usgreat

u.s. great museums

http://www.greatmuseums.org/abouttheseries.html

GREAT MUSEUMS™ is an on-going award-winning series of weekly, half-hour programs celebrating America’s museum world. With touches of history, art, and travel for virtually any demographic, GREAT MUSEUMS™ airs coast to coast on public television stations representing more than 80% of US households. What makes this series shine is its substance. Each episode is founded on thoughtful interviews with the museum’s own experts--curators, archivists, scientists, artists--who bring the collections to life. Careful research, dynamic storytelling, intriguing visuals, and high production values make GREAT MUSEUMS™ exciting and relevant.

Episodes to browse online are title in orange, with descriptions at the end of this page.

=======Did You Know?

There are an estimated 16,000 museums in the United States

US museums receive more than 850 million visits per year, more than all the country's professional baseball, football, and basketball sporting events combined.

On average, 2.3 million people visit American museums every day.

75% are small museums.

43% are in rural areas.

Nine out of ten counties have at least one museum.

Museums can be zoos, aquariums, botanical gardens, historical societies, children’s museums and sometimes libraries.

Recent surveys show that Americans from all income and education ranges visit and value Museums.

Museums care for over 750 million objects and living specimens.

After their families, Americans ranked authentic artifacts in history museums and historic sites most significant in creating a strong connection to the past.

Zoos and aquariums invest $51 million in scientific research each year.

16% of museums have a specific ethnic or cultural focus in their collections.

http://www.greatmuseums.org/GMstory.html

MOVE OVER SISTER WENDY, By Amanda Kraus, Museum News, 2002

(Interview with Chesney Doyle, Creator, Great Museums™)

The creative goal of Echo Pictures, Inc., the independent production company that created "Great Museums," is clearly stated: "to knock people out with a half-hour of T.V. that sends them to the Web or their local museum, library, historical society, or school…" Now, imagine that statement spoken with determination and a melodic Southern accent and you have a sense of Chesney B. Doyle, who with her husband Marc Doyle is executive co-producer. She compliments the museum field as she explains the series’ format: "We don’t have a host, or a bevy of our own experts, or a Sister Wendy," she says in reference to public television’s popular art historian-nun. "We rely on the museums’ own curators, archivists, and archaeologists who have dedicated their lives to their fields. We couldn’t imagine a host who is as passionate and knowledgeable as the people from the museums themselves."

She and her husband work closely with museum staff to bring the museum’s key stories to a television audience, envisioning each half-hour episode as "an extension of the museum’s mission

...Each half-hour episode takes T.V. viewers on a virtual tour of an American museum, combining on-location footage of the museum and its permanent collection with staff interviews, music, scripted narration, and, often, archival film and photographs. Chesney Blankenstein Doyle of Echo Pictures, Inc., Atlanta, co-producer/director and creator of "Great Museums," says that in developing each program, the production team aims to "partner with each individual museum, understand their mission, lean their story, and showcase it through the medium of television."

...concentrated on mid-sized and smaller ones

... Marc [Doyle] says he realized that independent television producers and museums face many similar challenges in cultivating audiences

...The typical "Great Museums" viewer tends to have the same psychographic profile as the museum-goer, with a drive for life-long learning. While the series provides this knowledge-hungry audience with what Chesney calls "healthy brain food," it simultaneously draws awareness to the institutions it show

Community Outreach

http://www.greatmuseums.org/community.html

A web-based Community Outreach Resources Guide for GREAT MUSEUMS™ is in development. In cooperation with the American Association of Museums’ Museums & Community Project, GREAT MUSEUMS™ is creating new opportunities for strengthened relationships between local public television and the local museum and cultural community.

For more information, please contact Echo Pictures at outreach@greatmuseums.org.

Teacher Ideas

http://www.greatmuseums.org/teachers.html

.Each show is divided into 4 thematic segments 5 to 8 minutes each, so a modular approach is also possible.

.Specific educational materials relating to a featured museum may be obtained by contacting the education department of the museum (museum links are provided in Video Descriptions section).

.Some teachers prefer to customize an approach to enhancing their teaching with video material. Some general guidelines, ideas and activities for using GREAT MUSEUMS in your classroom are suggested below.

1. Developing Critical Thinking Skills

Each video focuses on a museum’s collection, describing and interpreting individual pieces to tell a larger story about our world and ourselves. One approach to using the series in the classroom is to have students explore an object or a collection represented in the video using the same critical process that a museum curator would use.

Describe – What is it?

Analyze – Why is it?

Interpret – What does it mean?

2. The Community as Classroom

Great collections make great museums. Museums are generally research institutions. Museum activities range from discovering and acquiring the objects in the collection to preserving or conserving them, researching the object, understanding its meaning and interpreting it for posterity and for possible display. But these objects weren’t born in the museum. They began life as a tool or a painting or a musical instrument – something that was used in the real lives of the people they represent. Look around. What’s the story of your community?

Project: Make your own Museum….

Select a group of students to bring in objects that represent the lives of their families or their communities.

Assign 2 to 3 students to each object to conduct further research. Use Internet sources and primary source materials. This may involve interviews with the person who owned or used the object or the discovery of other materials related to the object.

