A Lifelong Interest in Native American Life Inspired American Plains Collection Donation

 

Moccasins

By ELIZABETH FISHER

 

In 1926 the Dayton Society of Natural History (DSNH) received one of its largest ethnographic collections. Katharine Houk Talbott of Dayton donated nearly 200 objects from the American Plains, but they were collected by “Dr. A. L. Corey.”

Anson LeGrande Corey, born in 1848 in Potter County, Pennsylvania, headed West at the age of sixteen and never looked back. He formed relationships with Native American communities in Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho, and was closely associated with the Crow and Arapaho people. Corey was documented as the first white man who ever sat in council with the Arapaho’s, and reportedly “lived among the Indians for more than fifty years.”

Pouch

He became well known for his artistic talents and training in the “Indian Arts” and taught these skills to the local Native American community at St. Michael’s Mission. Exhibits of this work traveled nationwide. Corey’s skills extended to doctoring the sick and injured often. He never received formal training and was referred to as the “Indian doctor.”

In June 1923, two years before his death, Corey visited Dayton to superintend the arrangement of the “Indian exhibit” he recently sold Mrs. H. E. Talbott. Highly publicized in the Dayton Daily News on October 2, “Lifelong Friend of Indians Spends the Week Here,” Corey spent time with Mrs. H. E. Talbott “…cataloguing the finest collection of Indian treasures ever assembled in this country outside the Smithsonian Institute.” Little is still known of the relationship between Mrs. H. E. Talbott and Corey, but thanks to their efforts the collection gives a rare and fine insight into the American Plains lifeway.

Parfleche

 

 

 

Elizabeth Fisher is the Collections Manager and Registrar for the Dayton Society of Natural History.

 

Falcon Cam Update: April 25, 2018

By LIZ TOTH

The falcons have four eggs in the nest!  Peregrine falcons lay an average of four eggs in a clutch with each egg laid a few days apart.  The first egg was laid on April 16, the second on April 18, the third on April 20, and the fourth on April 24.  Incubation takes 29 to 32 days.  She started closely sitting on the eggs by April 24 so hatching could take place as early May 22.  For now, the female spends all of her time warming the eggs and turning them.  She is observant of any dangers outside the nest but the male is nearby protecting their territory.  Occasionally he will come to the nest to relieve her of her incubation duties and provide her with food.  Here we can see the first three eggs when she stands up to reposition herself:

 

…And then there were four!

 

Liz Toth is the Associate Curator of Live Animals at the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery.

Better Late than Never…

April 17, 2018

By LIZ TOTH

Today we have our first peregrine falcon egg in the nest!  This is the latest date falcons have ever laid their first egg on the Liberty Savings Tower. It is possible our unseasonably cold weather this spring has contributed to a late start to egg laying.

New Peregrine Falcon Egg!

 

It was snowing yesterday and this morning with snowflakes floating in front of her the falcon sat tightly on the scrape. Once she moved, the first egg could be seen!

Peregrine falcons lay an average of four eggs in a clutch with each egg laid a few days apart. Incubation of the eggs starts toward the end of egg laying and the eggs will synchronize to hatch around the same time. Keep an eye on the cam for more eggs soon.

Liz Toth is the Associate Curator of Live Animals at the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery.

 

 

 

 

George and Romie Gunckel: Explorer’s Collection Documents a Thoughtful Passion for World History

by ELIZABETH FISHER

A native of Dayton, George I. Gunckel grew up at 527 West 2^nd Street, an affluent and formative neighborhood in the city.  He was recognized as a member of a pioneering and influential family in the community. Gunckel’s father, Oliver I. Gunckel was considered a “man of affluence in Dayton” and “represented one of the old pioneer families” of the region. His grandfather and namesake, George W. Gunckel, at the age of 83, was depicted as the second oldest pioneer resident in the Village of Germantown in the Dayton Daily News on August 2, 1904. His death in 1909 was documented “as the last [member] of this famous family, which has done so much for Montgomery County.”

Gunckel’s First Post  – Guard Mount at Camp Marahui

It was a flourishing time in military dentistry and an unsettling period in the Southern Philippines. Gunckel and his wife, Romie, spent the first three years in Southern Philippines among the Moro people. The Muslim or Moro population were resistant to foreign occupation since the Spanish-American War. Regardless, the Gunckel’s had respect for the people and culture. Over 260 objects in the Gunckel collection at the Dayton Society of Natural History represent the Philippine culture and Moro people.

