blog-image
July 28, 2023

Birds of a Feather: The Smithsonian and OHC Natural History Collections

Join Dave Dyer, Natural History Curator, and Marie Swartz, Archaeology Curator, on a journey that intertwines ornithology, archaeology, and natural history, revealing the significance of collaborative research in unraveling the secrets of the past.   One of the basic tenets of a scientific collection is that the data associated with the specimens is as important […]

blog-image
July 5, 2023

When the “Swarm of Iron Bees” Came to Willoughby, Ohio

Manuscripts Curator Matthew Benz describes a recent acquisition: an 1860s handbill advertising a series of scientific lectures and demonstrations.

blog-image
May 30, 2023

Presidential Presents: Harding’s Voyage of Understanding 100 Years Later

In June 1923, President Warren G. Harding embarked on what he called a “Voyage of Understanding.” It consisted of a cross-country journey through the continental United States, along with stops in Canada and the Alaska Territory—the first official visits to those areas by a sitting U.S. President. He hoped the trip, intended to last about […]

blog-image
March 15, 2023

Natural History’s “Green” collections

In honor of the St. Patrick’s Day holiday we delved into our Natural History collections to showcase five of our green specimens and tell their stories!

blog-image
September 19, 2022

Depression-Era Recipes from an Inmate at the Ohio Penitentiary

Explore a unique cookbook that a prisoner at the Ohio Penitentiary created for the assistant warden's wife in 1931.

blog-image
August 5, 2022

New Acquisition of Kenyon Hayden Architecture Portfolio

By Lisa Wood, Audiovisual Curator The Ohio History Connection Archives & Library recently received the generous donation of a student portfolio by Kenyon Hayden. She studied architecture at The Ohio State University and became, if not the first, one of the earliest licensed female architects in Ohio. This portfolio complements the personal papers of Kenyon […]

blog-image
May 23, 2022

Microphones and Radios: How the Public Heard President Harding

As the first president to speak on the radio, Warren G. Harding introduced Americans to the idea of being able to hear their leaders.

blog-image
April 22, 2022

How to Find a Mastodon – The Story of the Williams Mastodon

By David Dyer, Natural History Curator, with Emily George Emily George was on a mission. She had heard about the Williams mastodon while growing up, and about how her grandfather Gus George had helped excavate the skeleton in Columbus in the mid-1950s. After talking with her family about the mastodon for a school genealogy project […]

blog-image
March 20, 2022

Curator Talk: Freeze-drying, Formalin, and Flesh-eating Beetles – How Museums Prepare and Preserve Specimens 

Included with museum admission. Join us for a behind-the-scenes look into the lab of a natural history museum to reveal how specimens are preserved and prepared. Learn how curators create beautiful animal skeletons and engaging taxidermy mounts, discover how delicate flowers and fungi specimens are preserved, and what exactly is in those jars of preserved […]

blog-image
October 8, 2021

Announcing Changes to Collections Access and Curator Services, effective November 1, 2021

Ohio History Connection is excited to announce that we are building a new museum collections storage facility!