Here are links to press releases about the Telluride Historical Museum and its programs. If you are a reporter and would like to learn more about the museum, we look forward to speaking with you about the museum!
Telluride Historical Museum’s “Powerful Currents” Exhibit Receives State Recognition
PR 2013-10-28 Telluride Historical Museum receives state recognition for exhibit
For Immediate Release
TELLURIDE HISTORICAL MUSEUM’S POWERFUL CURRENTS EXHIBIT
RECEIVES STATE RECOGNITION
Telluride, Colorado (October, 28 2013) This November, at the 133nd annual meeting of History Colorado, formerly the Colorado Historical Society, the Telluride Historical Museum will be awarded an Honorable Mention for its 2013 exhibit, Powerful Currents: Hydroelectricity in the San Juans. The exhibit was selected from a pool of 112 applicants from across the state for the 2013 Josephine H. Miles Award from History Colorado.
Powerful Currents: Hydroelectricity in the San Juans reveals the wizardry of bringing electricity to the mines, its industrial impact, and the power of water. Along with delving into the history of the region’s hydroelectric engineering, visitors can make their own electricity, view artifacts from the historic Ames Power Plant, and peek inside L.L. Nunn’s memoir. Thanks to the generosity of the Telluride Institute, the exhibit also features a miniature working water wheel demonstrating firsthand how water is converted into energy. Through sight, sound and interactive displays, Powerful Currents brings the story of Telluride’s groundbreaking hydroelectricity experiment to life.
The Josephine H. Miles Award is distributed to exhibits by History Colorado in recognition of organizations that make a major contribution to the advancement of Colorado history. The Miles Award recognizes outstanding projects in Colorado communities in the past year.
According to Megan Rose, Collections and Library Division Coordinator for History Colorado, the awards committee selected Telluride’s exhibit because “it made good connections to the broader picture of electrical energy and its use as well as the debate between AC and DC as systems.” Rose also stated that while the overall competition was stiff, the committee felt the exhibit deserved Honorable Mention because “it clearly draws attention to the influence of emerging technologies,” and that the Museum “partnered not only with a commercial corporation—Xcel–but also the Telluride Institute, an organization that focuses on sustainable energy.”
Cameo Hoyle, Director of Programs and Interpretation, commented, “The Museum is honored to receive this recognition for the Miles Award from History Colorado, an important leader in public history for Colorado!”
Powerful Currents will be on display through March, 2014. For more information about visiting the Telluride Historical Museum, visit the museum online at telluridemuseum.org, or call 970.728.3344.
Telluride Historical Museum selected for Smithsonian “Places of Innovation” award
PR 2013-11-5 THM’s “Places of Invention” Exhibit
For Immediate Release
TELLURIDE HISTORICAL MUSEUM SELECTED FOR PRESTIGIOUS SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION “PLACES OF INVENTION” EXHIBIT
Telluride, Colorado (November, 5 2013) In Telluride’s rugged and isolated environment, innovation and adaptation has allowed the town to prosper and reinvent itself for generations. In recognizing Telluride’s unique and innovative history, the Telluride Historical Museum has been selected to participate in the Smithsonian Institution’s prestigious “Places of Invention” exhibition project in 2014 – one of only seven museums in the country to earn this distinction.
The Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation received a $2.6 million grant from the National Science Foundation to support science education through the center’s “Places of Invention” exhibition project. “Places of Invention,” a planned 3,500-square-foot exhibition at the National Museum of American History will feature a selection of “hot spots” of invention and innovation—places where a critical mass of inventive people, networks, institutions, funding and other resources come together and creativity flourishes. In 2014, Telluride will now be among them.
The “Places of Invention” represents a new model in exhibition design where content is co-created in a collaborative manner by the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center, professional partners, and the public.
“We are thrilled that the Museum and Telluride was selected to participate in the Smithsonian Institution’s ‘Places of Invention’ program’,” said the Museum’s executive director, Erica Kinias. “Having Telluride recognized as an innovative leader by our Smithsonian partners is an incredible honor and is testimony to Telluride’s strong history of innovative residents.”
The Telluride Historical Museum will be working with community partners, including The Pinhead Institute, to create a short documentary showcasing how Telluride has been on the cutting edge of invention and innovation since the mining boom in the mid- and late 1800s. The documentary will be shown in the National Museum of American History and in Telluride, and will honor the relationship between generations of innovation, building on what came before to create the future.
