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As the world celebrates International Women’s Day this week on Friday, March 8 and women’s history in the month of March, the Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) invites the public to learn about the incredible contributions of Oklahoma women through its valuable online resource. Visit the Women in Oklahoma History page on the OHS website to learn about women as trailblazers, creatives, pioneers, artists, journalists, aviators, tribal leaders, and so much more. The finding aid has a wide selection of online tools, from publications to educational resources. Learn about the women who helped shape the state’s history through articles, photographs, biographies, audio, video, online exhibits, and more.
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#ExploreOHS Travel Contest!
The Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) annual #ExploreOHS Travel Contest has begun! It will remain open through Sunday, March 31. During these dates, participants will travel to OHS museums and historic sites across the state—competing to see who can visit the most sites in one month. This contest is open to the public, and all entries must be submitted on social media using the #ExploreOHS hashtag.
The person (or family/group traveling together) who visits the largest number of OHS sites during the contest period will win a prize pack of OHS swag and your choice of:
• Option 1 – Behind-the-scenes tour (for up to 6 people) of the Oklahoma History Center Museum or the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center
• Option 2 – Ride on a parade float through downtown Fort Gibson with staff from Fort Gibson Historic Site on April 20, 2024
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The Oklahoma History Center (OHC) will hold the 2024 Oklahoma Farm-to-Table Festival on Saturday, March 16, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. The free, family-friendly event will encourage the exploration of historic and modern agriculture. There will be hands-on activities and demonstrations for visitors of all ages.
The festival will offer many educational opportunities and experiences, including chuckwagon cooking and nutrition demonstrations, livestock, a petting zoo, various crafts, and story time. In addition, several Made-in-Oklahoma vendors will attend to illustrate how their products are created and distributed. Musical entertainment will be on the main stage. The event will take place indoors and outdoors.
Festival activities are free and open to the public. For those who would like to visit the OHCM galleries, OHC is offering discounted admission on the day of the Farm-to-Table Festival, at just $5 per person.
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AN EXHIBIT WITH A FIGHTING CHANCE
Watch Out for Flying Chairs!
The Oklahoma History Center Museum photography exhibit Watch Out for Flying Chairs: Professional Wrestling in Oklahoma examines professional wrestling in Oklahoma from its emergence in traveling carnivals to the present day. Oklahoma has been at the forefront of professional wrestling through its continued popularity across communities, as well as the contributions of Oklahomans in and out of the squared circle. Over the last 80 years, traditional wrestling has brought Oklahoma more national and international wrestling medals, trophies, titles, and championships than any other state. It is that expertise in the amateur circle that Oklahomans have contributed to the squared circle of professional wrestling. See the exhibit in the West Atrium Gallery on the first floor of the OHCM on your next visit. Please call 405-522-0765 or click here for admission costs and group rates.
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Will Rogers Memorial Museum online lesson series
From Monday, March 11, through Friday, March 15, the Will Rogers Memorial Museum will launch a series of engaging lessons for educators as part of Civic Learning Week. The online lesson series is designed to summarize good citizenship and to teach students how to be informed members of society through material featuring journalist, comedian, and political commentator Will Rogers.
Each lesson includes a short video about Will Rogers and his influence on politics with accompanying discussion questions. The five lessons—one for each day—ask thought-provoking questions such as, “How can we disagree and still be friends?” and “How hard do you think it would be to be president?” Public and private educators can access this lesson series free of charge during Civic Learning Week and beyond. The estimated time investment is 10 minutes per day.
Will Rogers bridged political gaps because he managed friendships with the country’s two main political parties in his lifetime, often poking fun at both sides of the aisle. As a nod to his fame and political influence, Will Rogers is the only humorist with a statue in the US Capitol.
The Civic Learning Week lessons are available at willrogers.com/civics.
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LAST CALL FOR TICKETS!!
OHS Awards Banquet
On Thursday, March 21, 2024, the Oklahoma Historical Society will honor award recipients and Oklahoma Historians Hall of Fame inductees at its annual Awards Banquet at the Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City. A cocktail reception begins at 6 p.m., and dinner and the awards program will follow at 6:30 p.m. Cocktail attire is requested, and guests must RSVP by March 11.
Please get in touch with Development Officer Brittney Berling for more information at brittney.berling@history.ok.gov.
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SAVE THE DATE!
1840s Solar Eclipse Watch Party
The Fort Towson Historic Site will host a solar eclipse watch party with an 1840s period encampment on Monday, April 8, from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. The event costs $10 per person at the gate, with no charge for military or Oklahoma Historical Society members. NASA estimates the Fort Towson Historic Site and areas of southeastern Oklahoma will see the partial solar eclipse between 12:28 p.m. and 3:06 p.m., with 3 minutes and 47 seconds of totality between 1:45 and 1:50 p.m. on April 8.
