Mysteries and murder; art and adventure; rodeo and rebellion – the Dickinson Research Center (DRC) has it all. In this Curator Conversation, Kera Newby, Director of the DRC and Curator of Archives, presents a behind-the-scenes look at the archives and library of the Museum. Experience the personal stories, rare books and surprising finds preserved in …
Join Museum Curator Michael Grauer in examining the development of what is known today as a “cowboy hat” using the Museum’s permanent collection. Beginning with wide-brimmed leather hats (vaqueteadas), the exhibition will explore the evolution of the cowboy hat from woven sombreros, to “John B.s” or “Stetsons” (whether they were Stetson-made or not), to today’s …
Join Associate Curator of History Nathan Jones for a playful telling of Western history through the games we play, starting with the Oregon Trail video game first released in the 1970s. Examine the fascinating worlds of board games, video games, toys and roleplaying and how they connect to the history they explore. Registration requested.
Join Museum Curator Michael Grauer in examining the often-thin line separating the outlaw from the lawman, i.e. the lawless from the law-enforcing in the American West. In fact, many outlaws became lawmen and vice versa. Through firearms, badges, bank and railroad ephemera, incarceration tools and photographs, Grauer will share the truth about outlaws and lawmen …
The National Cowboy Museum is the repository of a purse allegedly belonging to Bonnie Parker. To determine the veracity of that claim, the Museum turned to the W. Roger Webb Forensic Science Institute at the University of Central Oklahoma to determine what information they could collect. Hear from a representative of the Forensic Science Institute …
In conjunction with the exhibition ARToons, join Kera Newby, Director of the Dickinson Research Center and Curator of Archives at the National Cowboy Museum, for an evening exploring the cartoony side of Western art. $5; free for Museum members.
Did you know the Pony Express began in Oklahoma? Attend April’s Curator Conversation to learn, discuss and understand the origins of the Pony Express with Ronnie Davis, Award Winning Pony Express Rider and Suzette Chang, Chief Education Officer at the National Cowboy Museum. $5; free for Museum members. Registration requested.
Dutch ovens were used on cattle drives to feed the cowboys and are still used today by chuck wagon cooks. However, these cast iron pots have a much deeper history. Join Luann Sewell Waters, state co-coordinator of the Oklahoma Leopold Education Project, conservation and history educator and Dutch oven cooking instructor as she shares the …
Join Curator of Cowboy Collections and Western Art Michael Grauer and Amena Butler, Studio School Assistant, Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center, as they discuss James Earle Fraser’s Abraham Lincoln sculpture on exhibit at the National Cowboy Museum. Grauer and Butler will discuss Lincoln from an art history perspective and the impact public art can have on …
Panoramic photographs offer a wealth of information about the landscapes of the West and the wide variety of people that inhabited them. Go deeper with W I D E W E S T and learn some of the stories behind the panoramic photographs on exhibit. Archivist Samantha Schafer will share the stories behind the people …