In 2014, the Telluride Historical Museum will also be hosting a unique public program highlighting some of Telluride’s historic innovations, including the world’s first commercial long-distance transmission and use of AC generated power at Ames in 1891. This TED Talks-style program will showcase local solutions and innovations to the region’s most pressing social and environmental concerns. Along with The Pinhead Institute, the Museum will also create curriculum-based and family programs that engage and inspire youth in the creative thinking and problem-solving processes.
The Telluride Historical Museum was designated an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution in June 2013, a distinction earned by demonstrating the highest standards of quality and sharing the Smithsonian’s mission to tell America’s story through art, history and science.
More about the Smithsonian Institution’s Lemelson Center. The Lemelson Center is dedicated to exploring invention in history and encouraging inventive creativity in young people. It is supported by The Lemelson Foundation, a private philanthropy established by one of the country’s most prolific inventors, Jerome Lemelson, and his family. The Center is located in Washington D.C. For more information, visit http://invention.smithsonian.org.
Telluride Historical Museum presents the 1st Annual Adult Spelling Bee
2013-07-02 PR
For Immediate Release
Telluride Historical Museum presents the 1st Annual Adult Spelling Bee
New community event is daring, fun, and outright outrageous – the BUZZ is on!
Telluride, CO, July 2, 2013. Is orthography the bee in your bonnet? Do morphemes make your bees knees quiver with excitement? This summer, make a beeline for the 1st Annual Adult Spelling Bee – a unique, community-driven fundraiser presented by the Telluride Historical Museum, on Wednesday, July 17, at the Sheridan Opera House. “The 1st Annual Adult Spelling Bee will be daring and outrageously fun, bringing Telluride’s community together to celebrate what makes us unique,” comments Executive Director Erica Kinias. Tackling a mix of classic spelling bee words, historical words, and even a few Telluride-themed words, contestants will compete as teams for the awards of Fan Favorite, Best Costume and the Hive Master Grand Prize!
Inspired by the classic spelling bee format, this Adult Spelling Bee has some unique twists: contestants compete in teams of three, formed from local businesses and the Telluride community. Onstage at the historic Sheridan Opera House, teams will battle it out to make it to the final championship round. The competition heats up even further as teams earn Word Passes, Lifelines, and Spelligans to help advance them through the Bee. “The Spelling Bee teams are at the heart of the event,” Kinias comments. “The support they get from the community in sponsorships, from each other in the competition, and from the audience will truly help make the event a success.”
General seating for the Bee is now open at $15, and premium seating is available for $50 for those that want front-row access to the excitement. Guidelines, team registration forms, and admission tickets are available online at www.telluridemuseum.org.
Telluride Historical Museum presents the 1st Annual Adult Spelling Bee
July 2013New community event is daring, fun, and outright outrageous – the BUZZ is on!Telluride Historical Museum announces Smithsonian Affiliation
PR 2013-05-28 Smithsonian Affiliation For Immediate Release
TELLURIDE HISTORICAL MUSEUM ANNOUNCES SMITHSONIAN AFFILIATION
Telluride, Colorado (June 1, 2013) When the Telluride Historical Museum reopened its doors to the public this summer, it was with a major triumph: an affiliation with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
The Smithsonian Affiliations program allows selected organizations to have greater access to the collections and educational resources of the museums, libraries, and research centers in the Smithsonian network. As an Affiliate, the Telluride Historical Museum will have access to Smithsonian’s wide range of resources, including its 136 million-object collections, scholarship and staff expertise, traveling exhibitions, and more.
“Becoming an Affiliate with the internationally recognized Smithsonian is an honor. It enables us to further our mission and maximize the educational impact of the Museum,” said Erica Kinias, Executive Director of the Telluride Historical Museum. “Gaining greater access to some of the Smithsonian’s extraordinary scholars, collections, and research collaborations will be a wonderful asset to visitors and our community as we develop engaging programming and exhibitions in the years ahead.”
“It’s encouraging to see a local history museum have such a strong presence in the community,” said Harold Closter, director of Smithsonian Affiliations. “We are proud to partner with the Telluride Historical Museum, an organization dedicated to telling an important part of our nation’s history, and look forward to collaborations that will enrich the work of both of our organizations. A public celebration is scheduled to take place this summer, with representatives from the Smithsonian Institution, local and state representatives.
The Telluride Historical Museum joins a network of 177 Affiliate organizations in 42 states, Puerto Rico, and Panama and is one of only three Smithsonian Affiliate museums in Colorado, including the History Colorado, Denver, and Littleton Museum, Littleton, and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Denver.
