A Day at the National Museum

Bird Week Huge Success!

2011-07-19T14:00:00.000-07:00

By Pat Saxton
Museum Administrator
Bird week was a great success for the Turks and Caicos National Museum and their partner, the UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum (UKOTCF). After almost nine years in the planning stages, these Trails have become a reality due to a grant from the Carnival/TCInvest/TCIGovernment Infrastructure Fund.

This little guy was ready for the bird tour!

There is now a “Walking Bird” and a “Driving Bird” tour on Grand Turk with clearly marked trail signs, placed on downed telephone poles which were donated and installed by Turks and Caicos Utilities.
This week long event, commencing on July 11, had an “early bird” walk with students and teachers from HJ Robinson High School and Dr. Mike Pienkowski and Ann Pienkowski showed the students the wonderful birds found along the Salina’s. After the bird walk the students went to through the Botanical Garden, next to the Museum. The DECR loaned five pairs of binoculars for this event.
The Bird Drive Tour on Thursday evening, July 14, was a sold-out event. Twenty-two adults and two children rode on a bus donated by Caribbean Tours International, who also supplied 22 pairs of binoculars. What an event, even the birds cooperated! With Dr. Mike Pienkowski leading the group, even the novice birder was fascinated by the amount of different birds seen so very close.

Dr Mike Pienkowskit leads the first Bird Bus Tour

Flamingo’s took off from Town Salina just as the bus was approaching, giving the group a firsthand look at these beautiful birds in flight. An Osprey sat on the remnants of a windmill, posing for the group to take photos. We saw Black Necked Stilt five day old chicks wading in the Great Salina while their Mother watched carefully. There were ducks aplenty at South Wells, and Egrets, Pelicans and Herons at North Creek. One very brave Cattle Egret even walked in front of the bus over 100 yards as if to say “follow me for the best birding ever”.

Flamingos on the student bird walk

After this wonderful Bird Tour the group went to Jack’s Shack to have a tasty meal. Jack donated some of the proceeds of the evening back to the Museum.
Friday morning, July 15, we had the Official Opening of the Bird Trails. Ms. Lillian Swann Misick cut the ribbon with many guests watching. The guests then proceeded into the Osprey Beach Hotel where Dr. Mike had a short presentation about the importance of these Bird Trails. All participants received a lovely Osprey Commemorative Lapel Pin.

Ms. Lillian Swann Misick Officially Opening the Trails

The Turks and Caicos National Museum would like to thank the following supporters that made these events so successful.
Carnival/TCInvest/TCIGovernment Infrastructure Fund
Caribbean Tours International
DECR
Jack’s Shack
Misick’s Bakery
Osprey Beach Hotel
Turks and Caicos Utilities
UKOTCF
For more information about the tours and to purchase copies of the guides, Contact us at the Museum.

Bird Trail Card for the Driving Tour

The Museum Has Gone Green by Going White

2011-07-18T14:01:00.000-07:00

By Jackie Garbarino
Museum Shop and Volunteer Manager

Museum with its red roof, October 2010

In an effort to cut fuel costs and decrease our carbon “Big Foot” print, we have painted the Museum’s roof white. There are some environmentalists who think that we could greatly reduce the earth’s temperature and reduce carbon emissions if we all had white roofs. Something to think about.
We will let you know if this effort decreases the power bills for air conditioning our exhibits and artifacts and, of course, we humans as a side benefit. We are also hoping this white elastomeric coating will eliminate the mysterious leak that has plagued the “buzzer” room for years, if not centuries. We need a good rain to assess that, so start your rain dancing now!

Museum with its new environmentally friendly roof, July 2011.

Museum Happenings!

2011-06-21T14:02:00.000-07:00

By Pat Saxton
Museum Administrator
The last two weeks have been crazy busy and exciting. For a small Museum, we sure do have a lot going on!!
First we had to say goodbye to Nikki Miller Jennings our “tour guide extraordinaire” and Children’s Club Manager. Nikki is going to Munich, Germany for awhile. We are all hoping that Grand Turk will call her back at some point and she will once again become part of our team at the Turks and Caicos National Museum.

Here is a photo of our effervescent Nikki!
On Thursday June 9, the Museum hosted a party for Georgia Dunn Belk and Bill Belk and a few friends to tour the Museum and Botanical Garden. Also in attendance was, HE Governor and Mrs. Wetherell who were the first to see some of our new acquisitions from Mr. Hugh Hutchings. Mr. Hutchings has generously donated a ceremonial sword that was used by his Grandfather, Hugh Houston Hutchings in the late 1800’s along with some medals.

Also gifted were other medals from his father, Mr. Charles Hutchings. Look for an article in the Fall Issue of Times of the Islands to read more about this important collection.

Pictured are HE Governor and Mrs. Wetherell looking at some of the new acquisitions.

Some of the other guests learning about the New Botanical and Cultural Garden
On Saturday June 10 the Turks and Caicos National Museum hosted the students from the Spirit of Bermuda, see the June 12 blog.
Then on Sunday June 11 we hosted a film crew in to do a commercial for the One Caribbean Weather Channel with none other than Joey Stevens complete with Bob the parrot. See link
http://onecaribbeanweather.wordpress.com/2011/06/17/thank-you-turks-caicos/
And if that was not enough, TCU (Turks and Caicos Utilities) has generously donated both manpower and their auger to install the poles to hold the Bird Drive and Walk signs around Grand Turk. This is a monumental undertaking and the Turks and Caicos National Museum cannot thank TCU enough for this wonderful gift.

The Bird Trails will officially open the week of July 11, 2011. Turks and Caicos is proud to the first country in the Caribbean to have a sanctioned bird trail. Bird Trail cards will be on sale at the Museum for all you birders. Having the Salt Ponds named as protected areas will ensure that our lovely birds will have a place to call home for years to come. Be sure and follow the blog to see all the news about “Bird Week” to be held July 11-15. Also thank you to the UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum for partnering with the Museum to bring this important tour to the Turks and Caicos. The Carnival Corporation/TCInvest Government Infrastructure Fund awarded a grant earlier this year to the Museum and UKOTCF so that a Bird Walking and Driving Tour could be established.
And last but certainly not least, you will be seeing a change come over Guinep House. AND Construction is currently painting our roof with a bonding agent to prevent leaks. Color will also change from red to white to help with energy costs. If you have not been to the Museum lately, you are really missing out. Come in and browse our wonderful Guinep House Gift Shoppe that has many locally hand-made gifts. A variety of books and sea glass items along with handmade baskets are only a few of the items available. Our friendly staff will show you around the Museum and the gift shop!

Spirit of Bermuda Crew Visits

2011-06-12T13:53:00.000-07:00

By Pat Saxton
Museum Administrator
On Saturday morning we had a visit from the Captain and crew of the Spirit of Bermuda, a sail training ship designed and built to provide students an authentic learning experience on board a replica Bermudian-type schooner built between 1810 and 1840.

Spirit of Bermuda Captain and crew arrive at the Museum
Captain Simon Colley and his crew learned about the Molasses Reef Wreck, and how Bermuda and Turks and Caicos were very much intertwined in the early 18th century. Many of the residents of the Turks and Caicos are decedents of Bermudian families. Some of the teachers came upstairs to view the new Hutchings collection (see other blog) as the Hutchings name is a popular name in Bermuda.
On Saturday evening we were invited by Captain Colley to a reception at the Cruise Center, where plaques were exchanged between Governor Wetherell and the Captain. Students took anyone on the ship that wanted to tour the Spirit of Bermuda. A slab of Bermudian limestone was also presented to Salt Cay’s “White House”. We watched on Sunday as the Spirit of Bermuda, under full sail made its way to Salt Cay for a day, then onto Dominican Republic to help construct homes as part of the students learning experience.to learn about the islands history and the many differences between Bermuda and the TCI.

Where is Simon, Sandy and Hurricane Mia Teach Publishing

2011-04-23T13:49:00.000-07:00

An impromptu portrait of a donkey and tales of life on a Caribbean island captured the attention of students at Newmarket Elementary School, Maryland on Friday, April 15, as they learned about the process of publishing. Our very own Donna Seim and illustrator Sue Spellman spent the day talking with students about their work, specifically two books they collaborated on: Where is Simon, Sandy? and Hurricane Mia — A Caribbean Adventure.