After group discussion and analysis, each team makes a presentation on the object and the story that it tells.

One step further: Can all the objects, taken together, tell a larger story? How would you assemble these pieces into a single exhibit? What story would your exhibit tell?

3. Other activities

Arrange a field trip to a nearby museum for a “behind the scenes” look at the workings of a museum.

Invite a museum professional to the classroom.

Invite museum professionals to present an online interactive lecture in your computer lab, if your school has the technology.

Assignment: Interview a museum professional (archivist, curator, director, archaeologist, oral historian, exhibit designer, librarian, registrar, historian, scientist).

Assignment: Conduct an oral/video history interview with a person who lived an experience of note.

Text from selected episodes

The Boston Children's Museum, http://www.bostonkids.org/index2.html

This program features the second oldest children¹s museum in America, founded in 1913. The Boston Children's Museum began a "hands-on" tradition long before that phrase became commonplace. _A special interview with Michael Spock (museum director 1962-85) gives insight to his role in revolutionizing the traditional museum experience, getting objects out of cases and into children's hands in exhibit areas where children could interact, experiment, and follow their own curiosity.

The Field Museum, http://www.fieldmuseum.org/

The Field Museum's mission to explore the Earth and its people is apparent as soon as a visitor steps into the Great Hall. Just past the two ceiling-high totem poles are two enormous dueling African elephants locked in perpetual battle, as well as Sue, the largest T-Rex ever found. Artifacts and explanations of ancient human cultures from practically every continent are on display. The Chicago museum contains cultural, archaeological, botanical, zoological and geological collections totaling more than 20 million objects, yet less than one percent of them are on display at any given time.

The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, http://www.cbmm.org/

Located in St. Michaels on Maryland's eastern shore, this museum offers 600 years of the unique history of North America's largest estuary. The story covers Native Americans and their dug-out canoes; pirates and privateers; Baltimore Clippers; the American Revolution; hardworking oystermen; SkipJack racing; environmental conservation and more. Though boats are restored on-site, the museum's ultimate mission is about preserving communities and a way of life that is disappearing quickly.

National Museum of the American Indian, http://www.si.edu/nmai

Learn how native history, culture, art and life are part of the shared cultural heritage of all Americans. Behind the scenes at the Maryland-based Cultural Resources Center, thousands of objects, arranged by tribe, are given "traditional native " care, such as air, light, water or food. Featured objects include 3000 year-old duck decoys; a Cheyenne feather bonnet; a priest-like Caribou hunting gown; beetlewing jewelry; cradleboards, dolls and miniatures; Pueblo dough bowls; Pacific Northwest Tlingit hats; Osage pipes; the oldest depiction of human beings in the Western Hemisphere; and a collection of nearly 2000 pairs of moccasins.

Library of Congress (USA), http://www.loc.gov/

Established in 1800 as a small research library for the new Congress, today's Library is considered the repository of the nation's life story and arguably the "ultimate American museum." It's holdings include Jefferson's draft of the Declaration of Independence, marked up by Adams and Franklin; the maps carried in the pockets of Lewis & Clark; the contents of Lincoln's pockets the night he was shot; Gershwin's piano; the typescript of Martin Luther King's "I have a Dream" speech; and Bob Hope's 80,000 page joke file.

The Whale Museum, http://www.whalemuseum.org

There's a museum for everything and this one, on San Juan Island, Washington, is the museum of the "killer whale." Whale watching in the San Juan Islands has become a $10 million industry in recent years. The Whale Museum estimates that more than 500,000 people descend on this region every year to catch a glimpse of the ocean's fastest swimmers ­ the killer whales. The museum has about 80 whales available for adoption.

Meet the whales now www.whalemuseum.org/programs/orcadoption/whalelist.html.

The Franklin Museum, http://sln.fi.edu/

Founded to commemorate and continue the inventive spirit and scientific genius of Benjamin Franklin, the imposing Franklin Institute stands solid as a rock on 20th Street in Philadelphia. Science is a phenomenon--.a process. You can't put it in a museum display case. On ³display² at the Franklin Institute is a surprising ³collection² of ordinary, everyday experiences like ³stability,² ³momentum,² ³speed.² Yet its rich historical collection also charts the progress of science in America, from Benjamin Franklin¹s lightening rod to the Wright Brothers¹ airfoils and flight experiment records, to one of the earliest planetariums in America. The Franklin Institute aims to awaken the scientist in each and every one of us.

ALL EPISODES

Great Museums # 101 ---Location: New York, NY

New York City Fire Museum: Trial by Fire

Program Introduction: Trial by Fire

Act One: The Volunteer Days

Act Two: Paid to Put Out Fires: 1865

Act Three: Soaring to New Heights: The 20th Century City

Act Four: Fire in the Sky: Beyond 9/11

Program Description: Housed in a 1904 firehouse — the former home of Engine 30 — this museum chronicles the history of firefighting from colonial times to the present. The museum features horse and hand-drawn fire carriages, fire buckets and parade hats and modern day equipment. Firefighters — many of whom were involved in the World Trade Center tragedy — serve as the museum’s volunteers. General Topics: History, Technology, Industry

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Great Museums # 102 ---Location: Washington, D.C.

