ASU Museum to hold Native American Cultural Diversity Celebration

Feb. 26, 2008 -- The Arkansas State University Museum in Jonesboro will hold a Native American Cultural Diversity Celebration, “Passport to Patterns of the Past,” in honor of Arkansas Archeology Month on Thursday, March 6, and Saturday, March 8. The museum is located at 110 Cooley Drive, adjacent to the Dean B. Ellis Library.

On Thursday evening, March 6, at 7 p.m., in ASU Museum Room 182, Dr. George E. Lankford, professor emeritus, Lyon College, will present an illustrated lecture, “Riders in the Sky,” in which he will discuss Native American perspectives on astrology and the manifestations in art that came from these beliefs. This lecture is sponsored by the Central Mississippi Valley Archeological Society, and is free and open to the public. 

On Family Day, Saturday, March 8, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., families can enjoy special gallery tours, storytelling, and hands-on arts and crafts activities for children, including pottery making, incising, and stamping. These activities will take place in the ASU Museum Main Gallery, second floor.

Attendees of Saturday’s “Passport to Patterns of the Past” will be issued a passport upon arrival and encouraged to visit each hands-on activity destination, create their own pieces of pottery, petroglyphs, and note cards, and have their passports stamped.

Both the lecture and Family Day activities are free thanks in part to the generous support of the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation. “Passport to Patterns of the Past” is an Arkansas Discovery Network Kids’ Quest event, and children ages 5–12 are invited to join the free museum club. Visit the ASU Museum online at http://museum.astate.edu and click on Special Events, e-mail Lenore Shoults at lshoults@astate.edu, or call the ASU Museum at (870) 972-2074 for more information.
 

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