Donna Seim (left) and Sue Spellman (right) at Newmarket School

“We’ve done two books together (and) we’re working on a third,” Spellman said. “We were friendly first, we knew of each other and each other’s work. She’s just been great; it’s wonderful to work together.”
Students loved both books and asked many questions. “(Spellman) is really good at drawing,” said kindergarten student Lexi Catalone. “I really liked the book a lot, especially the donkey.”

Seim spoke to students first, explaining her inspiration for the book and showing photographs that she used to help her tell the story. Then Spellman talked to students about how a book is created.

“After she wrote her words for the story, it was my job to make the illustrations,” Spellman said. “I usually read the story first, using my imagination to make pictures in my head. … I would think about what I wanted on each page, how many pages I have to work with. Scribbling is the first part, then a rough sketch, then using color on good paper.”

Sue Spellman with a sketch of Sandy the donkey.

One student said he was surprised how much work goes into creating the artwork for a book. “I thought it was pretty cool that she starts with scribbles before she does her final art,” said second-grade student Owen Tower. “I love to draw too, especially chibi manga characters.”

“I liked how she did the dark drawings after the light ones,” said Emily Hoover, a second-grade student. “My favorite things to draw are chibis, bunnies and cats.”

For both, visiting with the students is an especially rewarding part of their jobs. “It helps kids to understand more about the process,” Spellman said. “A book is a labor of love, it’s not instantaneous. It develops over time for both the author and the illustrator.”

Proceeds of Where is Simon, Sandy? help students in the Caribbean by going to the children’s club at the Turks and Caicos National Museum.

Many Thanks

2011-04-16T13:47:00.000-07:00

By Melanie Clifton-Harvey
Museum Archivist
In early January 2010 a group of passengers from the Holland America cruise ship found their way to the museum. After being told to look for Melanie by the ladies in the Gift Shop they came around to the Science building and the gentleman came upstairs. “My wife is a Tatem,” he said, “and we are trying to find out more about the family before we have to go back to the ship, they told us to ask for you!”

Now usually I try to get people to make an appointment to give me time to find something about the family, or at the very least find out that we have no information and provide ideas for other places to look. On this occasion I already knew that I had nothing about the Tatem family that would help this couple and as the lady had been in a car accident I thought it best to go down to her to discuss the options. Mr. and Mrs. Grether from South Carolina were looking for birth or marriage certificates from their family because some of their relatives had been born on Grand Turk, but sadly we didn’t have anything from the right time period for them in the TCNM.

I walked the couple down to see Ms. Sigrid Lightbourne and her staff at the Registry of Births, Marriages and Deaths on Front Street. I explained the system to apply for a certificate, if there were any records in existence, and after doing my bit as tour guide along Front Street, we got to the Registry. The Head Registrar, Ms. Sigrid Lightbourne, very kindly said that she would make copies of any records they found in time for the couple to get back onto their cruise ship that afternoon!

I took my leave of the couple, Ken and Diane, knowing that I had left them in capable hands and it wasn’t until I received a letter from South Carolina dated January 21^st that I thought any more about a typical museum day. Mrs. Grether had written a letter to me and another to Dr. Toni Carrell at the friends of the Turks and Caicos Museum in New Mexico to thank me, and say that they had left the island with the birth certificate of her father who had been born here in 1914! Diane was extremely grateful and said that I had “aided her in achieving a special wish”.

It is always nice to be appreciated for helping people, and it was lovely to receive such a nice letter. It came as an even bigger surprise then when in mid-February I was told that I had been mentioned on the local radio station in the government news section. Apparently, Diane had also sent a letter to Ms. Clara Gardiner, Permanent Secretary for Border Control and Immigration, praising both Ms. Lightbourne and the Registry staff for their special treatment and me, and Ms. Gardiner had wanted to share this news across the Turks and Caicos Islands!
Another happy visitor!

Home Movies A La Jack Little

2011-04-02T13:44:00.000-07:00

The Museum receives many emails on our info@tcmuseum.org, but none as interesting as the one we received in late January, 2011, from a Mr. Lawrence Jack Little. Here is his email:

I am Lawrence Jack Little. I worked at the tracking station in 1959/60 and I visited Turk in 2004 or there about. I talked with a Ms Cheryll Paige and promised her I would send photo I had taken while working at the tracking station. However, I have been very remiss in my promise. I did find some 8mm movies I had taken of various events and while diving off the end of the Island. I do wonder if you would be interested having these movies. If so, I will be glad to ship them to you to include in the museum in anyway.

The wife and I had a wonderful stay at the Osprey Hotel and even encountered some old friends there at the Osprey. It was wonderful to visit back to the island to see how you have expanded the water supply and the electrical service since I had worked there. Also, I recalled visiting the dentist while working there and his wind powered drill he used to fill a tooth for me.

I answered his email, and told Mr. Little that we would love to have his films. He converted them onto a DVD and sent it to my USA address while I was visiting my son in March. I brought the DVD back and watched it with Melanie. WOW was I ever surprised. For a “home movie” from 1959-1960 it is wonderful. Numerous shots of the island, the Bases, and footage of Front Street with many buildings that are no longer standing. There were also some underwater clips, something we only thought would be done via Hollywood and “Sea Hunt”. (Only real Baby Boomers would remember that one!!).

Since we had “Movie Night” at the Museum scheduled for Tuesday, March 29, we decided it would be great to have this footage precede our feature film. When I emailed Mr. Little and told him, we both agreed that some things never change some 50 years later…entertainment on Grand Turk is self made!
When our movie-goers were assembled, I read the email that Mr. Little had sent, and told everyone they were in for a real treat. Once the movie started, everyone was shouting out “oh where is that” or “oh my how things have changed”. Mr. and Mrs. Dempsey were the best at recognizing some of the places in the film. We are making them a copy so they can sit and go through it at their leisure. This way the Museum has a record of what is on the film.

Although Mr. Little was not in attendance for the “premier” of his film, he did get a standing ovation.

Most folks thought his movie was much better than our feature presentation!
So, dig through those cupboards and storage units and send the Museum your photos or memories.
Here is everyone waving to Mr. Little.

Who Were They? Family History Research

2011-03-17T15:31:00.000-07:00

By Melanie Clifton-Harvey

Endangered Archives Project

As part of my work here as the Endangered Archives Project Principal Investigator and Archivist, I was able to coordinate one of a series of workshops and seminars involving government offices and local church leaders. Joining us was Mr. Tim Law from the Familysearch project in Utah, one of the largest online genealogical sites and repositories of family history information in the world.

The morning involved a presentation by Tim on the history and background of how Familysearch works to digitize and preserve family history records around the world and how the process has changed since the early plate cameras of the 1930's when it was started. With a lively question and answer session throughout, I followed up with a short Powerpoint presentation on the Basics of Archives. Covering Site, Storage, Handling and Cleaning with some interesting pictures taken from her investigations and preservation work in the Turks and Caicos Islands!

Having already visited the TCI Registry Offices, after the workshop finished Tim and and I visited the Anglican church with Reverend Mark Kendall, where we discovered the early registers from 1865 from Salt Cay with Births and Burials included!

The last trip was to the Baptist Church where there are also some interesting records from this period regarding North and Middle Caicos and Provo (Blue Hills then). With a little follow-up and contract signing to make sure that all privacy laws are upheld we hope to go ahead with copying all the records we have found so far and enable much greater public access, stay tuned for more information...

New Gates and the Back 40: Botanical Garden Part 3

2011-03-09T14:45:00.000-08:00

By Jackie Garbarino
Gift Shop and Volunteer Manager

The progress in the museum garden is amazing! Pat and Joseph (and anyone else that comes by with a willing hand) have been working hard and it shows.

Joseph is also becoming an accomplished carpenter. It seems he has latent talent. His temporary Donkey Barrier was just what we needed.

Joseph and the donkey barrier.

With the help of AND Construction, we are making huge progress on the botanical garden.

Rebuilt wall, fence and gate by the AND team.

