble runs, to show the connection between past marble games and modern iterations.

Every wonder why we have a program about dragons at METC? No, it has nothing to do with Game of Thrones, but does refer to an interesting bit of architectural embellishment. Carved into the rear of the metal firebox in the Main Gallery fireplace is a triptych of St. George Slaying the Dragon. This charming detail is only one of the many surprises you will find throughout our historic building!

We are also happy to be working with Streamable Learning again which provides virtual field trips to schools and classrooms that may be too far to visit us in person. Our educator Alyssa recently presented and recorded a webinar version of our program “Exploring Architecture,” which is designed for 3rd through 5th graders to explore the combination of form and function in architectural planning, using our own James Library Building as an example.

Makerspace

With an average of 70 guests per monthly session, Makerspace is filled with families who come in to enjoy our 3D Printer, coding robot, and more. Older children are especially drawn to our vast Lego collection, while younger children enjoy making necklaces and bracelets. Families often make a day of it by bringing their kids in to play for a few hours, leaving to get lunch in town, visiting the museum, and then coming back to create some more.

Scouts

It has also been a busy season for Scout groups. Girl Scouts love our Inventor’s Badge program, where they hear about female inventors whose inventions we use every day and then create and present prototypes of their own problem-solving inventions. Cub Scouts enjoy our Baloo the Builder program, which highlights some woodworking tools from our Education Collection, and they then build their own mini toolboxes to take home.

Museum Explorers Tangled in Creation: We can’t wait for CAMP METC

We continue our preparation and planning for this summer’s Camp METC, which will feature four fun and creative weekly themes: Food & Fun, Creators & Heroes, Nature & Animals, and Exploration & Travel. Our educators have found fun and exciting and creative crafts related to our themes, as well as week-long group projects that will be presented each Friday to parents and guardians in an Art Show. Our Curator of Collections, Claudette Stecher-Lopez, has been hard at work planning “Collection Connections,” or short lessons about objects in our collection that relate to the weekly themes. We are excited to announce a collaboration with Dewey’s Comic City, who will be joining us to teach a comic-style art class. And stay tuned for other collaborations with local artists that are in the works!

Mr. Victor Baran & Ms. Dawn Ortell

Nancy Barrett

Bernards Township Library

The Boles Family

Mr. & Mrs. Dennis Bone

Larry & Nancy Bruce

Robert Chapman

Cliffside Park Free Public Library

William & Margaret Clossey

Karen DeBiase Giambra

Gary Fisch

Garden Club of Madison

Patricia Haverland

Barbara Hightower

Randy & Gina Hurley,

Ryan Hynson

Independent Thrift Shop

Tom Judd

Karen Wong Poy

Ellen Kirch

Elizabeth Madara

Jim Malcolm

Alberta Marcy

Irene Maroney

Mark Mary

Melissa Maslowski

JoAnne McCarthy

John Meek

Tyler C. Merson & Victoria Vitarelli

Lee Meyer & Dominique Peck-Meyer

Rebecca Moody

Morristown & Morris Township Library

Mr. & Mrs. Stacy Russo

Ms. Daphne Hanrahan

Daniel Murnick

Corinne Murphy

Adrienne Novak

Judith Pearlman & Meredith Davis

Jennifer Phillips

Randolph Township Public Library

Robert Rocco

Kathryn & Frank Sena

Mary Louise Skillin

Kevin & Caroline Smith

Isaac & Deborah Starker

Bill & Sandi Sweeney

Turner Family

Scott Wildove