National Museum of Women in the Arts: A Woman’s Touch

Program Introduction: Art, the Great Common Denominator

Act One: Lost in History

Act Two: Feminism and the French Revolution

Act Three: Feminine Impressions: A Woman’s Touch (Late 19th C.)

Act Four: Anonymous No More: Women Artists in the 20th Century

Program Description: The National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., offers the single most important collection of art by women in the world. The museum provides an astonishing survey of women artists representing every major artistic period, from 16th-century Dutch and Flemish still lifes to 20th-century abstract expressionism to postmodern art. General Topics: Art, History, Diversity

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Great Museums # 103 ---Location: New York, NY

Ellis Island Immigration Museum: Face of America

Program Introduction: Gateway and Getaway

Act One: Face of America

Act Two: Becoming Americans

Act Three: Saving Ellis Island: Making a Museum with Treasures from Home

Act Four: Emotional Ties

Program Description: Between 1897 and 1938, immigration changed the face of America. More than 100 million citizens in the United States can trace their ancestry to an immigrant who landed at New York’s Ellis Island. Ellis Island is more than a museum, it is hallowed ground; it is the place where many immigrants from all over the world first touched American soil. Through the museum’s oral history project and through the everyday objects on display — a pair of boots, a cooking pot, religious artifacts and traditional clothing — the museum strives to “give voice” to people whose lives have not typically been seen as history. General Topics: History, Genealogy, Preservation, Industry, Diversity

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Great Museums # 104 ---Location: Los Angeles, CA

Autry Museum of Western Heritage: Spirit of the West

Program Segments: Introduction: Myth vs. Reality

Act One: The 16th Century & The Spirits of the West

Act Two: Seizing Opportunity: Discovery, Conquest, Community

Act Three: Real Cowboys : The Romance of the Wild West

Act Four: Vivid Imaginations: Hollywood, TV and Popular Culture

Program Description: Through Wild West shows, Hollywood and television, the fictional West became a real part of childhood fun for generations of Americans. But, like any great saga, the true story of the West spans many centuries, combining courage, conflict, conquest and romance. At this Los Angeles-based museum, viewers witness the stories of mid-16th century Spanish conquistadors in search of gold and glory; buckskin-clad mountain men; explorers Lewis and Clark; brave pioneers like the Mormon settlers; and the displaced native Mexicans and Americans. General Topics: Art, History, Industry, Popular Culture, Diversity

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Great Museums # 105 ---Location: New York, NY

American Folk Art Museum: American Anthem

Program Introduction: American Anthem

Act One: What is it?

Act Two: The Makers (18-19th Century)

Act Three: The Outdoor Greats

Act Four: 20th Century Folk

Program Description: For many, folk art challenges the traditional notions of “fine” art. This New York-based museum applies the same standards that any art museum would apply to a work of art: the works are challenging, surprising and they inspire creativity. From paintings, weathervanes and decoys to furniture, quilts and sculptures, this episode leaves little doubt that folk art is a viable art form. General Topics: Art, History, Industry, Popular Culture, Diversity

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Great Museums # 106 ---Location: Los Angeles, CA

Hollywood Entertainment Museum: American Dream Factory

Program Introduction: American Dream Factory

Act One: A Town Called Hollywood

Act Two: A Business Called Hollywood

Act Three: An Idea Called Hollywood

Act Four: A Museum Called Hollywood

Program Description: Hollywood is known for its entertainment, art, technology, and imagination, but it is also how Americans export their culture. In essence, Hollywood is still a “factory town" and its product is fantasy. Opened in 1996, the museum is the first of its kind, and exhibits go behind the scenes of makeup and wardrobe and on the sets of Cheers and Star Trek. General Topics: Art, History,Technology, Industry, Popular Culture, Diversity

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Great Museums # 107 ---Location: Oceanside, CA

California Surf Museum: Proudly We Wave

Program Introduction: Proudly We Wave

Act One: Aloha! Captain Cook Spies Hawaiians Surfing

Act Two: Giant on Board

Act Three: Sun, Surf, Sand, Sex

Act Four: Hang Ten Zen

Program Description: In many respects, surfing has not changed in a thousand years. The first Westerner to see and document surfing was Captain James Cook during his voyage to Hawaii in 1778. Nearly two centuries later, surfing belonged to Gidget and Hollywood, but a lot happened along the way. From Duke Kahanamoku to the surf music phenomenon, this museum in Oceanside, California captures the history and unique spirit of surfing. General Topics: Art, History, Popular Culture, Diversity

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Great Museums # 108 ---Location: Chicago, IL

The Field Museum: Earthly Treasures

Program Introduction: Earthly Treasures

Act One: The Whole World at Your Fingertips

Act Two: Sue’s Story: What We Learn from the Largest T-Rex

Act Three: People of the Planet: Cultural Diversity

Act Four: Evolution of Knowledge: Global Research

Program Description: The Field Museum's mission to explore the Earth and its people is apparent as soon as a visitor steps into the Great Hall. Just past the two ceiling-high totem poles are two enormous dueling African elephants locked in perpetual battle, as well as Sue, the largest T-Rex ever found. Artifacts and explanations of ancient human cultures from practically every continent are on display. The Chicago museum contains cultural, archaeological, botanical, zoological and geological collections totaling more than 20 million objects, yet less than one percent of them are on display at any given time. General Topics: History, Science/Technology/Industry, Diversity

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Great Museums # 109 ---Location: Augusta, GA

Morris Museum of Art: The Art of the South

Program Introduction: Defining Regional Art

Act One: What is the “Art of the South?”