Reclaim, reuse, and recycle bird style! Even our resident Night Heron is “going green”

2011-03-04T13:08:00.000-08:00

By Pat Saxton
Museum Administrator

Yellow-Crowned Night Heron. Photo courtesy Greg Lavaty

Every morning I come into work, our resident Yellow-crowned-Night Heron (which I call Big Bird) sits on the wall along the Science Building. I had not seen him in a few days and was worried because there are some cats around. Then, last week, Jackie pointed out to me that he had a nest, over the exposed water tank in the lot next door. So now every morning I take a look and a listen to make sure Big Bird and family are ok. Last night when I was leaving work, I noticed only one Heron sitting by the nest, so I was a bit concerned.

Ahhh but my concerns were soon dashed as I came around to the front of the Museum. There, sitting and pecking at the old carpet Joseph had taken out of the Museum was Mr. Big Bird. He didn’t see me, so I stood and watched as he pulled and pulled at the strings of raveled carpet. Soon a long piece broke off, and away he went, walking at first with this large piece of “string” dragging behind him.

It sure was a funny site and I had to keep from laughing out loud. Perhaps he knew someone was watching, because he took off over the wall, and looked like a kite, with a long string attached! I guess the new “digs” must be comfortable, because this morning I saw Mr. and Mrs. Big Bird sitting by their nest, perhaps admiring their interior decorating!

By the way, soon we will have our Bird Walking and Bird Driving Trails marked throughout Grand Turk. The Museum and the Botanical Garden are both part of these tours, so be sure to stop by and watch the birds in their natural habitat within our garden, and on the beach.

Fabulous Movie Night!

2011-03-03T07:47:00.000-08:00

By Jackie Garbarino

So I thought the evening was lost when the DVD refused to play. Luckily we started to hook up the system at 6 for a 7:30 showing. Tiffany started the effort soon to be joined by Nalthia and then Melanie. I was a bundle of nerves but Nalthia maintained calm and a positive attitude. At 7:15 victory was won, the room filled up with wonderful movie lovers, the bar was hopping and all was well on the Isle of Grand Turk. Thanks as always for supporting the museum!

Nalthia, Melanie & Tiffany our very own Beautiful Geeks!

Movie, drinks and snacks. All on Grand Turk...does it

get any better than this! Yes, because it supports our

National Museum.

Number One Bartender Captain Mitchell with Number One
Savory Snack Maker Miss Stephanie and Number One
Fee Collector Mister Neil.

Bella Bench!

2011-02-20T18:19:00.000-08:00

By Jackie Garbarino
Museum Gift Shop and Volunteer Manager

This bench is so beautiful, we may have to put it in
an exhibit case.

Thank you, Seamus for this beautiful bench. You are receiving praise from one and all. And well deserved praise. They say we have many careers in our lives and I think you have found your best so far. I checked out the signature...very nice touch. So in addition to looking wonderful it is keeping people alert to the change in the floor height and giving the folks somewhere to rest and contemplate history.

Rain, Rain . . : Botanical Garden Part 2

2011-02-19T12:58:00.000-08:00

By Pat Saxton
Museum Administrator

So today was the first cruise ship tours to the Botanical Garden. The Museum was asked to be the tour guides for these first few tours, which was fantastic because Malcolm was interested in learning the tour. Also because I love giving this tour, I love the garden--wish I could do this for a living instead of crunching numbers.

Kitchen garden and remains of Bascome House chimney.

We were prepared for a busy day at the Museum and in the Garden, when we realized that the power plant had a fire, and the electricity was shut off to the whole island. This meant we could not open the Museum, and the Botanical Garden Tours would now increase and the first tour was on the way -- two hours early! All the Museum staff pitched in to help me place the plant markers in the garden. We all had a good laugh as the team called out the name of a plant and someone ran with the marker. I can’t tell you how great it was to see everyone pitch in to make the first tours possible…now that is team work!

Christmas Palm and Zinnias

Basket palm with new sign.

The ships that came in that day were small “boutique” ships with lots of folks from the UK. English people love their gardens, and know their plants, so we had to be on top of our game. We had a great time, many visitors posed interesting questions. Everyone was intrigued with Malcolm, his hair, and the fruit off the tamarind tree which he picked for them.

It was all going great, and then the heavy rain came. Great for the garden, bad for the tours. So to add insult to injury, no museum tours, and no botanical garden tours could be conducted in the afternoon. Oh well, we did have fun in spite of the weather and no electricity!

The Early Bird ...

2011-02-14T13:38:00.000-08:00

By Pat Saxton
Museum Administrator

On Sunday February 13^th some very lucky early birds got a chance to “walk with the pros” on a trial run of the bird trail. Dr. Mike Pienkowski, the leading ornithologist for the UK Overseas Territories and his lovely wife Ann, led a small group of “birders” at 6:30AM from the Osprey Beach Hotel around the Salinas.

Novices learning the techniques from Dr Mike Pienkowski.

The light at that time of the morning was truly spectacular to see and photograph some of Grand Turks wonderful birds. Dr. Mike pointed out Ruddy Turnstones (so called because they turn over stones to look for food), and different types of Plovers. Of course the flamingos were all out strutting their stuff for us to see! Ducks, and Herons and Gulls oh my!

Not only was this an informative morning, it was really a fun time.I learned so very much about this very fragile ecosystem we call "salinas". It seems in "developed" countries, they are trying to duplicate what we have naturally right here in Grand Turk. Wet lands.

Eyeing the Snowy Plover.

Unfortunately, all of us on the walk could see the damage being done to the Salinas because of dumping. Some Salinas had an incredible amount of birds feeding, while others were abandoned. Mike explained that due to filling in the Salinas, the silt gets too thick for the birds to hunt for food, so they leave. Luckily some of the Salinas have been protected.

After the tour, we came back to the Science Building for a question and answer session with Mike and Ann. I know I learned a lot, and although I continue to refer the Yellow Crowned Night Heron as Big Bird, I think Mike forgives me!

Setting the Donkey Cart Free

2011-01-22T10:15:00.000-08:00

By Jackie Garbarino
Museum Gift Shop and Volunteer Manager

The work to free the donkey cart started in November and ended in the New Year. It took weeks of work to remove the overgrowth of mother- in-law tongues along the front and side of the museum building. Each plant has a deep thick root resembling a large carrot and it must all be removed to prevent these mothers from sprouting again.

As you can see in the picture at left, they had grown to the edge of the narrow walkway so there was no way the cart could pass.

We hope we have defeated these mothers but time will tell. Joseph remains vigilant.

Joseph is also cultivating a small kitchen garden. The neighbor behind the museum has donated a papaya seedling and gave us each a papaya from the mother plant. It was the sweetest treat and we both hope our plant bears similar delicious treats.

Restoring the Queens

2011-01-17T09:13:00.000-08:00

By Jackie Garbarino
Museum Gift Shop and Volunteer Manager

Queen Victoria waiting to be restored.

When I began working at the Museum the condition of the Queens’ portraits distressed me. It was sad to see these elegant ladies in such an inelegant state: the frames had worm damage, the matting was water-marked, and the portraits were deteriorating as they were not under glass. Finbar Dempsey remembers these portraits hanging in an administrator’s office and thinks they may have been damaged by one of the many hurricanes we have had over the 47 years he has lived on Grand Turk. Time to do some fixing up, I thought.

I contacted Ian Worth at Greensleeves Frame Shop in Provo for advice and an estimate for putting things right. After sending him a photo and measurements, he gave me a price for restoring the three Queens currently hanging in the museum: Victoria, Mary and the Queen Mum. All are coronation portraits. Then Melanie Clifton-Harvey, our visiting archivist, found Elizabeth hiding in the archival room of the science building. We were very happy to have the current queen to add to the group, and her portrait was in much better condition being the youngest and protected from the elements.

That's me trying to squeeze in with
one of the Queens.

So now Pat Saxton and I set about finding sponsors to pay the piper. I spoke with my husband and we decided to sponsor Queen Victoria and dedicate it to his father, the great Italian actor Massimo Girotti. We thought he would be pleased to be remembered in this way on an island in the Caribbean. When I told Catherine and Mitchell of our plans, they immediately took the plunge and chose to sponsor Elizabeth, followed by Pat and Neil Saxton who came up with the funding for their favorite Queen!

