Highlights Archives
Halloween Week at the Historical Museum
Halloween Week returns to the Wisconsin Historical Museum October 27-30. Enjoy a week of activities for those of all ages who have an interest in the odd and peculiar! This year we explore Wisconsin's connections to Spiritualism, the one-time fastest-growing religion in the United States, and to Orson Welles and his brilliant radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds. Create panic in America with "out-of-this-world" arts and crafts for the kids, join in the hunt for Wisconsin's spookiest stories and places, and meet some colorful characters from Wisconsin's past wandering our exhibit floors.
Spirits in the Hills!
Halloween Week kicks off Tuesday with a special History Sandwiched In. In the "spirit" of Odd Wisconsin, Sara Rath takes you through the history of the Wonewoc Spiritualist Camp, which has been welcoming visitors since 1893. Mediums are still in residence each summer to do readings, séances, and past-life regressions. Rath will trace the development of the camp while sharing stories about the weird happenings there.
War of the Worlds
On October 30, 1938, fear and panic gripped America as regular radio programming was seemingly interrupted by reports of a Martian invasion in Grover's Mill, New Jersey. Orson Welles' radio dramatization demonstrated the power of radio's "theater of the imagination" and catapulted the 23-year-old Kenosha native to national stardom. Hear the original, uncut radio broadcast that terrified a nation at noon on Wednesday, October 28, Thursday, October 29, and Friday, October 30. Following the War of the Worlds broadcast the museum will show a different movie at 2 p.m. Wednesday through Friday including: The Night America Trembled (1948, 65 min), The Night That Panicked America (1975, 70 min.) and The Day That Panicked America (2005, 70 min.)
Colorful Characters and Out-of-This-World Crafts
Throughout the week, costumed interpreters will bring to life odd and colorful characters from Wisconsin's past, including: Jane the mysterious woman of the woods; Alexis St. Martin, the voyageur with the hole in his side; the Dodgeville hermit; Belle Boyd the Civil War spy; Mary Hayes Chynoweth, the psychic healer; scientist Stephen Babcock; and entertainer Orson Welles. They will be roaming the museum from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. daily. In addition, the museum will offer a make-your-own-Martian-mask arts-and-crafts activity for children from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Wednesday, October 28, through Friday, October 30.
:: Posted October 26, 2009
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