Act Two: The People: Antebellum Portraiture to 20th Century Folk Painting

Act Three: The Places: Landscape Painting & American Impressionism

Act Four: The Stories: 2oth Century Literature Narrative Realism

Program Description: From the pleasing 19th century portraits by William Edward West of Kentucky to the vibrant paintings of Gullah life by Jonathan Green of South Carolina, the art of the South is as varied and diverse as its people. Opened in 1992 in Augusta, Georgia, the museum has a surprising collection of antebellum portraiture, Civil War paintings, still life, impressionism, landscapes, narrative paintings and folk art. General Topics: Art & Music, History, Diversity

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Great Museums # 110 ---Location: Denver, CO

Molly Brown House Museum: The Unsinkable

Program Introduction: The Legend of Molly Brown

Act One: An American Folk Legend Comes to Town

Act Two: A Woman’s Home Is Her Castle

Act Three: Restoring the Truth and the Treasures

Act Four: Titanic Fever

Program Description: Being in the Denver home of Margaret “Molly” Brown is like stepping back more than 100 years to Victorian times. Through beautiful period restoration, the exhibit reveals the life of this very unconventional, yet very Victorian, woman and the society in which she lived. Despite her heroic role in the Titanic disaster, she was "caricatured" out of Denver society because of her stance on human rights and social change. General Topics: History, Popular Culture, Diversity

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Great Museums # 111 ---Location: Chicago, IL

DuSable Museum of African-American History: American Soul

Program Introduction: What’s American About Americans?

Act One: What Shall I Tell My Children Who Are Black?

Act Two: Treasures of the DuSable Museum

Act Three: Distorted Images: Made in the USA

Act Four: The Children Shall Lead Us

Program Description: Founded in 1961, the DuSable in Chicago, Illinois, is one of the first African-American museums in the country. The museum follows African-American history from its beginning on the shores of Africa to a celebration of African-American achievements including, Bessie Coleman, the nation’s first black female aviator; World War II Tuskegee airmen; Major Robert Lawrence, the nation’s first black astronaut; and Harold Washington, Chicago’s first black mayor. General Topics: Art, History, Diversity

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Great Museums # 112 ---Location: Philadelphia, PA

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts: Art Gets a Start in America

Program Introduction: Two Centuries of Contemporary Art

Act One: Grand Manners and Morals

Act Two: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Art

Act Three: Rocking the Cradle of Liberty

Act Four: To Be Modern

Program Description: Founded when Thomas Jefferson was president and the Revolutionary War was still a part of living memory, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia is America's first art museum and school, and is home to more than two centuries of American art. Its mission is the same as when it first opened its doors in 1805: to train and exhibit work by contemporary American artists. Inside, students paint before the great works of Charles Willson Peale, Gilbert Stuart, Winslow Homer and Mary Cassat. From 19th century paintings after the Grand Manner Tradition of Europe to contemporary works by today’s artists, this collection may represent the interesting dynamic that exists between the lure of Europe and the increasing instinct of American artists to create an art that is uniquely American. General Topics: Art, American History, Diversity

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Great Museums # 113 ---Location: St. Michaels, MD

Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum: Water Ways

Program Introduction: The World of the Bay Waterman

Act One: Water Ways: The Largest Estuary in North America

Act Two: The Great Shellfish Bay

Act Three: The Revolutions

Act Four: Restoring the Bay

Program Description: Located in St. Michaels on Maryland’s eastern shore, this museum offers 600 years of the unique history of North America’s largest estuary. The story covers Native Americans and their dug-out canoes; pirates and privateers; Baltimore Clippers; the American Revolution; hardworking oystermen; SkipJack racing; environmental conservation and more. Though boats are restored on-site, the museum’s ultimate mission is about preserving communities and a way of life that is disappearing quickly. General Topics: History, Geography, Ecology/Conservation; Science, Technology, Industry, Popular Culture, Diversity

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Great Museums # 201 ---Location: Charleston, SC

The Charleston Museum: America’s First Museum

Program Introduction: New Things from the New World

Act One: America’s First Museum: 1773

Act Two: The Riches of Rice

Act Three: From the Exotic to the Everyday

Act Four: Then and Now: Charleston’s Golden Ages

Program Description: Founded in 1773 on the eve of American independence, this South Carolina museum features natural wonders like the rattlesnake, which so fascinated early European explorers; shells and pottery shards from an on-going archaeological dig that reveal the lost truths of rural slave life; the Civil War journal of the Ft. Sumter soldiers; Charleston-made silver and furniture; and the city's re-emergence as a Southern cultural and tourist center. Historic Charleston homes owned by the museum offer glimpses into the lives of prominent early citizens. General Topics: History, Archaeology, Science, Industry, Diversity

