February was a busy month at the Abbe Museum! The month started with the much-anticipated
opening of our newest exhibit Wabanaki
Guides, and nearly 100 friends of the Abbe joined us to celebrate and
preview the exhibit the night before it opened to the public. Co-curator Raney Bench gave remarks at the
opening, and delicious treats were donated by the Abbe's Culinary Arts Committee.
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| Wabanaki Guides Exhibit Preview |
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Exhibit Coordinator, Allison Shank, and Co-Curator, Raney Bench.
Additional Curators included Donald Soctomah and James E. Francis. |
Soon after, February break was celebrated with five days of
special programming!
The full-week of
activities, designed by our educator George Neptune, included Passamaquoddy
language activities, woven paper stars and book marks, faux birchbark baskets,
and the second discussion in the Brown Bag Lunch series.
Also that week was a Winter Tracking
Workshop, and after a classroom-style lesson of what to look for, participants
went into Acadia National Park and found eleven different types of tracks!
Animals included partridge, fox, mouse, squirrel, rabbit, bobcat, coyote, beaver, deer, and more! Throughout the week, almost 90 guests attended the various programs!
And, the activities were so popular that
we’ll be doing some again…keep your eyes open for our Spring Break Special
Programs (which will focus on the themes language, ash, and birchbark), Spring
Tracking Workshop, and the third Brown Bag Lunch on March 21.
Here are a few of the exciting scenes produced by the Abbe this February:
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| After some classroom style learning, the tracking begins...look over there! |
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| The group found eleven different types of animal tracks during the workshop. |
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| Passamaquoddy Guide Matt Dana leads the group. |
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| The 2013 Winter Tracking Workshop Team! |
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| Abbe Educator George Neptune helped 23 participants create colorful woven stars! |
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The stars could be decorated with beads and more,
and were inspired by ash stars made by artist Lee DeCora Francis. |
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| Bookmarks, usually made of ash and sweetgrass, were created from cardstock and embroidery floss. |
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George learned that excited participants sometimes finish crafts quickly,
so he then lead families on a tour through Abbe exhibits. |
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| A young visitor plays with an interactive element of our newest exhibit, Wabanaki Guides. |
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| This "birchbark" basket is actually made of paper! |
Then, Cinnamon (CEO) and Raney (Curator of Education) were
off to Washington D.C. for Museums Advocacy Day with the American Alliance of Museums, and for some important meetings on the Hill. They returned just in time to welcome March
with a celebration of Abbe Museum volunteers, and the artists and sponsors who make
the Gathering Gala possible, at the 2013 Winter Gathering. Save the date--the 2013 Gathering Gala will take place on July 17, 2013.
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CEO Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko meets with staffers on the hill
during AAM's Museums Advocacy Day. |
We hope you enjoy the photos we've posted here, and encourage you to visit our
Facebook page for more!
