Adangme (African people); Adangme (African people) -- Food; Food habits; Implements, utensils, etc.; Nigeria--Social life and customs
Like many places in the world, fast food chains are becoming more and more popular in Nigeria. However, most families continue to prepare and eat their meals at home. Because Nigerian culture is very community-centered, large meals are usually made...
This owl gets its name from the brown, bar-like streaks running up and down its chest. It is often very active right before dark, searching for food in the swamps, river bottoms, and forests where it lives. It is a state and federally protected...
Braille; Braille--Equipment and supplies; Braille, Louis, 1809-1852
Named after Louis Braille, the six dot system of writing called Braille allows people who are blind to use written communication. Using a slate, the author pushes the stylus into the slate to make indentations into paper from right to left. To read...
Cameras; Photography; Polaroid Land Camera; 1950s; Land, Edwin Herbert, 1909-
Before digital cameras, Edwin Land invented a way see the picture right after snapping the picture. His daughter inspired him by asking why she couldn’t see the picture right away. He created a way to develop film inside the camera in the late...
Electronic voting; Voting-machines; Voting; Elections; Marion County (Ind.); Elections -- Equipment and supplies
Thousands of Marion County, Indiana residents voted at this machine between the 1930s and the 1980 election. During this time, many African Americans struggled to gain the civil rights Caucasian men and women enjoyed. Even though the 15th Amendment...
Fishing; Fishing lures; Fishing tackle; Fishing--Equipment and supplies
Whether you fish for fun or for food, having the right equipment is important. This rubber lure, made about 1960, really looks and moves like a worm! Do you think it would look tasty to a fish?
This piece was found right here in Indiana by a five year old from Terre Haute. This is a fine example of the kind of plants that lived in this area 300 million years ago.
This chair, part of Frank Gehry's "Easy Edges" series, was one of the seventeen pieces in the series made from laminated cardboard. The lamination, done at right angles, increased the strength and resilience of the collection. Originally...
With the marriage to Emperor Zeno’s widow, Ariadne, Anastasius I became Emperor of Rome in A.D. 491. Anastasius ruled successfully for 27 years. One of his successes was coinage reform. By issuing a much wider range of bronze coins, Anastasius...
Hanukkah; Dreidel (Game); Jews -- History -- 586 B.C.-70 A.D.
Dreidels are square-sided spinning tops used to play a game of chance. The four Hebrew letters, nun (N), gimmel (G), he (H), and shin (SH) illustrated on the sides of the dreidel represent the sentence Nes Godol Hoyoh Shom, A great miracle happened...
Hanukkah; Vests; Judaism; Judaism -- Customs and practices; Menorah; Dreidel (Game); Clothing and dress
First celebrated more than 2,000 years ago, Hanukkah commemorates the victory of the Jews over the Syrians and the re-dedication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. When the Jews first re-entered the temple, they only found enough oil to keep the...
A new hat for a new hairstyle! During the 1920s, the cloche hat fitted closely to the bobbed haircut – almost to the eyebrows! As the most popular hat for women, the cloche came to represent the social reforms women worked for including the right...
Horseshoe crabs are actually more closely related to spiders then crabs. Their tail is not a weapon; it is used to help flip it right side up if it should get turned over and acts as a rudder as it moves through the sand. These animals are classic...
Farming without machines is hard work. Having the right tool can make a job easier. Before tractors and combines, farming required extensive hands-on work. The wooden seed comb helped to separate small seeds from the larger stalk of the plant. The...
Indians of North America; Indians of North America -- Northwest Coast of North America; Indian textile fabrics -- North America; Chilkat indians; Tlingit Indians; Chilkat textile fabrics; Hand weaving; Blankets; Indian dance -- North America
Chilkat dancing blankets were made for men and women to wear, or give, at special Northwest Coast occasions. With movement, the soft fringe would give the impression that the blanket was alive and dancing. Other Northwest Coast weavers held the...
It's not often that you find the remains of a prehistoric animal right in your own backyard. That's what happened on the Christensen farm, near Greenfield, Indiana, in 1976. As workers used machinery to create a pond, they accidentally scooped up...
The flat-headed peccary, a relative of the pig, stood about 30 inches tall at the shoulder and probably weighed around 110 pounds. It was probably fairly omnivorous, eating both plants and meat. Most fossil peccaries can be found in the Midwestern...
Can you imagine sitting perfectly still for hours at a time, just so someone could paint your picture? Miniature painting came into practice during the16th century in Europe. Originally called "liminings" or "painting in...
These Japanese puzzles are called kumiki, meaning “to join wood together”. Because of the common threat of earthquakes in Japan, traditional craftsmen developed ingenious ways of interlocking wood joints rather than using nails to help ensure...
Riding habit; ; Horses -- Equipment and supplies; Horsemen and horsewomen -- Costume; Clothing and dress; 19th century
An 1890s woman would wear a riding habit like this one when riding side saddle. The extra width of the skirt allowed the rider to loop her right leg over the pommel of the saddle and still hide her ankles. Would you like to wear this wool outfit on...
