Museum of the Rockies, Photo exhibition Polar Obsession and multi-media Into the Arctic
MOR lectures: Great War aftermaths, EPA’s Superfund program. At the Museum of the Rockies, two NEW exhibits! Photo exhibition Polar Obsession and multi-media Into the Arctic
Even with the sunny season in the rearview, there’s no slowing down at Museum of the Rockies with a busy fall event calendar. Here’s a look at some upcoming happenings at your neighborhood museum.
Kicking off a new month is the Archaeology Institute of America Lecture, “Revolt! Why the Jews Took on Rome” with Andrea Berlin of Boston University. The presentation will take place Thursday, November 1st in Hager Auditiorium beginning at 6pm. This event is open to the public.
What is the real story behind the animosities that eventually led to the catastrophe of the Jewish Revolt against Rome? Why would a small population without military capabilities or political allies dare to challenge a ruling power of such might? New archaeological evidence reveals a growing cultural divide beginning about two generations before the Revolt broke out, and sheds new light on the prehistory of this explosive event. This lecture will start with the constructions of Herod the Great and his sons, with a focus on the places that he built to impress his patrons. The appearance and character of some of those buildings created the conditions that led Jews throughout the land to band together more intensively and eventually persuade some to organize against Rome.
The Gallatin History Museum Lecture Series’ next edition, False Armisitices: War’s End and Disputed Aftermaths with Montana State College professor of history Dale Martin, will take place Wednesday, November 7th in Hager Auditorium beginning at 6pm.
The last major combat in the First World War, on the Western Front, ended on the 11th of November, 1918. Regional conflicts and civil wars that began in the context of the Great War continued, however, into the mid-1920s in parts of Europe and Asia. The presentation will begin with a quick overview of the war from 1914 to 1918, and then cover some aspects pertaining to Montana, such as Montana’s oft-repeated claim that it contributed more soldiers, proportional to population, than any other state in the nation. The tumultuous years after 1918 will be summarized: the political turmoil in the United States and ongoing warfare in Ireland, Russia, and Turkey. The conclusion will consider the enduring and complex legacy of the Armistice and the symbol of the red poppy.
MOR is pleased to host the Extreme History Project Lecture Series, encouraging public understanding of the way our history has shaped our present. Speakers take a fresh look at interesting historical topics. Superfunded: Recreating Nature in a Postindustrial West with Jennifer Dunn is next up on Thursday, November 15th at 6pm. The lecture will be held in Hager Auditorium and is open to the public.
The EPA Superfund program was established in 1980 and over 1,700 locations have been placed on the National Priorities List (NPL). Superfund sites cover a vast array of environmental damages that contaminate the land and impact the health of citizens across the nation. Superfund’s goal is to clean up some of the nation’s most contaminated waste sites. Former mining communities in the Intermountain West were built on a premise of wealth and power fortified by resource extraction. Mining and smelting generated incredible wealth as well as incredible waste. The Superfund solution to this waste reveal how governments, communities, and individual perceive and respond to the material consequences of our capitalist and industrial decisions.
Museum of the Rockies’ popular series Brews & the Big Sky: Montana Made, Montana Brewed continues with Charlie Bair of Martinsdale, the Wool King featuring Bayern Brewing on Tuesday, November 27th from 5:30–7:30pm. There is a $12 admission including beer tasting, gallery talks, exhibits, and light appetizers for those 21 and older.
Charles M. Bair arrived in Billings as a conductor on the Northern Pacific Railroad in 1883. By the early 1900s, he was the largest wool producer in the U.S., a multi-millionaire and a friend of western artists like Charlie Russell and Joseph Henry Sharp. Learn more about how his hard work, determination, and personality made him a Montana legend.
After a break for the holidays, additional Brews evenings this season will include Big Teams in the Big Sky with Great Northern Brewing Company on Feb. 26th; Silver City to the Copper Kingdom with Muddy Creek Brewery on March 26th; and Crow Fair with featured brewer TBA closing out the series on April 30th.
Also at the Museum, two NEW exhibits! Photo exhibition Polar Obsession and multi-media Into the Arctic are now open. Both are included with Museum admission and will be on display through January.
For more information about these events and other Museum exhibits, visit www.museumoftherockies.org or call (406) 994-5257. •