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Junior Curators

Each week on the Junior Curators blog, we travel back in time to a different place in Tennessee history. Stories may be about a famous person, place or event from Tennessee’s past. They will include things like priceless artifacts, pictures, videos, and even some games. Be sure to better understand the story by answering the questions at the end of each post.

After learning the story, be sure to share what you've learned with your parents, family, or friends. Try making your own exhibit about it, shooting a movie, or writing a story about it. Let your creativity run wild!

6-30-20

There’s No Smiling in History: The Invention of Photography

by Morgan Byrn Have you ever looked at an old photograph? As a kid, I thought that the people living in the past must have been grumpy. In those old photographs, people are usually not smiling. This made me think. Did people not smile back then? When we think about photography, we have to go back to the beginning, to 1839. The first photographs were called daguerreotypes (duh, gare, ro, types). At a studio, a photographer would take the person’s picture. The picture was developed on m... Read More
Posted by Katie Yenna at 6-30-20
Innovations

6-25-20

What's That? Frontier Edition

by Lauren Grizzard Hey, Junior Curator! A question you will be asked a lot working in a museum is “what’s that?” We have some quizzes to help you learn what item ‘that’ might be. Today we’re going to look at a few items you would have seen used on the Tennessee frontier (mid-late 1700s). So hop in your wagon and let’s get started! What's That? Frontier Edition   Lauren Grizzard is the Scheduling Coordinator at the Tennessee State Museum. Read More
Posted by Katie Yenna at 6-25-20
Frontier/Before Statehood

6-23-20

You Can Be an Oral Historian

by Jennifer Watts Have you ever heard someone say, “When I was a kid things were different?” I know I have. One of my dad’s favorite things to do was telling me what it was like when he was my age. At the time, it was something I had to listen to. Now I know those stories were important. Life was different for him as a child. Historians use stories, or records, like his to learn about life in the past. You can too! The stories my father told me are called oral histories. H... Read More
Posted by Katie Yenna at 6-23-20
Communities Tennessee in the 20th Century

6-18-20

Google Earth: Capitol

by Lauren Grizzard and Tennessee Teacher Marshall Ogier Have you walked the same halls used by Union soldiers during the Civil War? Have you visited the burial site of President and First Lady Polk? Have you been in the room that the 19th Amendment was ratified and gave women the right to vote? Well, now you can from your couch! Just click the link below to virtually tour the Tennessee State Capitol using Google Earth: Google Earth: Capitol   Special thanks to Marshall Ogier for crea... Read More
Posted by Katie Yenna at 6-18-20

6-16-20

Standing Up by Sitting Down

by Christopher Grisham Have you ever heard of Martin Luther King Jr. or Rosa Parks? For many of us, they are the first names that pop into our minds when we think of the fight for civil rights. What about the name Ida B. Wells? Portrait of Ida B. Wells, TSM Collection. When Ida B. Wells was born in 1862, the United States was fighting the Civil War and most African Americans were still enslaved. The war and slavery ended just a few years later in 1865, but African Americans were still ... Read More
Posted by Katie Yenna at 6-16-20
African American History Women's History

6-11-20

Mississippian Matching Game

by Grace Allen Between 1000 and 500 years ago there were Mississippian Indian cities and villages all over Tennessee. Mississippian communities had skilled artists that made pottery and other goods. We have some great examples of this at the Tennessee State Museum. Check out this memory game using images of Mississippian artifacts in our collection.  To play, click to flip over the cards and see the images from our collection. When you flip over two of the same image, the pair will tur... Read More
Posted by Katie Yenna at 6-11-20
Prehistoric Tennessee

6-9-20

A Tale of Two Red Pandas

by Morgan Byrn Have you ever stopped by the red panda exhibit at the Nashville Zoo? Visitors light up in delight as they watch Dr. Lily and Rowan climb, play, and nap in their exhibit. Today, you can usually find their homes in the treetops of Nepal, China, and Burma. They are about the size of a house cat and are herbivores. Now you might be thinking I wish they lived in Tennessee! They did long ago! How do I know? I’ll tell you and it all starts with a road. In 2000, the state was i... Read More
Posted by Katie Yenna at 6-9-20
Prehistoric Tennessee

6-5-20

Tennessee Farming

by Jennifer Watts Tennessee has long been a land of farming.  From the Native Americans who moved here thousands of years ago, to the small vegetable gardens in our own backyards, growing crops and raising animals played a big role in our state’s success.  The Tennessee State Museum collection has many artifacts representing that part of our history.  Junior Curator, take the quiz and see how much you know about Tennessee farming: Tennessee Farming Quiz   Jennife... Read More
Posted by Katie Yenna at 6-5-20

6-4-20

How New Industries Revolutionized Tennessee

by Joyska Nunez-Medina Tennessee became a state in 1796. At this time, the world was seeing big changes. The changes from the late 1700s to the early 1900s are known as the Industrial Revolution. New technologies changed how people lived and worked. Different ways of making items helped people make money. New types of transportation allowed people to move around those items and travel to new places faster. Below are a few things that were important to the growth of Tennessee during the Indus... Read More
Posted by Katie Yenna at 6-4-20
Innovations

6-1-20

How Tennessee Became a State

by Christopher Grisham When Tennessee became a state on June 1, 1796, it was the end of a long process. The idea to create a state from the land west of the Appalachian Mountains wasn’t new. When the British were in control, the land was reserved for Native American peoples only. No one else was allowed to settler here. So what happened when the British lost the American Revolution? The state of North Carolina claimed all the land between the mountains and the Mississippi River. People... Read More
Posted by Katie Yenna at 6-1-20
Statehood/Early Tennessee

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