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Great Museums # 202 ---Location: New York, Washington, D.C.: Resource Center in Suitland, MD

Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian: Native Voice

Program Introduction: Interpreting Living Cultures in a Museum

Act One: A New Kind of Museum

Act Two: The Art of Living

Act Three: The Native Voice

Act Four: A Window on the Indian Universe

Program Description: This D.C. and New York-based museum approaches the native story in an enlightened and exciting way, using the native voice to demonstrate that native history, culture, art and life are part of the shared cultural heritage of all Americans. Behind the scenes at the Maryland-based Cultural Resources Center, thousands of objects, arranged by tribe, are given “traditional native ” care, such as air, light, water or food. Featured objects include 3000 year-old duck decoys; a Cheyenne feather bonnet; a priest-like Caribou hunting gown; beetlewing jewelry; cradleboards , dolls and miniatures; Pomo feather baskets; Pueblo dough bowls; Pacific Northwest Tlingit hats; Osage pipes; Valdivia figurines, the oldest depiction of human beings in the Western Hemisphere; and a collection of nearly 2000 pairs of moccasins. General Topics: Art, History, Diversity

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Great Museums # 203 ---Location: Denver, CO

Colorado History Museum: Crossroads of Culture

Program Introduction: Crossroads of Culture

Act One: From the Ancient Anasazi to the Conquistadors

Act Two: Black Cowboys

Act Three: Indians: The Sand Creek Massacre and Cheyenne Dog Soldiers

Act Four: Boom and Bust

Program Description: At this Denver museum, the key players in the Colorado drama come to life: The cliff-dwelling Anasazi Indians; the Spanish, who named it Colorado, meaning red; the 19th century ranchers, miners, missionaries and Native Americans. Highlights include the reality of the Black cowboy life; the boom and bust days of mining when only a few like Horace and Baby Doe Tabor would strike it rich. Through a specially designed glass wall visitors glimpse the 95 percent of the collection that is in storage, and gain a unique sense of what “preserving our history” entails. General Topics: History, Technology, Industry, Popular Culture, Diversity

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Great Museums # 204 ---Location: Clarksdale, MS

The Delta Blues Museum: The Blues Lives On!

Program Introduction: Our Most Enduring Classical Music

Act One: Origin of the Blues

Act Two: The Blues Leaves Home

Act Three: Blues, Blacks and Whites

Act Four: Bringing the Blues Back Home

Program Description: Located in an old depot in Clarksdale, Mississippi, where Muddy Waters boarded the train to carry the Blues to the world, this small museum tells the powerful story of the origins of the Delta Blues and its ultimate transformation into Rock-n-Roll. Interviews include actor and native son, Morgan Freeman and blues artists Charlie Musselwhite and "Super Chikan" Johnson. Featured are Muddy Waters’ sharecropper cabin; Sonny Boy Williamson’s harmonicas; B.B. King's guitar, “Lucille;” and the annual Sunflower River Blues festival, which brings together rising talents and established stars of America's most enduring music. General Topics: Art, Music, History, Industry, Popular Culture, Diversity

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Great Museums # 205 *High Definition ---Location: New Orleans, LA

National D-Day Museum: Triumph of the Spirit

Program Introduction: Triumph of the Spirit

Act One: The Greatest Sacrifice

Act Two: "The Man Who Won the War"

Act Three: The Day That Changed the World: June 6, 1944

Act Four: The Promise of Peace in the Pacific

Program Description: This is not the history of World War II, but the story of what it takes to transform a nation of people into a nation of warriors. This New Orleans-based museum, opened in the year 2000, talks about war in human terms and celebrates the American spirit through the personal stories and artifacts of the American men and women who sacrificed and prevailed in an epic struggle against tyranny. In one soldier’s Christmas letter to “my dear little boys,” a father struggles to explain war to his young children. He was killed shortly after the letter was sent, but he left his children a legacy of love and hope evidenced by his careful letter. General Topics: History, Technology, Industry, Popular Culture, Diversity

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Great Museums # 206 *High Definition ---Location: Vermillion, SD

National Music Museum: America’s Shrine to Music

Program Introduction: Not Just the Icing on the Cake

Act One: America’s Shrine to Music

Act Two: Variation 1: European Instruments

Act Three: Variation 2: Non-Western Instruments

Act Four: Variation 3: American Musical Instruments

Program Description: The art of making music requires genius, precision and passion. Founded in 1973, this landmark museum in Vermillion, South Dakota, includes more than 10,000 musical instruments from virtually all cultures and historical periods. Today, its holdings are rivaled only by institutions in such cultural centers as Berlin, Brussels, Paris, and Vienna. Featured are Stradivari and Amati violins; Saxophones by Sax, the inventor of the saxophone; American Civil War brass instruments; C.G. Conn instruments; a contemporary Gamelan; a Thai turned log drum; the Sargent Pepper Lonely Hearts Club horn; the Bill Clinton sax and more. General Topics: Art, Music, History, Industry, Popular Culture, Diversity

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Great Museums # 207 *High Definition ---Location: Boston, MA