Established in 1996, Smithsonian Affiliations is a national outreach program which develops long-term collaborative partnerships with museums, educational, and cultural organizations to enrich communities with Smithsonian artifacts, scholars, educational programs, and professional development opportunities. The long-term goal of Smithsonian Affiliations is to facilitate a two-way relationship among Smithsonian Affiliates and Smithsonian museums, research, education, and outreach organizations to increase discovery, inspiration, and lifelong learning in communities across America.
Through the affiliation, Telluride Historical Museum members also have the added opportunity to become members of the Smithsonian Institution at a reduced rate, enjoying a full package of benefits including 10 percent off all purchases from the Smithsonian catalogue, and 20 percent off publications from Smithsonian Institution Press.
Telluride Historical Museum announces Smithsonian Affiliation
June 2013Affiliation with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.Historic Sheridan Opera House Tour: Behind the Scenes!
Historic Sheridan Opera House Tour: Behind the Scenes!
Take a behind the scenes tour of one of Telluride’s most iconic historic buildings. Every other Wednesday in January, 2, 16, and 30
Telluride, Colorado (Jan. 10, 2013) — Join longtime local George Greenbank for an in-depth look at the historic Sheridan Opera House on your choice of either Wednesday, Jan. 16 or Jan. 30. This popular tour, sponsored by the Telluride Historical Museum and the Sheridan Arts Foundation, gathers at the Opera House at 11 a.m. on each day. Learn the full backstory of Telluride’s Crown Jewel, which originally opened as the Segerberg Opera House. Once a premiere film theater and socialite darling, the building now shares its name with an early mining claim, and its rough footprint with the early lodging provided by the Sheridan Hotel, which burned in a fire in 1906.
The Sheridan has supported children’s theater and fundraising events for local non-profit causes. It can convert to a dance hall, host all sorts of orchestral performances and even the occasional boxing match. The intimacy of the place has made it a magical stage for performing stars as different as Jackie Greene or Sissy Spacek to Los Lobos or Mumford and Sons. A fixture on the Telluride Film Festival’s annual Labor Day circuit, the place hosts business entrepreneurs as well as Zumba enthusiasts, but see for yourself the secret uses of this public treasure. With George’s architectural prowess, one can even appreciate “butter” brick joints!
Listed on the U.S. Department of the Interior’s National Register of Historic Places, seating only 235, (265 if standing), your tour of this Telluride institution can only enrich your appreciation for its storied past and its steadfast commitment to the arts. The tour costs $15 for museum members and $20 for non-members. More information and dates for Wednesday tours in February can be found at www.telluridemuseum.org or by calling 970 728-3344, extension 2.
Historic Sheridan Opera House Tour: Behind the Scenes!
January 2013Take a behind the scenes tour of one of Telluride's most iconic historic buildingsMuseum Celebrates True Spirit of Christmas
MUSEUM EVENT CELEBRATES TRUE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS
Telluride Historical Museum celebrates the season with Old Fashioned Christmas Celebration at Schmid Ranch
Telluride, Colorado (November 15, 2012) – On Christmas Day, 1908, Harriet Fish Backus, the “Tomboy Bride,” awoke to a gift that would certainly turn the most modern San Juan citizen Christmas-colored with envy: “sparkling diamonds,” from the surface of ten-foot deep snow.
Meanwhile, outside her cabin at Tomboy, equipped with snow shoes, a fleece-lined jacket, fur hat, and, of best of all, a sack of toys slung over her back, “The Spirit of Christmas,” labored from shack to shack without discrimination; the annual ritual of Beth Batchellor, Harriet’s best friend.
On December 8, the Telluride Historical Museum will honor the Spirit of Christmas at the annual celebration at Schmid Ranch from 12-4p.m.
There, at the ranch—a centennial farm that has remained in the Schmid family since the 1880’s—the celebration will include horse-drawn carriage rides, a bonfire, hot chocolate, cowboy coffee, wreath making, Santa Claus and gifts for children. Guests can even cut down their own Blue Spruce tree.
The fourth annual Old Fashioned Christmas Celebration at Schmid Ranch feels like a Norman Rockwell painting. “It’s truly a sincere celebration of the holiday spirit,” said Erica Kinias, executive director of the museum. The event is free, thanks to donations at the event and sponsors like Hotel Telluride, New Sheridan Chop House and Hotel, Peaks Resort and Spa, the Schmid family and Wilkinson Public Library.
Kinias encourages warm clothes, rope to get your tree home and your own mug for the hot beverages.
The museum isn’t completely ignoring the commercial side of the season. During the entire month of December the museum store will host Noel Month, where shoppers can play old fashioned games to win 10 – 50% discounts.
Gifts exchanged amongst the first Telluriders were likely “gloves, warms stockings hats; home baked breads and treats; paper dolls; balls; and simple games like jacks and marbles,” said Kinias.