Food Basket

Enlistment dental standards, until WWII, “only required enough teeth to bite off the end of the cartridge so that the gunpowder and bullet (ball) could be loaded into a muzzleloader rifle.

Following his prosperous adolescence, George I. Gunckel earned the title of D.D.S. in 1899 from Ohio Medical University, after graduating from Ohio State University and Orchard Lake Military School. One year later, he married “Greenville girl” Romie Elizabeth Turner. After establishing a private dentistry practice, in 1904 he joined the U. S. Army Medical Corps as a Contract Dental Surgeon. Shortly afterward, George and Romie sailed for the Philippine Islands for the next three years. Lieutenant Colonel Gunckel served as a dental surgeon for the U. S. Army Medical Corps from 1904 to 1919.

Brass Gong

Gunckel concluded his military service after WWI and traveled the world with his wife during retirement. They eventually returned to Gunckel’s childhood home in Dayton, where they resided until his death at 61 on April 17, 1937.

After his final retirement from dentistry, George and Romie Gunckel traveled worldwide visiting places like Alaska, the American Southwest, Western Indians, South America, and Mexico.

Bamboo Harp

In 1946, Mrs. Romie Gunckel transferred the Gunckel collection to the Dayton Public Library Museum, or Dayton Society of Natural History (DSNH) as we know it today, in memory of her husband. These included Japanese samurai armor, Spanish armor, swords, spears, baskets, musical instruments, shields, woven garments such as sarongs and sashes, and much more.

 

Samurai Armor. Left Shin Protector

Romie sold their home to the American Red Cross during WWII and returned to Greenville where she passed away on September 6, 1948.

Elizabeth Fisher is Collections Manager and Registrar for the Dayton Society of Natural History.

 

 

 

Celebrating Life’s Milestones with the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery, SunWatch, and Fort Ancient

AMANDA EGLOFF

As the holiday season wraps up and winter moves in, it is fun to reflect upon the many ways our members and their guests have shared their lives and celebrations with us here at the Boonshoft, SunWatch, and Fort Ancient.  Aside from daily trips to just be at the museum, members can rent any of our three sites to celebrate these special moments in their lives.

Birthday Parties:

The Boonshoft Museum of Discovery hosts birthday parties on Saturdays and Sundays from 1pm-3pm.  The generous birthday package starts with sharing the day at the museum with 50 of your child’s friends and family members and a private room for celebrating in.  Enhance your day by adding on one of our add-on options, like a private planetarium show or lego bin.  Is your child interested in animals and their welfare?  They can host an Adopt an Animal Party and sponsor one of our Discovery Zoo Residents.   And for the older child, a gift of the Junior Zookeeper experience or Adoption at one of our higher levels of sponsorship just might spark that lifelong love of veterinary science!

Make sure to get a jump on that birthday planning, because parties book 6-8 weeks in advance!

Weddings:

One of the special things about being an institution since 1958 is that generations of children and adults have made their way through our doors.  Many of these children grow into adults with fond memories of their time here and want to incorporate that into their next big milestone, weddings!  The Boonshoft and Sunwatch are both excellent wedding venues for ceremonies and receptions.  Each wedding couple brings its own unique story to share with us.  Sometimes it’s the memory of a treasured family member who used to bring them here.  Some of our couples met each other here or shared an important experience here while dating.  The staff at the Boonshoft tries to tie in those special memories during your time here with us.  Whether it’s meeting up close and personal with Patience the sloth right before heading into your reception or rocking out to your favorite metal band in the planetarium, each of our weddings are memorable, to say the least!

Special Events:

When it comes to holidays, parties abound!  But you don’t just have to be celebrating the holidays to enjoy a good time at the Boonshoft, Sunwatch, or Fort Ancient.  From small training sessions to corporate family days and nonprofit events, the Dayton Society of Natural History has your next work event or large celebration covered.  Why spend the afternoon in a meeting or conference room when you could be talking about expense reports while watching otters play?  Bring your work family here and celebrate with us!

Amanda Egloff is the Rentals Coordinator for the Dayton Society of Natural History.

Complete Your Holiday Shopping List at the Discoveries Gift Shop at the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery!

