Our Mission The mission of The Kansas African American Museum is to make the African American experience relevant and resonant to every Kansan. Our Vision The vision of the Kansas African American Museum is to be the premier place where the community comes to learn about or tell the Kansas African American story. Our History The Kansas African American Museum, formerly the venerable Calvary Baptist Church was once the cornerstone of Wichita’s vibrant black community. It was built in 1917 when the congregation’s leaders worked nights and weekends -separate and apart from their jobs to finish the church. That community featured restaurants, businesses and homes. It hosted jazz artists, Negro League baseball stars, and was the home of America’s first African American Academy Award winner and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s lawyer among others. This building stands as a monument to human endurance as well as to dignity. The people who worshiped here endured painful racial segregation and fought those conditions with dignity. That’s why when Calvary Baptist Church relocated in 1972, Doris Kerr Larkins and others fought to protect this building from urban renewal’s wrecking ball. Larkins and many others launched the First National Black Historical Society in 1973. By 1993, the building joined the National Register of Historic Places and in 1997, became the Kansas African American Museum.

Many of you know the National Museum of American History. After all, it is the home of Dorothy’s ruby slippers, Evel Knievel’s motorcycle, the Star-Spangled Banner, and three million other objects and documents reflecting American history and culture. For an up-close look at Museum work, we invite you to consider becoming a National Museum of American History intern. It is our goal to provide interesting and rewarding internships designed around specific museum projects. These include work in historical research, public programs, collections management, and exhibition design. Because of the variety of projects available, interns come to us with backgrounds in many different fields. The program offers the chance to work behind the scenes and experience museum work firsthand. I hope you will decide to join us.

| | | | | | | | 1940 June 27 - Keel laid down at New York Naval Shipyard, Brooklyn, New York. 1942 August 27 - Launched at New York Naval Yard. Sponsored by Mrs. Henry A. Wallace, wife of the Vice President. Her sleek lines and raked bow fortells her high speed. 1943 February 22 - Commissioned (On Washington's Birthday) Commanding Officer Captain John L. McCrea USN. February 24 - To Sea for shakedown in Chesapeake Bay and along Atlantic Coast. July 9 - USS IOWA completed her post shakedown overhaul. August 27 - En Route to Newfoundland and the North Atlantic for her first war patrol. Assignment, the "Tirpitz Watch", the German battleship, thereby contributing to the neutralization of the threat presented by that warship then poised in Norwegian waters. October 25 - To Norfolk Navy Yard for two weeks of maintenance in preparation for taking President Roosevelt to North Africa for Tehran Conference. November 12 - En route to Mediterranean with FDR and other high-ranking members of American delegation to Mers-el-Kebir, Algeria and then Tehran. The Tehran Conference was with Stalin and Churchill. December 16 - Completion of mission with return of FDR to United States. 1944 January 2 - En Route to Pacific as Flagship of Battleship Division 7, in company with USS NEW JERSEY. The USS IOWA became a charter member of the famous Pacific Fleet Task Force 58. January 7 - Transit Panama Canal. January 23 - First Pacific campaign in support of carrier air strikes against Kwajalein and Eniwetok Atolls. February 16 - First firing of weapons in combat in attack on Japanese naval base at Truk in Caroline Islands. In action off Truk, the USS IOWA sank light cruiser Katori. March 18 - First shore bombardment against Mili Atoll in Marshall Islands. The USS IOWA received her first hit when she was struck by two Japanese projectiles (5 inch and 6 inch). The 6 inch projectile hit Turret 2 and the 5 inch projectile hit the hull plating, neither of which caused significant damage. March 30 - In support of Task group 58, air strikes against Palau and Woleai islands, followed by further strikes against Hollandia, Aitape and Wake Islands. April 22 - Supporting Army landing at Aitape, Tanahmerah and Humbolt Bays. May 1 - Bombardment of airfield, bombs wharf and other enemy facilities at Ponape. June 13 - Shelled Saipan and Tinian and blew up an ammunition dump. June 19 - In action throughout battle of the Philippine Sea. Downed at least three attacking planes. August - Commanding Officer Captain Allan R. McCann USN. September - A unit of Fleet Admiral William F. "Bull" Halsey's third Fleet in support of carrier strikes against Philippine and Caroline Islands. October 10 - Participating in air strikes against Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan and Luzon. October 23 - Headed for Battle of Leyte Gulf. November - Commanding Officer Captain James L. Holloway Jr., USN. November 25 - Kamikaze attack on Third Fleet. USS IOWA claimed two Jills and a Judy. December 17 - At Ulithi for replenishment and maintenance in drydock ABSD-2. Lost plane - washed over the side during typhoon.