Today, the museum offers shoppers contemporary items—like beer steins, belt buckles, travel mugs, ceramic tiles and Lisa Issenberg pendants and knobs—that display images from the past, in addition to matted and framed images from museum archives.
The museum also carries great books including local titles: Tomboy Bride, One Man’s West and Rudy’s View, and DVDs documenting Telluride’s past: We Skied It! and YX Factor and fictional past: Scrapple.
For more information about the Old Fashioned Christmas event or about Noel Month, visit the museum online or at the top of Fir St.
As for “sparkling diamonds,” this Christmas, museum can’t make any promises, although historically speaking; at least we know chances are good.
Museum Celebrates True Spirit of Christmas
November 2012Telluride Historical Museum celebrates the season with Old Fashioned Christmas Celebration at Schmid RanchLizzy Knight, No Stranger to the Strange
LIZZY KNIGHT, NO STRANGER TO THE STRANGE
Fireside Chat illuminates pioneer rancher of Disappointment Valley
Telluride, Colorado (August 20, 2012) – It’s not often a woman ends up married to her son-in-law. But Lizzy Knight, the first pioneer woman of the Disappointment Valley, was no stranger to the strange.
On Wednesday and Thursday, the Telluride Historical Museum will offer a first-person characterization of Lizzy Knight, performed by Marsha Bankston, a sixth generation descendant of pioneer cattle ranchers Lizzy and Henry Knight.
Bankston, a great, great, great, great granddaughter of the infamous pioneering couple, occupies the original Knight homestead—just southwest of Telluride on the west side of Lone Cone Peak—which has been designated a Centennial Farm by the State of Colorado.
The original Knight cabin still stands and was recently added to the list of “Most Endangered” historical sites in Colorado. Bankston has been working towards restoring the building for public visitation. In May the museum led a field trip to the property.
Bankston is continuing her mother’s work of writing and presenting the personal stories of pioneers, such as Lizzy Knight. Her mother, Wilma Crisp Bankston, authored “Where Eagles Winter: History and Legend of the Disappointment Country.”
The Fireside Chat, “Lizzy Knight, The First Pioneer Woman of the Disappointment Valley,” begins at 5:30p.m. on Wednesday, at the Livery in Norwood and at 5:30p.m. at The Peaks Resort and Spa on Thursday.
Both Chats are free to the public. Both Fireside Chats, the last of the summer season, are sponsored by the Telluride Women’s Network, Shari Seay Mitchell, Norwood Chamber of Commerce and Peaks Resort and Spa.
Lizzy Knight, No Stranger to the Strange
August 2012Fireside Chat illuminates pioneer rancher of Disappointment Valley100 Years of Mountains and Mountaineering
100 YEARS OF MOUNTAINS AND MOUNTAINEERING
Fireside Chat illuminates the brave but happy pioneers of mountaineering
Telluride, Colorado (August 14, 2012) – Inadequate maps, hobnail boots, long skirts for women, cotton clothing—just some of the challenges Colorado’s brave mountaineers faced 100 years ago. On Thursday, the Telluride Historical Museum will honor that history, and the smiling faces pictured in early mountaineering photos, with a special Fireside Chat.
In 1912, the Colorado Mountain Club was born. 100 years later, the organization remains devoted to connecting those who love the Colorado Rockies or who study or seek recreation in them. The 100th anniversary is commemorated with the book, “100 Years Up High: Colorado Mountains and Mountaineers,” which focuses on significant people, events, and developments that made climbing, hiking, and skiing the High Country a great outdoor adventure for hundreds of thousands of enthusiasts drawn from Colorado and beyond.
Co-Author of the book, James E. Fell Jr. is the featured guest speaker at the museum’s Thursday Fireside Chat. His presentation will highlight the book’s illustrations, photographs, significant people, events, and developments that made climbing, hiking, and skiing the High Country a great outdoor adventure for hundreds of thousands of enthusiasts drawn from Colorado and beyond.
You might say Fell is obsessed with history.
He’s worked in both historic preservation and exhibits at the Colorado Historical Society. He is a former Harvard-Newcomen Fellow in Business History at the Harvard Business School and former managing editor of the “Business History Review.”
Since 1990, he has taught at the University of Colorado Denver and is the author of “Ores to Metals: The Rocky Mountain Smelting Industry,” co-author with Stanley Dempsey of “Mining the Summit: Colorado’s Ten Mile District, 1860 – 1960,” and collaborator with Jay E. Niebur on “Arthur Redman Wilfley: Miner, Inventor, and Entrepreneur.”