For more information, call 580-873-2634 or email fttowson@history.ok.gov. The Fort Towson Historic Site is located at 896 N. 4375 Rd. in Fort Towson.
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REGISTER TODAY!
Fort Gibson Education Day
On Friday, April 19, from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m., the Fort Gibson Historic Site will host its annual Education Day. The site will be closed to the general public/nonschool groups on that day.
Living Historians will set up various stations across the grounds depicting multiple aspects of life in the 1800s. The stations one can expect will feature the lives of 1830s and mid-19th-century soldiers, the responsibilities of a laundress, cooking demonstrations at the Mess Hall, what it was like to purchase goods at the sutler’s store, and operations of the Bake House. Visitors will also learn about the history of the Fort Gibson Historic Site at the Commissary by watching a 14-minute orientation video and learn more about the timeline of the fort through new exhibits!
Registration times are 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 11 a.m., noon, and 1 p.m. Classes must register to attend.
Thanks to an Oklahoma Heritage Preservation Grant, this event will be free to schools, but registration is required. Registration will remain open as long as there are spots available. Registration closes on Friday, April 12. To register, send an email to fortgibson@history.ok.gov. Please include “Ed Day Registration” in the subject line for faster service.
The gift shop will be open to browse everything from 19th-century toys to candy and replicas. Call 918-478-4088 for more information.
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Click event listings below for more information.
1–31 - #ExploreOHS Travel Contest begins, OHS museums and historic sites, statewide
6 - Lunch and Learn: “Creativity in the Preservation World: How to Reach a Younger Generation” with Jessica Scott, State Historic Preservation Office, Oklahoma City
7 - Living History Education Day, Fort Towson Historic Site, Fort Towson
8–9 - 1840s Encampment, Fort Towson Historic Site, Fort Towson
8 - Museum After Dark: Lantern Tours, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid
9 - Quilting Workshop, Sod House Museum, Aline
11–15 - Civic Learning Week, VIRTUAL, Will Rogers Memorial Museum, Claremore
16 - Encountering John Brown exhibit closes, Honey Springs Battlefield, Checotah
16 - 2024 Oklahoma Farm-to-Table Festival, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
16 - Artillery Demonstrations, Honey Springs Battlefield, Checotah
16 - History Alive! on the Cherokee Strip, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid
18-22 - Spring Break Activities, Will Rogers Memorial Museum, Claremore
20 - Oklahoma Historical Society Executive Committee meeting, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
21 - Oklahoma Historical Society Awards Banquet, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
21 - From the Stacks: Readings from the Carnegie Library, Oklahoma Territorial Museum and Carnegie Library, Guthrie
23 - Chuck Wagon Gathering, Chisholm Trail Museum and Horizon Hill, Kingfisher
23 - Hominy Making Workshop, Hunter’s Home, Park Hill
29 - Vietnam War–Era Veterans Commemoration Ceremony, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
29 - Movie Night featuring Stan and Ollie (2018), Will Rogers Memorial Museum, Claremore
29 - Museum After Dark: Village Sounds featuring Riley Jantzen, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid
30 - Into the Mirror exhibit opens, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
30 - Pawnee Bill Annual Easter Egg Hunt, Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum, Pawnee
30 - Easter Egg Hunt, Will Rogers Memorial Museum, Claremore
30 - “I Thought This Place Doomed: Emma Caroline Morley and Sterling Price’s Failed Raid of 1864” presentation by Dr. Michelle M. Martin, Honey Springs Battlefield, Checotah
31 - Sunrise Service, Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum, Pawnee
6 - Spring Bake Day, Fort Gibson Historic Site, Fort Gibson
6 - History Alive! on the Cherokee Strip, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid
6 - Will Rogers Afternoon Frolic at Circle Cinema, Circle Cinema, Tulsa
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Masthead photo: Daughters of Chief Prairie Chief “Old Crow” (Cheyenne) (1851-1917), 1898. Anosta "Ah-nos-ta" (Shave Head Woman) Prairie Chief (Cheyenne) (1879–1941); Cora "No-wa-hay" (Standing Twenty) Prairie Chief (Cheyenne) (1884–1972); and Good Woman "Wo-es-ha" Prairie Chief (Cheyenne) (1889–1904) (3469, W. P. Campbell Collection, Oklahoma Historical Society).
Learn about the women who helped shape the state’s history by clicking here.
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