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The Museum will close at 4:00 p.m. on Friday, April 12 and Saturday, April 13 for an event.

Curator Conversations: Mother Roads

Explore the West by “taking the highway that is best” with Samantha Schafer and Nathan Jones, curators of the exhibition Mother Roads. Ride along on a trip that covers the Museum’s history along Route 66, the weird and wonderful world of roadside America and the ways we tour the West. $5; free for Museum members. … Continued

Curator Conversations: Chuck Wagon Chuck: History vs. Mythology

Follow the invention of the chuck box and the chuck wagon from Charles Goodnight in the mid-1860s to the chuck wagon’s use on ranches in the American West today. Learn who the cooks were who sometimes — intentionally or not — spoiled the broth, er, beans, on the trail and on the ranch, and who … Continued

Curator Conversations: Treasures from the Gilcrease

Explore the nineteen works of art at the National Cowboy Museum currently on loan from the Gilcrease Museum located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Examine why these works of art were selected specifically to be exhibited at The Cowboy and how they contribute to the story of the American West. Discover master artists and their significant contributions … Continued

Curator Conversation and Exhibition Openings: Aliento a Tequila and Sombreros Texanas and Bosses of the Plains: Cowboy Hats from the Permanent Collection

Join the National Cowboy Museum for an evening filled with programming! Kick off the evening with the Curator Conversation with special guest Dr. Marie Sarita Gaytán, Associate Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies at the University of Utah, discussing her extensive study of the tequila industry. Immediately following the presentation, raise a glass to the … Continued

Curator Conversations: Mysteries of the Dickinson Research Center

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 … Continued

Curator Conversations: Sombreros Texanas and Bosses of the Plains

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 … Continued

Curator Conversations: You Have Died of Dysentery

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.

Event Series Curator Conversations

Curator Conversations: outLAWman

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 … Continued

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