The National Museum of the American Indian was a private collection of Native American artifacts — actually the collection was the largest in the world with more than 800, 000 artifacts — before it was transferred to the Smithsonian in 1989. The museum has two branches, in Washington, DC, and New York, NY, and a collections facility in Suitland, MD. Be sure to read our post on other things to do in Lower Manhattan as well as our Guide to New York on a Budget, where you will find other free museums and other attractions. The museum is located at the southern tip of Manhattan, adjacent to both Bowling Green and Battery Parks. As you can see in the map below, access to the museum is possible by several subway train lines. The closest express train stop though isn’t shown on the map. It’s the Bowling Green station (4, 5 trains). We recommend using this Google map for directions to the Museum of the American Indian from anywhere in the NYC area. Being located in Lower Manhattan means that there are many other popular tourist attractions nearby, including the Charging Bull, the Staten Island Ferry, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, not to mention Wall Street and the 911 Memorial. The Museum The National Museum of the American Indian New York is open seven days a week and admission is free ; although, be prepared to go through a metal detector such as at the airports. Public tours for adults and families are held most weekday afternoons at 1pm and 3pm and on Sundays at 3pm, and explain the exhibition and the architecture of this beautiful building. The museum’s permanent exhibition, Infinity of Nations, displays over 700 Native American objects from across the continents. For more information on tours, times and exhibits, check out the museum’s visitor’s page. NMAI-NY is housed in the historic Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House. This building was designed by Cass Gilbert (who also designed the Woolworth Building a few blocks north on Broadway) in the Beaux Arts style. Outside are 12 statues along the frieze (If you look right of the center windows, you can see Christopher Columbus), which represent 12 seafaring nations from around the globe. The four ladies seated out front, designed by Daniel Chester French, represent the four continents.

If you're looking for a place to bring your kids in Rochester, The Strong National Museum of Play is a great bet. The museum is often named to national lists of family-friendly museums; FamilyFun named it to its list of the Top 12 Family Vacation Destinations in 2014. The Strong includes the National Toy Hall of Fame, the International Center for the History of Electronic Games and a number of interactive exhibits. The museum also contains more than 400, 000 items related to play, including toys, dolls, games and electronic games. What to expect Wegmans Super Kids Market: One of the museum's most popular exhibits, Wegmans Super Kids Market is a child-sized Wegmans supermarket. Children can use mini-shopping carts to buy boxes of cereal and fake meats and other items from the store. Other children can act as the butcher or baker or work the checkout line. It also includes the WKID-TV station, where visitors can produce their own commercials or cooking show. Game Time!: Located on the museum's second level, Game Time! is a great place to check out some of the thousands of items that make up the museum's collection of games and puzzles. In addition to learning more about games through an interactive timeline, Game Time! also offers a number of interactive elements to hold visitors' interests. Visitors can try a giant Perplexus, a larger version of a handheld ball maze game once played by President Benjamin Harrison. Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden: The only indoor butterfly garden open year-round in Upstate New York, Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden is a separate exhibit at The Strong with an additional entrance fee. Don't let that deter you from making a visit. The garden features about 1, 000 butterflies, both tropical and native, that fly freely. Entry is timed for 20 minute intervals and the garden has separate hours from the museum. Address One Manhattan Square Rochester, NY 14607 The museum is closed on September 19, November 27, and December 25. Monday-Thursday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday: 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. For the Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden: Monday-Thursday: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. with the last timed entry at 4:40 p.m. Friday: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. with the last timed entry at 6:40 p.m. Saturday: 10:20 a.m. to 7 p.m. with the last timed entry at 6:40 p.m. Sunday: 12:20 to 5 p.m. with the last timed entry at 4:40 p.m General admission Age 2 and older: .50 Under age 2: Free Members: Free Matinee admission Matinee pricing is available on general admission from 3 to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday during the school year. Matinee admission is not available on Fridays, weekends, holidays, during school breaks or from July 1 through Labor Day. Age 2 and older: $8.50 Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden admission Nonmembers: $4 Members: $3 Limited free parking is available at the museum for visitors. Other parking is available nearby at municipal garages for a fee.

Architects: Location: 235 Bowery, New York, NY 10002, USA Architect: SANAA Project Leadership: Saul Dennison, Chairman, Board of Trustees, New Museum; Lisa Phillips, Toby Devan Lewis Director, New Museum; Lisa Roumell, Deputy Director, New Museum Architect Of Record: Gensler Architects Project Management: Plaza Construction Corporation, New York City Structural Engineers: Guy Nordenson Associates, Simpson Gumperts & Heger Inc., New York City Client: New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York City; Zubatkin Owner Representation Lights And Illumination: Arup Year Of Enchargement: 2002 Area: 58700.0 ft2 Project Year: 2007 Photographs: From the architect. Recently Pritzker laureate SANAA offers to architects, critics and customers very sharp architectures, outstanding and internationally recognized. Most of the times, the reason of this is the simplicity and clearness of the concept, and its clean translation into construction. The New Contemporary Art Museum in New York is a precious building with clear concept and strong impact. © Iwan Baan The location context, Lower Manhattan, with its squared blocks and buildings, can be considered as starting point for the Museum image: it replies the boxes surrounding, and stacks them one on top of the other in various sizes and heights, as the plot was a playground for a composition of cubes. By small but significant shifting of the cubes, the building gets dynamicity and an attracting shape, being different but similar to the near constructions. © Iwan Baan The program of the Museum consists of four public galleries at the first four floors, which have free and flexible spaces for exhibitions; a “white box” auditorium in the basement, Education Center at the 5th floor, offices at 6th, a multi-purpose room at the 7th. By shifting the boxes, all galleries get natural illumination, combined with artificial, and the offices and the private locals on the top floors get terraces and opening views to the cityscape. © Iwan Baan