ANGELA M. SHAFFER

Are you still searching for the perfect holiday gifts for your friends and family? The Discoveries Gift Shop at the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery offers thousands of educational, fun, and unique items for everyone on your list! Whether you’re searching for hands-on science and robot kits, striking rock and fossil specimens, colorful plush pieces, or even a Star Wars™ Death Star™ serving platter, we’ve got you covered!

Our knowledgeable, friendly Guest Services staff is always happy to help you choose the perfect gift. Visit us anytime the Museum is open (9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and noon-5 p.m. on Sunday); you may shop anytime in the Discoveries Shop without paying general admission.

Just in time for the busy holiday shopping season, here are some of our most popular items and staff favorites, organized by price. Happy holidays!

Stocking stuffers under $5.00

We have a plethora of fun stocking stuffers at affordable prices. A perennial favorite is astronaut ice cream, in delicious flavors like mint chocolate chip and cinnamon apple wedges. Other bestsellers include bright Ty™ plush clips for accessorizing backpacks and jackets, sparkling crack-open geodes and amethyst and citrine specimens, earthy rock and mineral dig kits, slimy Mars mud and Pluto plasma,  and slippery water snakes—all priced at $4.99 or less!

Stocking stuffers under $10.00

You’ll find lots to of unique plush pieces in the Discoveries Shop, and we carry several smaller pieces, including super-soft otters, meerkats, and sloths. If you’ve got a little one who loves to play with diecast toys, we’ve got those, too, including trains, police cars, planes, and tractors. You can fill a branded drawstring bag with rocks or magnet stones to give to a young geologist, or you can gift a robot claw to a young explorer!

Gifts under $20.00

We carry a wide variety of DIY science kits for less than $20.00, so stock up for all of the budding astronomers, paleontologists, and scientists on your list! Just in time the holidays, new Ty Gear™ plush backpacks are available in a variety of styles. You’ll also find ant farms, large plastic dinosaurs, mermaid-and fairy-making kits, and backpacks full of themed diecast toys!

Gifts under $50.00

For less than $50.00, there are several truly unique options in the Discoveries Shop. The Inclocknito and Spy Science Money Safe kits allow kids to keep their treasures safe, while our brand-new Scientific Robot kit offers many experiments and learning opportunities in one convenient package. Dinosaur table lamps offer a cool way to light up the night, and impressive pizza and space station playsets will bring hours of imaginative play to the creative kids on your list. And don’t forget the large Ty™ Beanie Boos™ and Beanie Babies™, which promise hours of colorful cuddling fun!

Adults

What do you buy for the guy or gal who has everything? A Bigfoot action figure or scarf, of course, or perhaps Star Wars™ salt-and-pepper shakers or that Death Star™ serving platter! Pass the time by completing a puzzle featuring the periodic table of the elements or beautiful gemstones; keep the time with a cool galaxy-print (or, yes, Star Wars™-themed) wall clock. Cozy socks in a variety of fun animal designs help keep cold winter feet warm; cold winter mornings are made a little more bearable when hot coffee or tea is sipped from a handwarmer animal mug. And office work always goes a little faster when you have a woodpecker stapler or otter tape dispenser by your side.

Visit the Discoveries Gift Shop today and let us help you choose the perfect holiday gifts!

Angela M. Shaffer is the Senior Manager, Guest Services and Database Management at the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery.

For Halloween the Boonshoft Museum Presents Frankenstein, Plasma, and Pickles…Oh My!

By MACKENZIE E. ENGLISH

Halloween is just around the corner and we here at the museum are also celebrating in our own way.  Just like Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, we use the sheer power of electricity in our demonstrations.  We are making a pickle glow, using plasma to make art, and watching electricity dance in the air above a Tesla coil.

Tesla Coil in Action

Electricity is made up of charged particles, normally in the form of electrons being stored on atoms.  When we talk about electricity we look at three things; voltage, amperage, and wattage.

• Voltage is how fast the electricity is being pushed through a cable.
• Amperage is how much electricity is being pushed through a cable at one time.
• Finally, wattage is the result of combining the voltage and amperage and is how much power the electricity will produce.

We store electricity in batteries and it comes out of the walls we plug our phones into.  But when harnessed we are able to do much, much more with it.

