(This column was first published in the February 4, 2002 Buffalo News.)
Recently
the Buffalo Museum of Science celebrated its 140th anniversary and its
remarkable record over those years of service to this city and region. Despite
the additional significance of the decade, such meetings are usually rather
brief with a few dry reports -- business as usual.
But this
celebration turned into something quite unique for the institution. Invited
back were the "Museum Kids", children who attended museum activities
between 1927 and 1976. And they quite simply took over the meeting.
I wish
that someone had the foresight to record their comments. It was quite
remarkable to hear these folks, some of them now elderly, tell of the influence
of this institution on their lives. Perhaps Dr. Cora Musial said it best,
"In addition to my family, the museum was the biggest influence on my life
and the person I became personally and professionally." But she was not
alone. To Ruth Anderson, for example, "The BMS was my second home."
It
quickly became clear that most had been from the central city, "rich kids,
poor kids, black kids, white kids, all having fun together and being
friends." As another put it so well, "I credit the museum with
offering me exposure to a richer, more diverse cross section of people than
were found at the particular public schools I attended, with giving me a
knowledge and appreciation of multicultural music and dance, and with fostering
and promoting my passionate, lifelong love of nature."
Many
walked to the museum, some several miles. Once there they participated in a
wide range of activities: classes in folk dancing, sketching and painting,
Indian lore, geology, astronomy, crafts, microscopy, mineralogy, the study of
reptiles and trees.
There
were story hours and cookouts. They attended Teepee Camporee Day Camp and
jamborees. They went on field trips together. As one of them said, "You
name it, we did it."
Staff
members, among them Ellsworth Jaeger and Ruth Weierheiser, were saluted for
their profound influence. Jaeger was especially remembered for his pet bobcat.
And the
museum profoundly affected their lives. Several spoke passionately about the
negative influences that surrounded them in the city, how their neighbors
succumbed, but how the museum provided a rich alternative. It pulled them out
of that quicksand.
The
results are amazing. Guided by their museum mentors, many went on to college,
usually the first to do so in their family. And a remarkable proportion
achieved fine careers. They became physicians, teachers, social workers,
inventors, authors and scientists. One is a television writer and producer,
another an internationally recognized geologist, still another a famous
computer scientist.
What
came through from their stories was the wide range of interests each of them
enjoyed -- and mastered. Here, for example, is deforest Walker: "After an
early career as a professional musician, I felt called to the field of social
services -- interestingly enough, this second career began with my work in
educational programs for children before extending itself to services for very
low-income and, ultimately, homeless people. Twenty-some years later, I am now
working in the field of philanthropy for the arts. I mention all this because it's
amazing to me to consider how many different ways my experiences at the museum
helped to prepare me for the work I've done in my life."
Happily,
the meeting provided an impetus for these wonderful people to regroup to serve
a museum that has meant so much to their lives. They have reestablished contact
with old friends and are already profoundly influencing this institution's
future.
Among
the results -- a new program for the next generation of museum kids is now
underway.-- Gerry Rising