Kids Explore ‘Museum Mysteries’ at the History Center

The Tampa Bay History Center continues its children's program, A Little History, on Thursday, October 13 from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. with Museum Mysteries.

Dress up in your favorite costume and enjoy a spooky (not scary!) adventure as you solve the case of the missing artifact. Fingerprints will be taken as we search behind the scenes and through the galleries to find the culprit! Make a spooky craft with your thumbprints and enjoy a silly sing-a-long.

A Little History is open to children ages 3-5 with an adult companion. Programs are held the second Thursday of each month from 10:30-11:30 a.m. Each program is $10 per child and $6 per adult. Members of the Tampa Bay History Center receive a $2 discount for children and adults. One adult must accompany every two children. Space is limited, pre-registration is required.

For more information on A Little History, contact Assistant Curator of Education, Jennifer Tyson, at (813) 675-8960 or jtyson@tampabayhistorycenter.org.

Political insiders gather at the History Center to discuss history of Tampa Politics

Tampa politics is filled with tales of corruption, scandals and labor disputes - and that’s just the 19th century.

A new course at the Tampa Bay History Center will assemble politicians, journalists, historians, lobbyists and activists for a five-week exploration of Tampa Bay’s fascinating – and sometimes wild – political past.

Each session will cover a different aspect of local politics, including women in politics, corruption and mafia influence, the news media, voter participation and more. Panelists include USF historian Gary Mormino, former Tampa mayor Sandra Freedman, former County Commissioner Jan Platt, journalists Rob Lorei, Dan Ruth, Keith Kate and Kelly Ring, along with a host of local political activists, lobbyists and other experts.

Tampa History Highlights is organized by the Tampa Bay History Center and USF’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. Classes are held each Wednesday from 10 a.m.-noon, beginning Oct. 5th at the History Center. Cost is $50 for the five-week series Pre-registration is required. To register, call USF at (813) 974-2403. For more information about the course or the exhibition and related programming, visit http://www.tampabayhistorycenter.org/.

Course Schedule:

Oct. 5
Gary Mormino: Florida Politics Since 1900
Mafia and Corruption featuring Bob Kerstein, John A. Jones, Paul Game, Suzanne Willett

Oct. 12
Darryl Paulson: Shifts in Political Parties in Florida
Politics and Civil Rights in 20th Century Tampa with Fred Hearns, Helen G. Davis, Sandy Freedman, Delano Stewart

Oct. 19 
Betty Castor: Changing Role of Women in Politics
Women Making a Difference featuring Jan Platt, Mary Figg, Pat Frank, Gwen Miller

Oct. 26
Changing Media Landscape featuring Patrick Manteiga, Dan Ruth, William March , Kelly Ring, and Keith Cate. Moderated by Rob Lorei
How Voter Participation Affects Politics featuring Mickey Castor, Joseph Citro, Stacy Feiler, Chuck Smith

Nov. 5
Political Influences of Lobbyist and Consultants featuring Kathy Betancourt, Ron Weaver, Jan Gorrie April Schiff, Adam Goodman , Mitch Kates
Susan MacManus: Political Changes of Today and Tomorrow

History Center Exhibit is 'Out of This World'

There’s the Gasparilla Parade of Pirates, the Sant Yago Night Parade, and the Mama Guava Stumble -- but downtown Tampa will experience its first out-of-this-world invasion when the Tampa Bay History Center opens Out of This World: Extraordinary Costumes from Film and Television on Saturday, Oct. 1.

Just in time for Halloween, Out of This World will feature more than 30 costumes and related objects from science fiction films and television programs such as, Star Wars, Blade Runner, Terminator, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica and Batman.

The exhibit kicks off on Oct. 1 with an inter-galactic invasion led by Florida’s 501st Rebel Legion and the Real Tampa Ghostbusters. Costumed characters will begin their march to the History Center along downtown Tampa’s Riverwalk in Cotanchobee-Ft. Brooke Park at 1 p.m. The procession begins at the Marriott Waterside, traveling east to the History Center.

The exhibition will allow visitors to examine how costume design incorporates color, style, scale, materials, historical traditions and cultural cues to help performers and audiences engage, in new or accepted ways, with the characters being portrayed.

“The costumes and characters depicted in Out of This World are part of American culture, part of our shared cultural history,” said Rodney Kite-Powell, Saunders Foundation Curator at the History Center.

On exhibit through January 7, 2012 in the History Center’s Wayne Thomas Gallery, Out of This World: Extraordinary Costumes from Film and Television is organized by the Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame in Seattle and is presented by Bright House Networks, the St. Petersburg Times, Tampa Digital and the Kimmins Foundation.

For more information on the exhibit and related programming, visit our website.

Author Shares Stories of Young Explorer at History Center

Follow in the footsteps of one of Florida’s youngest explorers when the Tampa Bay History Center welcomes Harvey E. Oyer III, author of the children’s book series The Adventures of Charlie Pierce, to Florida Conversations on Saturday, September 24 at 2 p.m.

The Pierce family was among the first to settle in South Florida in the late 1800s and young Charlie grew up exploring the Florida wilderness, populated at the time by Seminole Indians, alligators and the remnants of Spanish shipwrecks.