The next hurdle was getting the portraits to Provo; Mitchell to the rescue again. He volunteered to fly the ladies first class in his plane if I went along for the final land delivery to Greensleeves. It was a tight squeeze as the portraits measure 42 x 30 inches.

Mitchell volunteered to fly the Queens to Providenciales
for restoration. They got first class treatment.

When I delivered two of the portraits to Ian at Greensleeves, I could see by the way his eyes lit up with the challenge that the Queens would be well cared for and lovingly restored. We should have the two ladies back sometime in February via the Mitchell Express. Hopefully we will soon have sponsorship for the last remaining Queen, and can then take Queen Mary and Queen Mum to have them restored together. Anyone interested? Contact me: Jackie Garbarino at (649) 247-2160 or email garbarino.jackie@gmail.com.

Your support of our wonderful museum is always very much appreciated.

A Grave Project for Valued Volunteers

2011-01-10T15:21:00.000-08:00

By Pat Saxton
Museum Administrator

The Hutt family carefully cataloged grave sites
at St Thomas Church on Grand Turk.

The Turks & Caicos National Museum has been very fortunate to have a lot of wonderful volunteers doing some very interesting jobs! Among the most interesting is cataloging the grave sites at St. Thomas’ church in Grand Turk. Many of the grave markers have been weathered beyond recognition, so the Hutt Family has been recording the headstones which are still readable, so that there will be a record for the future.

Duncan, Sally and their son Fraser have spent many long hours in the sun so that this bit of history will be saved. They came up with a schematic of the graveyard, and were able to record most of the site, using death records to help identify the graves. These records are now housed within the Museum and should one day find a home in a National Archival Building. The Hutts were in Turks & Caicos doing volunteer work on Middle Caicos for the National Trust, and for their Christmas break, decided to come to Grand Turk to volunteer for the Museum.

Now that is dedication!

Digging in the Garden: Bringing it Back Part 1

2011-01-06T15:14:00.000-08:00

By Pat Saxton
Museum Administrator

Mary, Mary, quite contrary. How does your garden grow? This old English children’s rhyme had more to do with politics than gardening—but the Museum’s Arboretum/Botanical Garden is all about the garden!

Through the years the Turks and Caicos National Arboretum has metamorphosed into many things. After its establishment, native trees planted in the garden grew unexpectedly well into a cool, shady forest of green with winding paths and fragrant blossoms, where Museum events were held and people walked. After Hurricane Ike in 2008, when it was nearly destroyed, the Arboretum was left to fend for itself and further deteriorated. Unfortunately, it had much help from invasive plants as well as non-caring folks who used it as a dumping ground for trash and stolen items.

The botanical and cultural garden will be divided into
zones reflecting the landscape diversity found in the
TCI. It will also eventually include a butterfly garden
and local plants used for medicinal purposes.

Flash forward to August 2010, when a new team of Museum staff saw the endless possibilities for the garden. A proposal was made, and with the help of a local botanist, a scheme was set in motion. With seed money from a Wilmington Hurricane Relief Grant and hopefully other funding, the National Arboretum is changing into the Turks and Caicos Botanical and Cultural Garden. Oh, and did I mention that all of this work was done with volunteers? From the proposal, to the layout, to the removal of years of garbage, to the lovely benches that were donated by Caribbean Tours International, (see Gazebo Renovation, October 22, 2010), the work has been initiated through the in-kind donations of individuals and companies.

When we started the clean up last Fall, we stumbled across a cash register that had been dumped there after a recent robbery of a famous fried chicken establishment. The Police were called, and after getting the facts, the policewoman started speaking about how lovely the garden used to be and how peaceful it was. We explained that we were trying to turn it around, and she was extremely pleased.

This seems to be the consensus of the island. The Garden’s focus will be expanded to include many different native plants, including those with uses in the local “bush medicine” pharmacopeia. Well-grown mature trees will be pruned properly and labeled with identification markers, and facilities for caring for the garden will be upgraded. Strategic use of native plants will showcase their value in landscaping to encourage homeowners and businesses to choose landscaping schemes inclusive of TCI’s own botanical heritage.

We hope the Garden will again be a peaceful place for both residents and day visitors to observe and learn about nature, be it the resident yellow crowned night-herons, the numerous butterflies, or whale watching in February. The garden is coming back to life and we hope to improve it into a true national treasure. We are still in the first stages of the transformation. Keep checking the blog for regular updates and when you can, come by and see it for yourself.

Preservation of the Inscriptions on Sapodilla Hill

2010-12-21T16:11:00.000-08:00

By Donald H. Keith, PhD

Chairman, Board of Trustees

AND Construction team with the "stone stretcher"

Sapodilla Hill, the southernmost point of Providenciales is one of the most important sites of historical significance in all the Turks and Caicos Islands. For centuries, passengers and crew members whiled away the hours spent waiting for their ships to load and unload in Sapodilla Bay by carving inscriptions into the soft rocks. The inscriptions include the names of many of the most prominent families in the TCI as well as dates and images of houses and ships. In recent years population growth on Provo and resulting increase in visitation to Sapodilla Hill has resulted in breakage, vandalism, and theft of many of the portable stones bearing inscriptions. Concerned that the inscriptions would be stolen or destroyed if left unprotected, the National Museum, DECR, AND Construction and the Do It Center, joined forces to save all the portable stones bearing inscriptions.

Loading was done carefully and professionally.

The feat was accomplished on Saturday, December 11, in only a few hours. Because the path from the top of the hill is steep, rocky, narrow and impassable for motorized vehicles, plenty of strong backs and several “stretchers” were needed to man-handle 40 stones, some weighing several hundred pounds, more than 100 meters to the nearest road.

The stones are safe and sound.

There, the largest stones were loaded into the bed of AND Construction’s truck, thickly padded with heavy insulation material. The remaining stones were placed in the trunks and back seats of four private vehicles for the slow, cautious trip to the Museum’s facility in Grace Bay where they were off-loaded for storage until the next phase of the project begins. Amazingly, there was no damage to the stones or injuries among the work crew.

The National Museum wishes to thank Chris Haggie and the entire AND Construction crew, Ken Adams of the Do It Center, photographer David Stone, architect Jeff Lee, volunteers Duncan, Fraser, and Sally Hutt, and Tom and Jill Linette -- two tourists from Allentown, Pennsylvania who stopped by to see the inscriptions but pitched in immediately when they saw we needed help.

The Sapodilla Hill "Rescue Squad" after a hard day's work and still smiling.

It was a great day with a great team! Many thanks to David Stone for taking all the photos.

The Map and Picture Room Become a Reality

2010-12-18T15:00:00.000-08:00

By Jackie Garbarino
Museum Gift Shop and Volunteer Manager

With the help of hardworking and precise volunteers, Pat Saxton's dream of a map room is now complete and open for business. Painting, carpentry, interior design and sheer muscle power came together in the best possible way.

Our local and visiting customers are very impressed with the result.

The shop is happy to be selling more maps than usual, so all is good at the Guinep House Gift Shop. Come in check out our maps and pictures.

Holiday Party

2010-12-17T14:27:00.000-08:00

By Jackie Garbarino
Museum Gift Shop and Volunteer Manager

What would the holiday be without a party!?! And this one was to thank all our staff and volunteers for working so hard these past four months. Not everyone could be there but we still want to thank everyone.

In the picture are Ann Dempsey, Candianne Williams, Nikki Jennings, Alessio Girotti, Pat Saxton, Melanie Clifton-Harvey (she ducked down as I took the picture but I know she was there!), Joseph and Johnnie, Donald Keith, Deborah Kigozi, Derek Taylor and Claude Bagot.

The food and the company were fantastic!

Missing are Pat Cassidy, Catherine Foley, Mitchell Loeb, Katja Rauber, Stephanie Human, Neil Saxton, Meg and Gordon Ward, Daniel Oselette, Roger Hartley, Barry and Gwen Garbarino, Hedley King and me. Someone had to take the picture.