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: Collective Vision

Program Introduction: Isabella’s Plan: To Assault Your Senses with Art

Act One: Art Opens You Up to be Different

Act Two: The Artist at Work

Act Three: The Old Inspires the New

Act Four: Triumph of the Will

Program Description: A patron with exquisite taste and a zest for life, Isabella Stewart Gardner traveled the world for over three decades, assembling piece by piece one of the world’s most remarkable art collections. Her interests ranged from Rembrandt, Titian, Sargent, Whistler, and Matisse to architectural antiquities, medieval stained glass windows, tapestries, painted leather “wallpaper” and rare books. In 1903, the “palace” she built as a museum to house her collection was opened to the public. She personally directed the installation of the entire collection It remains on permanent display exactly as she willed it, creating complex conservation challenges. Though she died in 1924, her vision that art should be a transforming experience is still the guiding principle of this Boston-based museum. General Topics: Art & Music, History, Object and Textile Conservation

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Great Museums # 208 *High Definition ---Location: Saratoga Springs, NY

National Museum of Racing: Horse Power

Program Introduction: Ode to the Beast

Act One: Win, Place and Show

Act Two: Owners, Trainers & Jockeys

Act Three: The Match Races

Act Four: Start to Finish

Program Description: Thoroughbred racing is one of America’s oldest sports, and it has a colorful history. Seabiscuit, Man o' War, Secretariat, Arcaro, and the Jones Boys are all heroes of the turf and names that evoke the clang of the starting gate, the thunder of pounding hooves-- the sights and sounds of racing. Located at the historic Saratoga Springs racetrack, this museum celebrates the sport and the animals whose grace and beauty have become legendary. General Topics: History, Industry, Popular Culture, Diversity

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Great Museums # 209 *High Definition ---Location: Sacramento, CA

California State Railroad Museum: Binding Ties

Program Introduction: The Magic of the Railroad

Act One: Linking a Nation

Act Two: The Golden Age of Railroads

Act Three: Railroads & Everyday Life

Act Four: On Track: Railroading in the 20th Century and Beyond

Program Description: The railroads helped shape the unique culture of the West and reunite a Civil War-torn nation. Through meticulously restored locomotives, archival photographs, and artifacts, this Sacramento museum illustrates the diverse experiences of those who built the railroads and those who used them. General Topics: History, Technology, Industry, Popular Culture, Diversity

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Great Museums # 210 * High Definition ---Location: Rochester, NY

George Eastman House: Picture Perfect

Program Introduction: He gave us our “image.”

Act One: Through the Lens: The Language of Light

Act Two: “ You press the button, we do the rest.”

Act Three: The House That George Built

Act Four: The Future of Film

Program Description: Located on historic East Avenue in Rochester, New York, the 12.5-acre museum site was the urban estate of George Eastman, founder of Eastman Kodak Company. The Museum focuses on the 150-year history of the art, technology, and impact of photography and motion pictures – media that continue to change our perception of the world. The 1910 Colonial era house, where Eastman lived and died, offers a glimpse into the private world of this marketing genius who invented the word “Kodak” and made photographers of us all! General Topics: Art, History, Technology, Industry, Popular Culture

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Great Museums # 211 * High Definition ---Location: Washington, DC

The Library of Congress: Volumes to Speak

Program Introduction: World’s Largest Repository of Knowledge & Creativity

Act One: Books and Beyond: America as a Product of the Age of Print

Act Two: Memory: The Nation’s Life Story

Act Three: Reason: A World of Knowledge

Act Four: Imagination: Source of Ingenuity and Invention

Program Description: Established in 1800 as a small research library for the new Congress, today’s Library is considered the repository of the nation’s life story and arguably the “ultimate American museum.” It’s holdings include Jefferson’s draft of the Declaration of Independence, marked up by Adams and Franklin; the maps carried in the pockets of Lewis & Clark; the contents of Lincoln’s pockets the night he was shot; Gershwin’s piano; the typescript of Martin Luther King’s “I have a Dream” speech; and Bob Hope’s 80,000 page joke file. General Topics: Art & Music, History, Literature, Science, Technology, Industry, Popular Culture, Diversity

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Great Museums # 212 * High Definition ---Location: San Juan Island, WA

The Whale Museum: Science at Sea

Program Introduction: The Sea as “Extended Exhibit Floor”

Act One: A Great Big Collection…and... It’s Alive!

Act Two: Humans of the Sea

Act Three: Science at Sea

Act Four: A Whale of a Show: Whale Watching

Program Description: There’s a museum for everything and this one, on San Juan Island, Washington, is the museum of the “killer whale.” Whale watching in the San Juan Islands has become a $10 million industry in recent years. The Whale Museum estimates that more than 500,000 people descend on this region every year to catch a glimpse of the oceans fastest swimmers - the killer whales. General Topics: History, Science,Technology, Ecology, Popular Culture

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Great Museums # 213 * High Definition ---Location: San Antonio, TX

Institute of Texan Cultures: Behind the Lone Star

Program Introduction: The True Texans

Act One: Behind the Lone Star (Native Texans, Black Seminoles, & Spain)

Act Two: The Lone Star State is Born (Anglo-Texas; European Immigrants)

Act Three: Living off the Land (Italian Cowboys; Japanese Farmers)

Act Four: Wild Men, Wildcats and Women’s Wear (Jewish Texans)

Program Description: Cowboy boots, spurs, and cattle quickly come to mind when people think about the Lone Star State. But who are Texans, really? This surprising San Antonio museum explores the 26 diverse cultures that settled Texas. The people of the world came to Texas, and all of them did not become cowboys. General Topics: History, Popular Culture, Diversity

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Great Museums # 301 *High Definition ---Location: New York City

**The Metropolitan Museum of Art : World of Art (Part One)

Introduction: “A World of Art” Part One

Act One: What Makes a Masterpiece?