Oyer will discuss the stories featured in his Adventures of Charlie Pierce series, which are drawn from the diaries and journals Pierce kept throughout his life.

Admission to the History Center is free on Saturday, part of Museum Day, which is organized by Smithsonian Magazine. Smithsonian Day at the History Center is made possible by Dex Imaging.

Florida Conversations is co-sponsored by the USF Libraries Florida Studies Center and supported by WUSF Public Media and features authors and presenters covering a variety of Florida topics, from politics to fiction, history to environmental issues.

Public parking is available at St. Pete Times Forum East Lot, the Channelside garage and other city-owned lots. For more information, contact the Tampa Bay Center at (813) 228-0097 or online at http://www.tampabayhistorycenter.org/.

Archaeology: Classes at the Tampa Bay History Center Unlock the Secrets of Human Bones

You won’t find them on CSI, but archaeologists from USF and the Florida Public Archaeology Network know a thing or two about dead people. Secrets of Human Bones, a new class series, will be held on September 27th, October 4th & 11th from 6:30-8 p.m. at the History Center. The series will dig down deep to find out how Florida's first people lived and died by investigating human remains uncovered in Florida's mortuary ponds and burial mounds. Find out what these well-preserved bones tell today's archaelogists about early life in Florida.

The classes will be held in the classroom at the Tampa Bay History Center and the cost is $30 for the 3-week series. To find out more information or to register for the series, call TBHC at 813-228-0097, ext. 0.

Ybor City Photo History Safari presented by the Tampa Bay History Center and the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts

Put on your walking shoes and prepare to capture some historic sights on this three-hour photo safari. Camera and history enthusiasts alike will enjoy this enjoyable and educational photo safari through Ybor City. Participants will discover the colorful history and heritage of Ybor, while learning from a professional photographer how to get the best shots of local historic landmarks. Co-presented by the Tampa Bay History Center and the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts (FMOPA). 

The tours will be held on two Saturdays, September 17th & November 12th and will go from 1-4 P.M.

Participants will meet at La Tropicana Café, located at 1822 E 7th Ave. in Ybor City and leave from there. The cost is $50 for members of the Tampa Bay History Center and the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts; the cost for non-members is $60. Since each tour is limited to a maximum of 15 participants, you may secure your spot in a class by calling FMOPA at 813-221-2222. For more information, please visit http://www.fmopa.org/.

HISTeria Returns to the Tampa Bay History Center

Grab your superhero tights and get ready for HISTeria, returning to the History Center from 8 p.m. till midnight on Saturday, October 22. Presented by Cigar City Brewing, downtown Tampa's premier adult costume party promises to be even bigger and better than last year, featuring beers from Cigar City brewing and food from Datz Delicatessen, Café Dufrain, the Columbia Café, Pizza Fusion, Splitsville and more.

Drawing on the History Center’s newest exhibit Out of This World: Extraordinary Costumes from Film and Television, HISTeria attendees are encouraged to wear costumes inspired by classic movies and kitschy television shows from the past.

Tickets are $50 in advance. History Center members recieve a $10 discount before October 1. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit http://www.histeriaevent.org/.

Seeking New Volunteer Docents

Do you have a passion for history? Want to learn more about Florida and the Tampa Bay region, and share your knowledge and enthusiasm with others? If so, apply to become a volunteer docent at the History Center. Docents are the History Center's welcoming faces and informed voices, leading thousands of school children through the galleries for lively and interactive lessons.

We are currently recruiting applicants for our 2011 training class. No experience is necessary-the only prerequisites are enthusiasm, commitment and a willingness to learn. For more information, contact Julie Henry Matus at 813-675-8981 or matus@tampabayhistorycenter.org.

History Center Announces Partnership with Smithsonian Institution

The Smithsonian Institution has selected the Tampa Bay History Center to participate in its Smithsonian Affiliations Program. The History Center joins a prestigious national list of affiliates and is one of only 12 in Florida.

This partnership between the History Center, which opened its new facility in downtown Tampa’s Channelside District in 2009, and the Smithsonian provides a broad range of benefits including access to technical support for programs and collections, professional development opportunities for History Center staff, and increased marketing and awareness through the Smithsonian Affiliations website and newsletter.

Perhaps most significantly, this relationship allows the History Center access to the Smithsonian’s collection of more than 130 million artifacts, offering extended loans for temporary and permanent exhibits.

“We are proud of this partnership and we are excited about the opportunities available to us through the affiliation agreement,” said the History Center’s Frank E. Duckwall Foundation President and CEO, C.J. Roberts.

“We are delighted to begin our affiliation with the Tampa Bay History Center,” said Harold A. Closter, director of Smithsonian Affiliations. “The History Center has a distinguished record of serving the public through exhibitions, educational outreach and public programming. Working together, we look forward to bringing the Smithsonian to Tampa, while we bring Tampa’s story to larger national audiences.”

Visitors will have the opportunity to visit the History Center free of charge as part of Smithsonian Magazine’s Museum Day, on Saturday, September 24. Museum Day at the History Center is made possible locally by Dex Imaging.

For more information about the Tampa Bay History Center, visit http://www.tampabayhistorycenter.org/. For more information about Smithsonian Magazine’s Museum Day, visit www.smithsonianmag.com/museumday.