Let me know if I have forgotten you and I will offer a sincere apology and claim old age as the culprit. You have no idea how much we appreciate all that you have done to spruce up the museum! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!

Donna and Susan Bring Gifts for the Museum

2010-12-05T15:50:00.000-08:00

What wonderful holiday gifts for the museum in December. The illustrator Susan Spellman for "Where is Simon, Sandy?" visited Grand Turk with the author Donna Seim. They spent an afternoon at the museum signing books for the young and old.

Susan Spellman (left) and Donna Seim (right) surprise us
with the watercolors from "Where is Simon, Sandy?"
Their very supportive husbands proudly look on.

Then to our delight they announced the donation of two beautiful original watercolors to the museum. Joseph and I quickly located the spot to display them in the gift shop and Joseph got out his paint brush and prepared the wall.

All the visitors to the gift shop are enjoying these whimsical paintings.

The Work Continues in the Museum Gift Shop

2010-11-16T14:25:00.000-08:00

By Jackie Garabino
Museum Gift Shop and Volunteer Manager

Catherine, the master of restoration,
is going to make this shelving shine!

The work continues to transform the shop and kitchen area. Catherine is the champion restorer of all things decrepit! Catherine, Joseph and I will move the restored shelving back into the kitchen and work on dismantling that shelving in the middle room.

Mitchell and Joseph studying the intricacies of door
dismantling. The weapon of choice is just out of sight

The idea of a map and book middle room is coming into reality. Mitchell and Joseph removed the door and brought my desk into the kitchen area. Joseph had to saw off part of the desk, but you do what you must to make it fit.

Pat Cassidy making like a government worker
as she stamps the new bags...paper of course as we are going green.

Pat Cassidy can stamp and sell without working up a sweat. She said she felt more like a prisoner stamping out license plates. Maybe we need to improve working conditions at the museum....hmmm

Vladimir and his sidekick inspect their work.

What's especially exciting is that our new alarm system is finally complete. The guys said they stand by their system, which means is it tough and ready!

Yes, We Take Credit Cards Part 2

2010-11-12T15:08:00.000-08:00

By Jackie Garbarino
Museum Gift Shop and Volunteer Manager

After some trial and error, we finally got our credit card machine up and running. So now we can shout to the world, "yes, we take credit cards!"

Our first credit card customer. I am smiling for two reasons -
the sale and the fact I figured out how to use the machine.

A Beginning . . .

2010-11-08T15:31:00.000-08:00

By Jackie Garbarino
Museum Gift Shop and Volunteer Manager

Joseph is still smiling in spite of the hard work!

Joseph and I decided to tackle a small part of the Mother In Law infestation to make more room on the portico for the cruise tour visitors. It took 2 hours plus.

The root looks like a large carrot and if we don't dig that out the plant comes back like Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction. Working for the next 2 weeks every day and we might just make a dent in the problem.

We can even see a little bit of the ground now.

These girls have definitely been growing out of control. Time to establish discipline in the museum yard! But it won't happen in 2 weeks!

Progress is slow but steady.

Yes, We take Credit Cards - Part 1

2010-11-02T12:06:00.000-07:00

By Jackie Garbarino
Museum Gift Shop and Volunteer Manager

Well, soon we will take credit cards. First we have to get the internet working in the gift shop. Again our volunteers to the rescue.


The internet elf . . . how to get a signal through these thick walls he asks?!?

Dan Boucher came all the way from Canada to help us out. Dan is a friend of Mitchell Loeb in the sort of Panama hat. Mitchell and Catherine spend most of their winters here. Mitchell has a plane and tomorrow he goes to Provo to pick up Catherine, and he is going to bring back 300 feet of Ethernet cable saving the museum $93! Price in Provo $42, price in GDT $135...not exactly priceless!

More to come.

At the end of the day the volunteers gathered on the front porch for a well deserved break.

Coffee and pastry on the balcony provided by the workers... it can't get better than this! Finbar Dempsey and Meg Ward are in the chairs. Gordon Ward (who happens to be the chief justice and helped put up the curtain but does not want to be named) is on the bench beside Meg's chair, then Mitchell, Dan and Ann.

Saturday Morning at the Museum

2010-10-30T10:51:00.000-07:00

By Jackie Garbarino

Gift Shop and Museum Volunteer Manager

The museum has been going through lots of changes recently not the least of which is sprucing up the gift shop in preparation for our welcome fall and winter visitors. Today was buzzing with activity. A great group of volunteers stepped forward to take two big tasks in hand.

Installation of new windows in the museum kitchen was on schedule. We are all amazed how brilliant the light is through the new glass bricks. Work requiring a finer hand progressed in the Guinep House Gift Shop. Ann Dempsey and Meg Ward are creating wonderful panels to hide our under the counter storage area. So in addition to shop duties, they are talented interior designers! Pat Saxton brought the material from up north and it blends beautifully with the shop decor.


Ann Dempsy and Meg Ward, shop volunteers start the process.

Hard at work.

After adding Velcro on the fabric and on the counter edge, Ann and Meg began installation.

Next came tidying up and reorganization of displays and gifts.

We have lots of new goodies to share with visitors and now a redesigned gift shop to show off.

Gift shop transformed!

Many thanks to Ann and Meg for taking time out of their schedules to do the work.

Come in and say hello to Ann, Meg and Pat Cassidy in the gift shop. Browse our gifts and tell us what you think.

Next step is the installation of our credit card swipe machine!

Gazebo Renovation

2010-10-22T12:58:00.000-07:00

By Jackie Garbarino

Gift Shop and Museum Volunteer Manager

Rome wasn't built in a day and the gazebo wasn't renovated in a week -- or even two or three. But it is now and looks WOW! The pictures tell the story.

The new gazebo is getting a fresh
coat of paint top and bottom.

With the help of Etienne and Joseph, the new benches are waiting for you in the botanical garden and on the museum portico. So come soon and enjoy some history, some shopping and some shade!

Bringing in the boxes with the benches.

Beginning the assembly.

A shady spot to relax in the garden.

Come join us!

2010-08-16T13:58:00.000-07:00

Amdeep, came by the museum today to give a presentation to the DECR on the turtle study he has been working on for the last two years.

While he was setting up this afternoon he showed me several images of something that happened to him this spring.

In April he was out with a local fisherman catching and tagging turtles. They came across and began following a tiger shark in shallow water. Amdeep thought he saw a large hook in the fin, so they decided to catch it.

The tiger shark is a very aggressive and very dangerous type of shark. It is what you are suppose to stay away from. They followed the shark. Caught the shark by the tail. Roped the shark. Brought the shark up on the boat. And then took off what wound up being an ID Tag. The shark had been tagged in Bimini, Bahamas. The tag assumed that the shark had been caught and killed. But no, Amdeep actually caught it alive. They removed the tag and eventually sent it back to the organization that tagged it. After removing the tag, they stuck a turtle tag back in the fin and let the shark go.

Now that is crazy!

Tile Mosaics

2010-08-12T11:03:00.000-07:00

By Davis Hitch

This week's Children's Club at the National Museum introduced mosaic art to the children of Grand Turk.

It started as a walk down to Sea Breeze, a small apartment building. We walked down from the museum - a long hot trip. Once we arrived at our destination we split into two groups: boys and girls. The girls entered fist to take a little tour of some small mosaics. Then the boys entered. We walked along listening to Dr. Neal Hitch, the museum director, give a speech about the different ways to make the tiled art work. Then we looked at some examples; walls with mosaics embedded into them, tables with pictures of fish swimming - even the chairs where colored with tiles.

After the tour we made the long hike back to the museum. Once again we split into three teams and sat with a counselor who was in charge of each table. We started by coloring sketches of what our teams mosaic would look like. We then edited some parts and took out some things that wouldn't work when we made the picture with broken tiles. By the time we finished the club had ended and we all went home looking forward to cutting the tile next week.

When at last the next Tuesday arrived, again we broke back into our groups and used pieces of tile we cut up or smashed to fill in our sketches. When our groups were done, we sent them to the museum director to lay out and set in mortor that had been put on concrete slabs. When they where set to dry we got a little snack and went home imagining what our art work would look like set up in the museum garden.