At the Houdini Museum of New York, we have the world’s greatest demonstrators, and famous magicians hang out here every day. You will even see an animatronic Houdini escape from a straight jacket. We host magic lectures, magic shows, cast parties for Broadway and film and many more events throughout the year. The museum in located in the City’s premier magic store, Fantasma Magic, which is located on the northeast corner of Seventh Avenue and 33rd Street, diagonally across from Madison Square Garden and Penn Station. The entrance is located on West 33rd Street, just East of 7th Avenue, and above Sbarros, on the third floor. The Houdini Museum of New York @ FANTASMA MAGIC 421 7th Ave, 3rd floor New York, NY 10001 Tel: 212 244 3633 STORE HOURS: **

Cooperstown is beautifully situated on the shores of Lake Otsego. Everyday, people draw sustenance, recreation and respite from this beauty. The rolling hills and rural farmland further enhance the natural environment, making Cooperstown a most desirable place to live. Residents of the Cooperstown area love their community, its scenic surroundings, its rural traditions and, most especially, its "Main Street" way of life. The Village is peppered with historic buildings, each with a fascinating story. As a popular tourism destination, Cooperstown offers a small town aesthetic to many thousands of passers-through each summer. Cooperstown comes alive with family activities, entertainment and attractions; from a swim at a cool lakeside beach, to sailing, to hiking and fishing, to shopping, dining, or a stop at one of many area museums.

On February 10, 2013 a tornado swept through Hattiesburg, Mississippi and did over 1 million dollars worth of damage to the African-American Military History Museum. Wind and Water damaged the facility and the exhibits located within the museum. The facility and the artifacts contained within it were insured but the museum still needs additional funds to defray the repair costs of the building and to replace or repair the damaged artifacts and exhibits. The areas that suffered the most damage were the Jesse L. Brown, Vietnam and Desert Storm exhibits. Currently, a committee led by Colonel Sheila Varnado is in place to help raise the funds necessary to restore the museum to its original pre-tornado condition. The museum is actually located inside a very historic site, the last standing USO established only for African-Americans. For those unfamiliar with the term USO, it stands for United Service Organization, a private, nonprofit, non-partisan organization whose mission is to support the troops by providing morale, welfare and recreation-type services to our men and women in uniform.

G.G. Heye with Bella Coola Bowl, 1958 George Gustav Heye, founder of the National Museum of the American Indian, stands outside holding a dish, with Mrs. R.C. Draney and E. S. Robinson to his left holding a canoe prow. The group is in Vancouver, British Columbia, and the artifacts are Bella Coola. Signing of American Indian Transfer to Smithsonian, 1989 Ninth Smithsonian Secretary (1984-1994) Robert McCormick Adams (1926- ), signs Memorandum of Understanding with Museum of American Indian (MAI), Heye Foundation, transferring its superb collection of American Indian artifacts to Smithsonian at ceremony on May 8, 1989, overlooking the site of the hoped-for new National Museum of the American Indian to be built on the Mall in Washington to house Heye Foundation Collection. Looking on left to right: Suzan Harjo, member of board of trustees, Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, New York City; Roland Force, director MAI; Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI), chief support of legislation to create NMAI within SI; Dick Baker, member Lakota Sioux Red Feather Society; Congressman Ben Nighthorse Campbell (D-CO), only American Indian member in Congress. American Indian Museum Trustees, 1990 Members of the board of trustees of the National Museum of the American Indian, seated from left:: Barber B. Conable Jr., Julie Johnson Kidd, Curt Muser, Helen Sheirbeck, Jennie Joe; standing, from left:: Arturo Warman, Janine Pease-Windy Boy, Alvin Josephy, Jr., Waldemar Nielsen, Robert Buffalohead, Fred Hoxie, Rosita Worl, Ernest Boyer, David Hurst Thomas, Norbert Hill, and Smithsonian Secretary Robert McCormick Adams. They are in the Secretary's Parlor, Smithsonian Institution Building. American Indian Museum Staff, 1990 National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) staff (and some colleagues from the Huntington Library) gathered in July for this group photo in New York City. NMAI, Heye Foundation, located at 155th Street and Broadway, became part of the Smithsonian Institution in the summer of 1990 Interior of Customs House with Staircase, 1991 Interior of the George Gustav Heye Center of the National Museum of the American Indian in the Alexander Hamilton Customs House in New York City prior to its renovation. This view show a hallway leading to a curved staircase. Interior of Customs House with Fountain, 1991