Our electrical demonstrations can be shocking to watch but are very illuminating to how they work.  Many of the demonstrations use transformers to increase voltage.  This allows us to make high voltage electricity to push through a pickle.  This causes the sodium (salt) in the pickle to become very “excited”.  The extra energy in the sodium is then released as yellowish-orange light and a lot of heat.  The pickle is cooked from the inside out as it puts on a light show for us all to enjoy.

Dr. Frankenstein’s Monster

When thinking of Frankenstein we often think about the lightning used to bring his monster to life as well as the display of electricity behind him in the movies moving up the metal rods.  The electricity seen in both cases is actually the air around us being set on fire by the high voltage electricity.  This is known as plasma and is the fourth state of matter.  In nature, we see this every time there is lightning, but in the museum, we arch electricity across the air from one metal rod to another.  When the electricity arches across it releases large amounts of energy into the air, setting it on fire and turning it into plasma.

Another time we can watch electricity move through the air is with a Tesla Coil. Nikola Tesla originally invented it as a way to light up the world without power lines and cables that we see today. It works by

Plasma Emission From a Tesla Coil

using transformers to increase the voltage exponentially until the toroid (donut shape at the top) cannot hold any more electricity.  It then jumps through the air and dances as it turns the air into a battery and charges it up.  The charged air then can power light bulbs and other devices.

Even though electricity can be a lot of fun to watch, it is also very dangerous.  One must have the knowledge and respect for it.  Please do not attempt any demonstrations you have seen at home.  If you would like to see them, come to the museum where we are trained on the safety of use in these applications.

Mackenzie E. English is Laboratory Coordinator for the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery.

 

Legendary Shawnee Chief Tecumseh Inducted Into Dayton Region’s Walk of Fame

ANDREW SAWYER

The last week of September has been celebrated as American Indian Week in Ohio since 2014 when the Ohio General Assembly voted to publicly recognize American Indian communities and their history in our state. An additional acknowledgment of Ohio’s American Indian heritage took place recently in Dayton as well. Since the City of Dayton Bicentennial in 1996, the Dayton Region’s Walk of Fame has set out to recognize outstanding individuals and groups for their enduring personal or professional contributions to the community, nation, and the world. On Thursday, September 28, the Dayton Region’s Walk of Fame inducted their first American Indian into that group, Shawnee Chief  Tecumseh.

         Legendary Shawnee Chief                   Tecumseh

Born in 1768 in southern Ohio, Tecumseh grew up during an era when the newly independent United States was expanding into the Ohio Valley homeland of the Shawnee and other indigenous tribes. This expansion was opposed by American Indian tribes in the region including the Shawnee, Miami, Delaware, and many others, who joined forces in the late 1700s to defend their homelands. The signing of the Treaty of Greenville in 1795 ceded southern Ohio to the United States. After this, Tecumseh was determined to keep what land remained for the Shawnee in Ohio, and if possible to reclaim land that had been ceded.

The Meeting of Brock and Tecumseh: War of 1812 Bicentennial – C.W. Jeffereys

With this in mind Tecumseh, along with his brother Tenskwatawa (The Shawnee Prophet), reassembled a confederacy of American Indian tribes who fought against previous U.S. expansion and joined forces with the British in the War of 1812 in hopes of accomplishing those goals. Tecumseh’s death at the Battle of the Thames in October of 1813 ended those hopes, but he continues to be remembered as a brilliant military strategist and organizer. Ultimately the U.S. forced the removal of the Shawnee and other tribes from Ohio to “Indian Territory” in what are now the states of Kansas and Oklahoma.

While Tecumseh’s vision of maintaining tribal territory in their Ohio homelands may not have succeeded, his hopes for the survival of the Shawnee did, and many of them were in Dayton to celebrate his rightful induction into the Dayton Region’s Walk of Fame.

Andrew Sawyer is an anthropologist and archaeologist. He is the Site Director of SunWatch Indian Village/Archaeological Park in Dayton, Ohio.

 

 

Boonshoft Museum’s Educator Open House Helps Make Your Classroom Too Cool for School!

By BLAIRE M. H. BARTISH

The days are getting shorter, the weather is starting to cool down, and the 2017-2018 school year is beginning! Another nine-month season of all things academic is upon us, and some of the hardest workers on the planet are gearing up to get back to the grind.