GIVING OLD PICTURES NEW LIFE

2010-08-09T09:28:00.000-07:00

EARLY images of one of Grand Turk’s first formal medical facilities have been given a new lease of life thanks to an extremely patient design student.
Shalomar Forbes, an intern working at the National Museum, took it upon herself to revamp 14 old black and white photos.

And now her relentless hard work will be put to good use as the pictures will be pumped up and put on display at the new Cockburn Town Medical Centre.
Brian Hogan, NHIB’s chief executive officer, said it was an appropriate way to pay tribute to medical pioneers that laid the foundation of the modern medical system.
“NHIB is proud to work with the excellent group of medical professionals in the Ministry of Health, private practice and InterHealth Canada.

“We felt that incorporating a bit of TCI’s healthcare history was the best way to demonstrate our appreciation to healthcare professionals and remind people how TCI’s healthcare system has evolved.” Shalomar, who will be completing a degree in graphic design this year at Barry University in Miami, spent hours restoring 14 prints of the Grand Turk medical facility from the early 1960s. She scanned the historic images, which are part of the permanent collection at the National Museum, into her computer and cleaned them up using specialist software.

Shalomar said: “The original pictures were so small, about two inches square, and enlarging them proved very difficult.
“They are over 50-years-old and every small scratch or spot became huge once we scanned them in.” However her hard work was not in vain and the photos were enlarged more than five times their original size. The images show the Grand Turk hospital, nurse Bailey, and images of the probationary nurses’ class which were all photographed by Allan Bishop in the early 1960s.

National Museum director Neal Hitch said: “Medical facilities were at a minimum in the Turks and Caicos during 1960s with a 16 bed hospital on Grand Turk, a small operating theatre, an x-ray machine with limited capacity and a rudimentary laboratory. “Medical staff included two medical officers, one on Grand Turk and one in South Caicos. “The staff at the Grand Turk hospital consisted of a matron, four staff nurses, three probationary nurses, and one nurse working as a midwife.”
He went on to say that during 1960 eight women from the Caicos Islands were recruited and trained in Grand Turk to be midwives.

They were considered settlement nurses and were provided with a nurse's bag, dressing, scissors, and a stretcher on which to evacuate very ill patients.
Prior to this, many local settlements were without any trained medical help.
By 1967 the Grand Turk hospital was aided by four medical clinics in the islands, in Grand Turk, Salt Cay, South Caicos, and Bottle Creek, North Caicos.
Much changed by 1970 when medical staff included two doctors, one dentist, one matron, seven staff nurses, nine settlement nurses, nine probationary nurses, and two public health inspectors.

NHIB’s Mr Hogan said they showed current staff members the historic prints before they were taken for framing, and one recognised a family member.
“We hope that persons visiting our offices will take time out to look at the amazing prints; who knows, you might see yourself, a family member or a friend.”

If anyone can identify the nurses in the photograph that accompanies this article they can contact the National Museum at info@tcmuseum.org

Also, anyone who owns black and white prints showcasing the health sector, hospitality or utility sector is encouraged to contact the museum.

Plein Air Painting at the Museum

2010-07-21T11:05:00.001-07:00

by Shalomar Forbes

Yesterday was Amazing!!! I have worked here at the TCI National Museum during my summer break from the art department at Barry University for 3 years, two of which as their Graphic Designer; yesterday, however will be my most memorable.

Two days ago I was asked to conduct a plein-air painting seminar at the museum, I was caught off guard at first when Dr. Neal Hitch asked me, but I have to admit, the excitement kept me anxious through out the night; looking forward to spending time with the kids at Children's Club.

Yesterday, I hosted about 21 kids that were excited to get the ball rolling on our activities for the day. Expressing creativity through the prospect of being able to create beauty with the simplest of things was to be a new adventure for their imagination and an enlightenment to their capabilities. Watching them laugh and become amazed at their creations made me feel as if I would enjoy doing this for a very long time.

Prior to engaging in events with the kids at kids club, I have never entertained the idea of teaching art to children, or that it would be so wonderfully fun and exciting doing so.

After our painting sessions, we went in the ocean to cool off, jumping and splashing and playing... What a day. By the time I got home, the activities of yesterday were still stamped in my memories like a colorful home movie. I am still smiling at the memory today.

IT. WAS. WONDERFUL!!!

Junior Wardens and Lion Fish

2010-07-14T12:35:00.000-07:00

by Davis Hitch

Lion fish, the hunters of the sea. Stealth ninjas of fish.

This week I've been participating in the Junior Wardens Program, a DECR program which has been taking place at the National Museum. Today we learned and practiced the art of C.P.R. and listened to a presentation about the invasive lion fish.

My father, the directer of the museum, set up a tent outside. We were brought some lion fish and started to dissect them. It was disgusting but fun. We'd take a knife to its stomach and cut till our hearts content. We were required to cut out the stomach and reproductive organ to see if it was a boy or girl. We looked at the contents of the stomach. Many people almost fainted. All in all it was fun and an exiting time.

2010-07-14T06:09:00.000-07:00

A couple days ago I was standing in front of the museum and heard an older gentlemen off of the Caribbean Princess Cruise Ship talking to Lina after her Historic Houses and Museum Tour.

He told her,"You are the best guide we have ever had on a cruise."

He went on to say, "The upstairs of your museum was good, but the downstairs exhibit was fantastic."

We like very much when people have a good time at the National Museum on Grand Turk. We like it too!

Children's Club Summer Program 2010

2010-07-12T07:51:00.000-07:00

by Aliatte Michel

It's that time of the year again! The museum's Children's Club summer program has officially kicked off on Grand Turk. Last Tuesday marked the beginning of fun filled Tuesdays in July and August. The start of this years program was a bang!!!

The snorkeling class at Oasis South was a marvellous. I have watched children participate in our swim class programs for the last couple of years and never imagined that they would be able to swim so well. But we have children who went as far as 20 feet deep snorkeling on the Bio-reef.

Even I, who never swam in the ocean before our Children's Club program last year, can now swim thanks to the museum. On Tuesday, I had another lesson and was actually swimming water over my head. Now that is hard to believe!

Two Schools-One Week

2010-07-02T10:27:00.000-07:00

Just graduated from College and already had two days in the classroom, Haha!

On Tuesday June 29, 2010 the Precious Treasures Primary school from Provo flew to Grand Turk for the day and their first stop was the Turks and Caicos National Museum. The students from Precious Treasures really enjoyed the tour provided by me and also asked a lot of questions about the tour.

On July 1, 2010, The Eliza Simons Primary School visited the Turks and Caicos National Museum. Four teachers came with their classes. When I lead tours I always asked the children questions to get them involved.

There was this one little boy who kept on answering questions about the Museum correctly. It was really funny because I never saw him in the Museum before and I asked him, "How often do you come to the Museum?" and his answer was "a lot." It surprises me how many children actually come and learn something at our museum. When I see the little faces coming to the Museum, I think are they really learning?

In fact, today showed me that they are.

Graduation Day

2010-06-23T16:32:00.000-07:00

Last night Aliatte graduated from the Grand Turk Community College with an Associates Degree in Elementary Education.

Aliatte has been working at the museum for six years. She has been a great help over the last three years and has grown in her accomplishments and responsibilities.

This summer she will be leading the museum's Children's Club activities. Involvement with the Children's Club is in fact why she decided to become a teacher.

Too Much Time at the Museum?

2010-06-19T10:50:00.000-07:00

A family from New York came by the museum today to spend a few minutes, but wound up being here so long they could not catch a cab back to the cruise center.

After going through all of the exhibits, Keven and his son Keion struck up a conversation with the director of the museum about spoiled children and the benefits of foreign travel. Seeing the world sometimes allows your children to see how really spoiled they are in the US.

This discussion turned into a discussion about life, internet, and connection. This turned into everyone getting to check their email in the museum offices which is just a little difficult on the cruise ship.

Finally, Laurell and Deloris came back to say they were still sitting in the heat waiting for a cab!

After such a great day at the museum and a great conversation, we drove the family back to the cruise terminal with plenty of time to look around before re-boarding.

How could we not do this...It was also Deloris' birthday today!

Happy Birthday, we are glad you had a good time with us today.