(Spiritual qualities; Egyptian jasper lips, El Greco, Van Gogh, Eakins, Rubens; Western traditions; Chinese painting)

Act Two: In the Beginning

(Architectural history; J.P. Morgan; Egypt; Arms & Armor)

Act Three: Making Choices

(Washington Crossing the Delaware; The Luce Center for the Study of American Painting; American landscapes from Bingham to Heade to Homer)

Act Four: The Art of Success

(Making an impact; 19th century French painting, Courbet, Manet, Monet, Renoir, Gauguin, Matisse; Louisine Havemeyer, Mary Cassatt and Degas)

Program Description: In this visually stunning high definition production, “A World of Art,” the magnificence of America’s premier art museum lights up the screen. One of the architectural glories of New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art stretches 1000 feet along Fifth Avenue. Inside is a dazzling three dimensional encyclopedia of world art, radiating 5,000 years of artistic history. From millions of works of art, curators at the Met must decide for this day and age, what makes a masterpiece? In this episode: Egypt; China; Renaissance Europe; Arms & Armor; American; Impressionism; collectors J.P. Morgan and Louisine Havemeyer; connoisseurship and critical evaluation. General Topics: Art History, Culture, Diversity, Art Appreciation.

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Great Museums # 302 *High Definition ---Location: New York City

The Metropolitan Museum of Art : World of Art (Part Two)

Introduction: “A World of Art” Part Two

Act One: Ideal Beauty

(Greek, Roman and South Asian sculpture; Canova’s Perseus; The Costume Institute)

Act Two: A Collection of Collections

(Lehman Collection; Early Italian painting; Northern Renaissance from Van Eyck to Vermeer; Western Europe from Velazquez to Goya)

Act Three: The American Way

(Portraiture from Copley to Sully to Sargent; Madame X)

Act Four: Evolving Aesthetic

(Annenberg Collection from Van Gogh to Picasso; Early Modern and African art; Michael Rockefeller and the art of Oceania)

Program Description: Founded in 1870, the Metropolitan Museum of Art was built on the shoulders of capitalism: J.P. Morgan, Havemeyer, Lehman, Rockefeller, and Annenberg are just a few of the names behind the Met’s collections. Today, the Met remains dedicated to the on-going pursuit of the greatest treasures of mankind. In this episode: Greece and Rome; Asian India; Costume Institute; early Italian Renaissance; Northern Renaissance; American portraiture from Copley to Sully to Sargent; Van Gogh; Africa, Oceania and Meso-America. General Topics: Art History, Culture, Diversity, Art Appreciation.

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Great Museums # 303 *High Definition ---Location: Philadelphia, PA

The Franklin Institute: Wonderland of Science

Program Introduction: Science is a Phenomenon

Act One: Everyday Science (Franklin and Scientific phenomena)

Act Two: Interactive Pioneers (Roots in the Mechanical Age)

Act Three: Mind over Matter (The Wright Brothers)

Act Four: Answers in the Heavens

Program Description: Founded to commemorate and continue the inventive spirit and scientific genius of Benjamin Franklin, the imposing Franklin Institute stands solid as a rock on 20th Street in Philadelphia. Science is a phenomenon--.a process. You can't put it in a museum display case. On “display” at the Franklin Institute is a surprising “collection” of ordinary, everyday experiences like “stability,” “momentum,” “speed.” Yet its rich historical collection also charts the progress of science in America, from Benjamin Franklin’s lightening rod to the Wright Brothers’ airfoils and flight experiment records, to one of the earliest planetariums in America. The Franklin Institute aims to awaken the scientist in each and every one of us. General Topics: Science, History.

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Great Museums # 304 *High Definition ---Location: Dearborn, MI

The Henry Ford: Made in America

Program Introduction: Innovation, Imagination, Ingenuity Made in America

Act One: History is Bunk (Ford’s view that history is made everyday by everyone)

Act Two: Genius at Work (Ford mobilizes the 20th century and collects Americana)

Act Three: If at first you don’t succeed…

Act Four: Character Made in America

Program Description: With the success of the Model T and the assembly line, Henry Ford was in the business of making history and mobilizing the 20th century. By the time he opened his museum in 1929, Ford had amassed tens of thousands of seemingly ordinary objects to document the genius of ordinary people. Rows of cast iron stoves, an endless parade of planes, trains, automobiles, tractors, cotton pickers. George Washington’s cot, Thomas Edison’s Menlo Park “invention factory,” an entire Americana “village” – all designed to represent innovation, imagination, ingenuity made in America. General Topics: American History, Industry, and Culture.