We at the Boonshoft know how hard teachers work. We are constantly in contact with educators of all kinds- from Preschool to High School and even College! Their never-ending sacrifice is evident in their love of learning and their dedication to their students. In order to show gratitude and support to our favorite public servants, the Education Department at BMD is hosting its second annual Educator Open House (EOH).

This year’s EOH will take place at the Museum on Thursday, August 31, from 6-8 pm. Since teachers tend to spend a lot of their own money on things for the classroom, complimentary wine and hors d’oeuvres will be served from the ever-popular Brock Masterson, and fantastic raffle prizes from United Arts and Education, Mary Kay, Shawnie Haskell Licensed Massage Therapist, Highlights Magazine, and the Education Department at the Boonshoft will be available.

The night will feature a variety of program samplings from BMD, sister sites SunWatch Indian Village/Archaeological Park, Fort Ancient Earthworks and Nature Preserve, and the Montgomery County Solid Waste District. Interested in learning how your students can become experienced water-quality specialists? Stop in and watch Robin, our Senior Coordinator of School and Teacher Services perform a demonstration from our Pond Study program. Want to know how your students can spend a day living like ancient civilizations? Talk to Jack at the Fort Ancient table about the Explorers Workshop. Need help figuring out which grants your classroom is eligible for? See Karen at the Education Desk for help getting things like Exhibits-to-Go in your school at no cost.

The EOH is great for middle school and high school teachers as well. Many people tend to write BMD off as a “children’s museum,” however, we have a variety of interactive programs for older students, such as looking at parent-child traits of fruit flies in our Genetics and Heredity Workshop. Your pupils may be too big to go down the slide, but they are never too old to be captivated by science!

As always, the Educator Open House is free to attend, but registration is limited and required. Reserve your spot now at https://dsnh.regfox.com/educator-open-house.

We hope to see you there!

 

Blaire M. H. Bartish is the Manager of School and Public Programs at the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery.

So You Want to See the Total Solar Eclipse This August

By JOE CHILDERS

Chances are you’ve heard that a rare astronomical event is happening on August 21; a total eclipse of the Sun.  Not only is it rare (there hasn’t been one visible from the Miami Valley since 831 CE), it is also spectacular!  Indeed, eclipse expert Fred Espenak,  who has been under the moon’s shadow more than twenty times, says “In rating natural wonders, on a scale of 1 to 10 a total solar eclipse is a million.”

 

Total Solar Eclipse In France 1999   (Luc Viatour/wwwLucnix.be)

 

From Dayton this August we’ll see a deep partial eclipse—close, but no cigar.  We will get to see a total (or totality) solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, but if you’re impatient or don’t want to risk bad weather, you’ll want to travel down to Kentucky or Tennessee to see this year’s eclipse.

Here are three things you need to know:

1. Do not expect to find a hotel, campground, or any other kind of accommodations whatsoever within driving distance of the eclipse path.

When it’s been forty years since the last American total solar eclipse, people who have been looking forward their entire lives to this got their reservations in early—up to three years ago!  So plan to sleep in your car, if at all.

2. Do expect that traffic will be horrible that morning.

Everyone else who realized at this late date that there are no accommodations available will be driving in the morning of.  The eclipse happens around 2:30 p.m. or so in the afternoon, varying a little by location. You want to get into the path of totality many hours before that, lest you risk being stuck in traffic outside of totality.

3. Do know that the eclipse is definitely worth taking a day off work, pulling the kids out of school, and putting up with nasty logistics to go see in person!

One cannot overemphasize how impressive a total solar eclipse is.  Photographs like this one do not do it justice.  Everyone has a limited number of opportunities to see a total solar eclipse in their lifetime, and everyone who sees one remembers it for the rest of their life!

                        Solar Eclipse Map Across Kentucky                       (GreatEclipse.Com © Michael Zeiler 2014)

So my suggestion is this: plan to drive down in the pre-dawn hours of August 21, map out state highways that are less likely than interstates to be congested, and plan to see the eclipse from a box-store parking lot or a similar easily-accessed location.  But if you decide to stay in the Miami Valley, come on down to the Boonshoft Museum that day for all sorts of fun, eclipse activities for our partial eclipse!

Visit https://www.greatamericaneclipse.com for more on this topic.