Jessica’s Last Blog

2010-06-11T15:50:00.000-07:00

Some of the after school regulars knocked on the office door last week. They had brought me their grade cards to see. Each one of them had raised a letter grade this term. One of them was in the first position for her class.

They also asked to use the offices to study for an exam. I explained to them how proud I was of all their hard work, but they knew that the program had ended. I asked them where they went to do their homework before they came to the museum.

“We didn’t do it,” they said in unison.

Well, we can’t have that. I let them up to the office one last time.

Today I left Grand Turk -- again. And once again I reviewed all that we had accomplished.

The past few months has seen a lot of hard work and a lot of successes. I think we’ve averaged completing one big project per month while I’ve been on-island. I’m always astounded at what can be accomplished with a little resourcefulness and a lot of outside support. From the GT-4 excavation to the March 20^th event to the Children’s Club program to the conservation projects now underway, everything relies on the support of the museum’s extended community.

It has been a true privilege to work with the museum staff and volunteers and interact with its members. The passion here is contagious and inspiring and I will carry its example throughout my career. Having played a small part in this community, I certainly can’t leave it - tomorrow I will become a member.

Best to all,

Jessica

British Library Grant Awarded

2010-06-09T09:12:00.000-07:00

by Jessica Brody

These past months in the archives has been a real treat. I've gotten to discover the rich history of the Turks and Caicos through the records in our collections. As a visitor it's been fascinating to uncover what I think is a new fact only to encounter people at the museum seminars or around town who already know the story and tell me more about the story and how it relates to broader TCI history.

This is why I was excited when the Museum's application to the British Library's Endangered Archives Project was accepted. The project's focus will be to collect pre-1900 records from around the Islands. It's exciting to think that soon, not only new comers like me, but generations into the future will be able to re-create the stories of early Turks and Caicos Islanders.

Rainy Day Games

2010-06-02T19:34:00.000-07:00

There was a massive downpour on Grand Turk today. It may have put a damper on some of the
of the cruise passengers' visit, but not for the museum visitors.

Even when the rain caused a power outage across the island, disrupting a Historic Homes Tour that had just arrived, the Museum staff saved the day by giving a behind the scenes tour instead.

At the end of the tour, the visitors commented that they loved the behind the scenes tour and couldn't imagine a better rainy day activity.

Cleaning Fish

2010-05-21T07:15:00.000-07:00

This week we are taking advantage of some slow days and late ship calls to get some spring cleaning done.

Jonathon has been volunteering at the museum for the last several weeks. His parents are here as missionaries who have been rebuilding one of the Grand Turk churches following the hurricane.

At first he was just helping out in the museum shop. But we soon discovered that he has pretty good mechanical skills and is very detail oriented.

Matching volunteers to their passion is important in museums. After some training, Jonathon has become very good at the highly detailed work of dusting exhibits. Today, he showed up very early to help Joseph clean our reef exhibit.

This exhibit interprets the reef wall that surrounds Grand Turk. When coming into Grand Turk visitors can clearly see the teal blue line that surrounds our island. What you can't see is the 1000 foot drop off the edge of the reef. Well, unless you come to the museum...

Spontaneous Behind the Scenes Tour

2010-05-20T13:43:00.000-07:00

Mark and Shannon stopped by the museum today. This was a good day as it was raining all over Grand Turk. But like we told them...it is never raining in the museum.

They have an international business and are traveling through the Caribbean looking to expand. They love museums and were here for nearly three hours.

Mark was very interested in why more cruise ship passengers did not come to the museum and wanted to know what other kinds of tours we offered. They jumped on the chance to see the "behind the scenes" tour of the conservation labs and saw several of the artifacts that have just come into our collection, including the bell from the SS Beta, which wrecked on Grand Turk in 1908.

The rain allowed a lot of discussions today. Though the museum was packed, I think Mark and Shannon had a visitor "experience" that was away from the crowds and was very personal. I think this will turn out to the be the best stop on their cruise.

Another Excellent VIP Diver's Tour

2010-05-16T18:14:00.000-07:00

Linda and Paul took time out to visit the Museum and left very pleased they had gone to the trouble. They had booked a weekend of dives through Blue Water Divers and thought that they would not be able to get to the museum between diving and cruise ships that were in port this week.

Blue Water called to arrange a "Behind the Scenes" diver's tour. Through the dive shops, this can be booked anytime, even outside of regular hours. This is why they were so pleased.

They were treated to an in-depth look at collections in the labs and then got a crash course on "how to read a shipwreck." After the museum, the Director continued the tour on the dive boat, joining the couple for a 2:00pm dive on the "Anchor" site. After a brief discussion about the history of the Grand Turk anchorage, the couple got to see even more maritime arifacts, though these were obviously not in the collections of the museum.

Museum at Work!

2010-05-10T17:52:00.001-07:00

Last week the Museum was a busy busy place (as if this ever changes).

Among the usual whirl of Historic Homes Tours and After School Program visits we also had a visit from some Museum members. They would be leaving Grand Turk for a while and wanted to check up on a loan they'd given to the museum. 3 maps respectively from the 1690's, 1790's, and 1830's.

The map from the 1690's depicts the Caribbean Islands including the "Isles Turques" and a very distorted Florida state. This map is the oldest that the Museum holds. The others show the Caribbean, the Turks and Caicos and their relation to North and South America. No other map in our collection shows this comprehensive view of the Atlantic World and this member's collection gives it to us across the decades. After viewing our map collection and how important their pieces were to our collection, the members decided to gift the maps to the Museum and put them in our permanent collection.

* * *

We also had an visit from the Provo architects. They were looking at how the Museum's spaces are used for our daily functions. They spent all day touring the museum, the offices, and the climate controlled storage area. There were plenty of discussions on how optimal space usage should be designed around flexible spaces. It's exciting to watch a small change of a line on the paper can re-create a room.

* * *

We also had a Children Club activity: Snorkeling and a Cook Out at the Cruise Center with Oasis Divers. See the Children Club Blog for more pictures.

Clement Howell High School Tour

2010-05-05T13:58:00.000-07:00

The students of Clement Howell High School visited Grand Turk last Friday and the Museum was on their list of places to see. The Children's Club Coordinator gave them a special tour of the Molasses Reef Wreck artifacts and the Lucayan room. There were quite a few shutter bugs in the group who were madly taking pictures of everything they saw!

Library Complete!

2010-04-27T13:26:00.001-07:00

The library is completely in order, labeled and functioning!

New Helpers

2010-04-23T10:58:00.000-07:00

We have some new helpers at the museum - a mother and son team! I'm really excited, we have the last few slides of the Jimmy McCullom collection getting scanned in today. It's taken over 200 man-hours to process and scan in the collection and it feels like a real accomplishment to have completion right around the corner. Once he's finished with the scanning, our new friend will start learning the tours. Having lived on the island for almost a year, he's nearly and expert!

His mom dabbled in library work in her college days and seems to have gotten right back into the swing of things. At this rate the library will be labeled with it's proper Dewey numbers in no time!

The youngest in the group is working on making a pathfinder for the reference files in the office. He keeps claiming that his typing isn't very good, but by the end of this he'll be an expert. Here are the brothers working side by side with the after school kids working on their projects. Another busy day at the museum!

Website Enhancement

2010-04-22T11:57:00.000-07:00

The new website design has been up and running for nearly a month now, but we are always adding content. This week I collected images of people engrossed in learning about TCI history. Most of the pictures I took were legit, but since someone asked directions to a snorkel place, I offered them a ride in exchange for some modeling. They were more than happy to help!

Here they are with the 1,000 year old Lucayan paddle - one of 2 in the world!

Check out the new stuff: http://www.tcmuseum.org/

Just another Day

2010-04-16T11:16:00.001-07:00

It's a typical day here at the museum with an interesting twist.

We have 6 Historic Home Tours off the Carnival Destiny and Emerald Princess today. We've had 4 students working with the After School laptops. The DECR is using the Science Building classroom and projector to host a training session. A typical day.

What's NOT typical is walking out of the Science Building to find a huge Cat outside the Guinep House! The flag pole, bent during Hurricane Ike, was taken away a few weeks ago to be repaired. It came back today as straight as the day it was manufactured. Notice the man in the mask welding it back in place. No sign of Hurricane Ike here!