He is also the author of various articles and many reviews in professional journals, as well as treasurer and former director of the Mining History Association, which awarded him its Rodman Wilson Paul Award for distinction in mining history.
His latest book and focus of Thursday’s Chat celebrates the 100 year history of the Colorado Mountain Club and deals largely with 20th century mountaineering. The book contains about 150 images, many of which, will be featured at the Fireside Chat.
Thursday’s Chat is sponsored by the Peaks Resort and Spa and Andie and Rudy Davison. The Chat begins at 5:30p.m. and is free.
For more information about Fireside Chats, visit the Museum at the top of Fir St. or online at telluridemuseum.org.
100 Years of Mountains and Mountaineering
August 2012Fireside Chat illuminates the brave but happy pioneers of mountaineeringFireside Chat Illuminated Colorado Railroading
FIRESIDE CHAT ILLUMINATES COLORADO RAILROADING
Fictional first person characterization at Chats in Norwood and Telluride
Telluride, Colorado (August 8, 2012) — The Rio Grande Southern Railroad first debuted its Ridgway to Rico route in September of 1891. The event was recorded by a local newspaper and the account was later reprinted in the book, “Silver San Juan.” This week the Telluride Historical Museum will bring that story of early Colorado railroading to life with two Fireside Chats, in Norwood and in Telluride.
Steve Lee, an educator and performer from Denver, delivers Fireside Chats presentations via a first-person of characterization of Hiram Wheeler, a fictitious railroad conductor. Lee, dressed in a Denver & Rio Grande Western conductor’s uniform, shares the story about the golden days of Colorado railroading.
This year marks Lee’s second foray as a Fireside Chat presenter. Last year he delivered, to packed audiences, a first person characterization of Otto Mears, famous in the region for pioneering toll roads and railways.
This summer—the seventh season of Fireside Chats—the museum aims to bring their vivid, educational and engaging history presenters to Telluride, Mountain Village and Norwood.
In lieu of special grants, the 2012 Fireside Chats are completely funded by community support, in-kind donations and sponsorships from individuals and organizations.
Wednesday and Thursday’s Chats are sponsored by the Norwood Chamber of Commerce, Peaks Resort and Spa and the Telluride Rotary Club.
Lee’s Fireside Chat, “Hiram Wheeler: Conductor of the Rio Grande Southern Railroad,” will be held on Wednesday in Norwood, at the Livery and again on Thursday, in Telluride, at The Peaks Resort and Spa. Lee’s Chat lasts about 30 minutes, leaving time to answer questions. Both Fireside Chats begin at 5:30p.m. and are free.
For more information about Fireside Chats, visit the Museum at the top of Fir St. or online at telluridemuseum.org.
Fireside Chat Illuminated Colorado Railroading
August 2012Fictional first-person characterization at Chats in Norwood and TellurideArt Walk Features Fireside Chat and Robert Weatherford
“ART WALK FEATURES FIRESIDE CHAT AND ROBERT WEATHERFORD”
Telluride, Colorado (August 1, 2012) – This Thursday, as part of the First Thursday Art Walk, the Telluride Historical Museum will offer its first Fireside Chat of the season and celebrate local artist, Robert Weatherford.
The Fireside Chat will begin at 5:30p.m. at the museum amphitheatre. Wine and cheese will be served while two authors – Charmaine Gets and Carol Turner – spin long tales highlighting Colorado’s colorful past.
Getz author of “Weird Colorado: Your Travel Guide to Colorado’s Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets,” will speak about the mystery airships of Colorado, quack medicine ads, and Alfred Packer.
Turner, who penned, “Notorious Telluride: Wicked Tales from San Miguel County,” will tell about the “Snowy Adventures of the Millionaire Kid” and “Death by Gold Fever,” the story of the shooting in Ophir of her great Uncle Charlie Turner.
The museum joined the Art Walk route last summer as part of their effort to draw traffic to their temporary exhibits. Currently on display is “Sound and Vision: 125 years of art and music in Telluride.” To round out the body of antique and historical artifacts, each month throughout the exhibit’s run, the museum features a contemporary local artist. Thursday’s Art Walk serves as the premier of Robert Weatherford’s 48” x 60”oil painting, “Mining Tower.”
“This is such a unique piece, mixing mining heritage with the natural landscape,” said Erica Kinias, museum executive director. “It’s truly a great fit for our exhibit.”
Admission during the Art Walk is free and the museum will extend their hours until 8p.m. The museum is located at the top of Fir St.
Image Caption: Robert Weatherford’s “Mining Tower,” on display at the Museum throughout August.