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Great Museums #101 High Definition ---Location: New York, New York

The Museum of Modern Art: In Our Time

Program Introduction: A Modern Art Adventure

Act One: The Next

Act Two: A Total Work of Art

Act Three: Art About Art

Act Four: Modern By Design

Act Five: Pressing Matters in Print

Act Six: Art In Action

Act Seven: Art In Our Time

Program Description: What do the superstars of modern art - van Gogh, Matisse, Picasso, Pollock, Warhol - have in common with the Vincent Black Shadow motorcycle and an Apple iPod? All share the stage at New York's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Here the two big questions are: What makes it modern AND what makes it art? MoMA's experts, along with David Rockefeller (son of MoMA founder Abby Aldrich Rockefeller) discuss the museum's development and its peerless collection of modern art.

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Great Museums #102 High Definition ---Location: New York, New York

Riches, Rivals, and Radicals: 100 Years of Museums in America

Program Introduction: The Story of Our Stuff

Act One: The Exhibitionists

Act Two: Buy American

Act Three: The Evidence

Act Four: The ³Ah Ha² Moments

Act Five: American Mosaic

Act Six: Joys of the Job

Act Seven: Building Knowledge

Program Description: Discover the commanding and charismatic characters whose fervor fueled the 20th-century revolution that changed America's museums from dusty and elitist to dynamic and democratic! This landmark public television special features museum stories coast-to-coast.

Riches, Rivals, and Radicals is hosted by award-winning national correspondent Susan Stamberg, who has covered the world of museums and the arts throughout her broadcasting career.

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Great Museums #103 High Definition ---Location: Cooperstown, New York

National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum: Home Base

Program Introduction: Home Base

Act One: Roots of the Game

Act Two: Baseball Goes Pro

Act Three: Autumn Glory

Act Four: The Sacred Home of Baseball

Act Five: Game of Change

Act Six: Lightning In a Bottle

Act Seven: Swinging In the Seventies

Act Eight: Diamonds Are Forever

Act Nine: Connecting Generations

Program Description: Nestled between the Adirondacks and the Catskills in central New York State, the pastoral village of Cooperstown has a mighty mission: to preserve and protect the story of America's Game at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. “This is much more than just runs, hits, and erros,” say Vice President and Chief Curator Ted Spencer. “This is about American life.”

Baseball has been America's national pastime for nearly 150 years. Founded in 1939, today's museum preserves history, honors excellence and connects generations through the story of baseball and America, featuring more than 35,000 artifacts, two million documents, 500,000 historic photographs, and 10,000 hours of original TV and radio recordings. The adjoining Hall of Fame contains the plaques of more than 275 of baseball's immortals, including the first five men elected in 1936 - Babe Ruth, Christy Mathewson, Honus Wager, Ty Cobb, and Walter Johnson.

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Great Museums #104 High Definition ---Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota

Walker Art Center: Creative Catalyst

Program Introduction: The Ideas We Don't Have Words For

Act One: Creative Catalyst

Act Two: Something to Talk About

Act Three: Making a Mark

Act Four: Exporting Minnesota

Program Description: A laboratory for the art of the future, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, begins where most art museums leave off. The starting point is right now, today! In fact, many of the pieces displayed, screened or performed here are commissioned directly from the artists. Founded in 1879, the Walker began as the first public art gallery west of the Mississippi and has become one of the world's leading contemporary art museums, covering art and design, music and dance, film, and art education. The special features interviews with choreographer/dancer Bill T. Jones and artist Chuck Close. The newly expanded Walker opened in 2005 with new galleries, cinema, and a state-of-the-art theater, as well as restaurants and other public amenities.

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Great Museums #105 High Definition ---Location: Boston, Massachusetts

The Boston Children's Museum: Mind Over Matter

Program Introduction: Play Is Learning

Act One: Mind Over Matter

Act Two: Growing Up

Act Three: The Art of Life

Act Four: Keeping It Real

Program Description: Rummaging through a trunk of old clothes in the Grandparent's Attic display, children are not just trying on clothes; they're trying on the business of being adults. Play is learning at the Boston Children's Museum (founded 1913), which revolutionized the American museum experience half a century ago by getting objects out of cases and into children's hands.

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Great Museums #000 High Definition ---Location: New York, New York

China: West Meets East at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Program Introduction: West Meets East

Act One: China Patterns

Act Two: Energy of the Line

Act Three: The Rule of Man

Act Four: Where the Past Meets the Present

Act Five: Art and Politics

Act Six: The Last Empire

Act Seven: A New Way of Looking

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Great Museums #101 High Definition ---Location: Washington, D.C.

The Smithsonian National Zoo: Wild Thing!

Program Introduction: A Park Full of Wild Animals

Act One: Where the Wild Things Roam

Act Two: Ambassadors to the Wild

Act Three: The Life of a Zoo Vet

Act Four: All the Great Discoveries

Act Five: The Edge of Extinction

Act Six: A Conservation Community

Act Seven: The Web of Life

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Great Museums #102 High Definition ---Location: Havana, Cuba

The Great Museums of Havana: Curious About Cuba