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Archaeology and Ethnology
Learn about New Jersey's American Indians and their 11,000-year history. Highlights of the collection include a dugout canoe, tools, weapons, clothing and 2000-year-old copper beads. Visit Africa, pre-Columbian South America or an unfamiliar place in New Jersey through changing exhibitions that explore the world.
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CURRENT EXHIBITION
Statesman, Indians,
Soldiers, Missionaries and Travelers
The
Development of an Ethnographic Collection
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October
10 through August 1, 2010, 2nd Floor Galleries
The
richly-varied ethnographic collection of the Museum
has been drawn upon to present works that celebrate
the artistic creativity of North American Indians
from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Works
in clay, weavings, basketry, ivory and hide document
the various media selected by the artists. The exhibition
places the artists’ works in the context of
their cultures and illustrates the change over time
from works of art where the identity of the creator
is unknown to the early 20th century when the appreciation
of native American art led to the recognition of the
individual artist’s talents and development.
Learn
More >>
Cultural History
The State Museum collects, preserves and interprets objects that help document and describe the existence of people who have lived in New Jersey from the 17th century to the present.
NEW EXHIBITION INFORMATION
COMING SOON
Fine Art
The State Museum has collected over 12,000 works of art including paintings, prints, drawings, sculpture and photographs. This collection focuses on American art and highlights the work of New Jersey artists in that story.
CURRENT EXHIBITION
71. Fragments of a Dream
June 13 through November 24, 2009, 3rd Floor
Galleries
Photographer Maria Lau was born and raised in New
Jersey. She came to photography after her initial
studies in Latin American history and anthropology.
Her photographs, which often reflects her multicultural
heritage, is a self-explanatory documentary in a fine
art context. She has been photographing Cuba since
1998 as an on-going project to document the Cuban
lifestyle that she dreamt of, but that she could not
be part of, as a child.
The series “71 - Fragments of a Dream”
is a project motivated by Ms. Lau’s hope of
uniting her Cuban and Chinese family. She creates
photographic images through a technique of in-camera
double exposure. There is always an element of chance
in the process; the photographer cannot know in advance
of taking the exposures how the multiple images will
line up in the picture frame – what will stand
out, what new pairings will square off against each
other. This technique allows Lau to explore her Cuban-Chinese-American
heritage and the guesswork of personal identity as
phenomena of multiplicity and chance – culturally,
ethnically and nationally.
Learn More >>
CURRENT EXHIBITION
Rising Tide: Climate Change
and New Jersey
Through April 4, 2010
Main Building - 1st Floor Gallery
Check-out the Museum’s
new Rising Tide web page – with interactive
games and information at:
http://www.state.nj.us/state/museum/rising-tide
The complex subject of global warming is of critical
interest to the people of New Jersey and indeed to
everyone. New Jersey is a coastal state on the continental
margin, the best possible position for scientific
observation of sea level change. New Jersey is also
an ideal area for gaining a perspective throughout
time, with a historical record dating from the 17th
century, and enhanced by a fine archaeological record.
Prehistoric perspective extends back well into the
Pleistocene (Ice Age) when much of the Earth's water
was tied up in the form of ice. Elephants and other
large mammals were then common on the continental
shelf, when it was above mean sea level. There will
be a discussion of greenhouse gases, and how they
act to trap the warmth from the Sun's rays. Fossil
fuels will also be considered, showing how their consumption
contributes to accelerate global warming. Maps and
photographs will document the New Jersey coastline.
This exhibition, funded by Public Service Enterprise
Group Incorporated, will provide the extensive information
that educators will need in order to interpret this
challenging subject.
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Subject Specific Programs: Archaeology and Ethnology
The New Jersey State Museum offers six different Archaeology and
Ehtnology courses that are designed to provide smaller groups of
students with an interactive learning experience. Students are able to ask
questions, see real objects, and learn from one of the Museum’s leading
experts in their fields. Our New Student Docent program offers free
professionally trained Docent Tours.
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