Spring Break

2010-04-12T11:35:00.001-07:00

The last few weeks have been busy with visitors from all corners and with all sorts of expectations. This is a brief shout-out to our new friends:

The geo-cacher's have seemed to multiply in the last few weeks. At least 6 new people signed the log book. This couple were determined and finally got their prize.

We enjoyed the company of an adventurous group of young women who sailed over from Sweden. See their blog here. (Pictures to follow) They were like celebrities on Grand Turk and we enjoyed their visit to the museum.

We also recently had a visit from a South Caicos elementary school. The children were especially interested in the limestone cave exhibit in the Lucayan room. They dared each other to enter the dimly lite area as we explained erosion and how the Lucayans lived. As you can see here, they enjoyed their visit and so did we!

VIP tours in demand!

2010-04-12T11:19:00.000-07:00

Freddie visited the museum last week hoping for an in depth look at the work of the museum. Boy did we have just the thing for him!

Earlier today he stopped in with friend Bridgett to get our new VIP Behind the Scene's tour. They were curious as to how the museum receives items. We walked them through the process (and some Turks and Caicos history) as we showed them items in the collections from the recent GT-4 and Fort St. George surveys, to the new spy glass donation.

They are pictured here with the 1888 hurricane relief report and a sword handle from Fort George.

Spring 2 Collections Comes to a Close

2010-04-12T11:16:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday, visiting archivist Jessica Brody showed off the Museum Archives collection at the final Spring 2 Collections Event. We talked briefly about how to keep archival materials safe and the progress of conservation and organization in the Museum's archives, but mostly we explored the stories in the papers. We laughed at a get-out-of-work excuse note from 1872 written in flowery language and decided that the author took far to long to get to the point. And we looked up family names in the 1888 hurricane report. All in all it was an informative and delightful evening.

This event brings the Spring 2 Collections series to a close, which is a shame - it was as much fun for the museum staff as for the participants! Thanks to all the attendees, resident experts, and volunteers who helped us with our spring cleaning - or airing out, at least - of these little seen Museum Collections. We look forward to seeing you in the future as we continue to explore the Turks and Caicos' past.

Thanks,

Museum Staff

130th country today

2010-03-24T07:49:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth, pictured here with a family member, is celebrating her 130th country visit today. We talked with her about her past traveling adventures.

Her favorite country is Tibet. She's been there twice, thus far.

Elizabeth told us that she's been traveling from a very early age. She was a passanger on a research vessel when she was 8 - headed to the Arctic! That ship later sank in the North Atlantic storm that inspired the movie The Perfect Storm. Elizabeth was also caught in that storm - she held onto a bunk for 2 days while the boat was beaten by the waves.

Walking through the museum exhibits, Elizabeth could relate to the ordeal of the men of the Molasses Reef Wreck - just like them, she's seen first hand the power of the open seas!

Good Deeds Never Go Undone

2010-03-23T18:23:00.000-07:00

We had very special guests at the museum today.

A family flew in from Pine Cay to see Grand Turk and the museum. We gave them a behind the scenes tour and suggested they go up to the Bohio for Lunch.

All this, after a quick renewal of their membership.

We enjoy having our friends stop by. Especially when it requires a trip on a private plane.

We hope they enjoyed the visit as much as we did.

Old Navy Friends

2010-03-19T13:49:00.000-07:00

Today we had a visit from Ray and Anita Spencer. They had been touring around off the Carnival Glory, visiting the northern tip of the island.

In 1961-62, Ray was stationed at the US Navy Base, so he went looking for familar landmarks. He found a few. The gatehouse and basketball court are right where he left them, and of course the Lighthouse.

Later in the day, Ray and Anita stopped by the museum to share memories "of a very special time" in Ray's life. He showed off some pictures he carried in and told stories of getting his picture taken with John Glenn.

It's like having old friends return when we get visitors like the Spencers. We love welcoming you back - no matter how long between visits!

Micro Excursioning

2010-03-17T10:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Mario and Angela came to the museum and were thrilled with the exhibits and the behind the scenes tour. They were off the Holland America Westerdam, but they enjoy "micro excursioning" where they plan their own activities and contact local companies before they cruise. Mario was scuba diving with Blue Water Diving in the afternoon, so they came early to the museum.

Growing up in the Canary Islands and now living on Vancouver Island, Mario understood many of the conditions of island life and we had a great conversation about the what Grand Turk is really like as a place to live.

During the behind the scenes tour, the couple was very interested in how our archives are conserved in such a humid environment. This is actually a great question and they looked at length at our climate controlled storage room and our current project of reorganizing our archival collections.

Geo Caching a Little More Popular than We Thought.

2010-03-15T19:06:00.000-07:00

This morning we had two geo cachers stop by the museum off the Holland America Eurodam. Known on Geocaching.com as Teampolarbear and Papoosky, these two guys have registered over 1500 caches by downloading the information from the geocaching website into their Ipods and then using Garmen GPS units to locate the various caches that are in the places they travel.

They were looking for three today: the museum, the lighthouse, and a new one at, I think, the Salina House. They rented a golf cart and were off the ship early. They were the first two people at the museum. I noticed them looking around the front of the museum when I came into work, and knew immediately what they were looking for.

I thought they were just the third geocachers to come to the museum since the "cruising cachers" (see blog entry on Dec 9) left the cache. They told me, however, that many people have signed the log. I looked on the Geocaching.com website and to my surprise, 18 people have logged the visit and some have put up pictures standing at the museum with staff. An added bonus, they said very nice things about the museum.

Though the guys today were having a great time on Grand Turk, they did say that their wives had stayed behind at the cruise center to "shop." I wonder if they were shopping, or just NOT "geo caching."

Salinas Kiosk

2010-03-11T16:35:00.000-08:00

The Salinas kiosk has gone up. The kiosk provides cultural information on the history of the Salinas as salt ponds and their importance today as a migratory bird habitat.

Already there have been several visitors and islanders alike standing reading the panels. They are effective and should be an asset to understanding this large part of Grand Turk.

The Archives

2010-03-10T06:53:00.000-08:00

by Jessica Brody

Today's task between hosting cruise ship visitors: assembling the archives. Tiffany and I spent August through December arranging and creating order in the museum's paper collections. We sifted through governmental reports, church records, salt industry ledgers, and personal accounts of the islands. After separating them into categories, we started entering them into the database. To complete that task, however, we needed to give them permanent homes in the storage room. We couldn't do that without ordering the proper archival supplies so we know how they fit on the shelves. We were able to do this through a grant from a US Foundation.

Last week the order finally arrived after much delay (oh the joys of shipping to these islands!). I've never been so excited to see an archives box. It was like Christmas! These acid-free containers will keep the collections safe for hundreds of years. It's nice to know the work we are doing here will keep our stories alive for the TCI's next generations.

The Library

2010-03-09T09:09:00.000-08:00

by Jessica Brody

The library is in heavy use today. We've had a number of visitors, some just perusing, and others working from it's shelves as we speak.

To our visitors I showed off the work Tiffany and I did over the fall and winter - cataloging and adding books to the database - and adding the latest update:Just yesterday I completed a small victory for man over machine when I figured out how to use the database to print book labels just the way I needed them. Soon the library will be recognizable as well as functional! I'm looking forward to completing the project in the coming weeks and officially calling the library up and running.

And it's none too soon! We have four students here this morning working on projects based on our library's collection.

Images of the Turks and Caicos

2010-03-03T16:26:00.001-08:00

Last night was the second Spring 2 Collections event at the museum. We watched 10 minute of silent footage, recently donated to the museum, of the Navy base being built on Grand Turk and then talked about photographs in the museum collections. We talked a lot about the airstrip that used to run where Cee's Grocery store currently resides on Grand Turk which prompted stories about the planes running on the islands. Children in the schools used to hide under their desks when they heard planes taking off because you never knew when one of the US airplanes was going to break the sound barrier. "You didn't know if you were going to hear that shatter noise or not," shared one participant.

Overall, we identified 19 people in 25 photographs. Reminiscing was so much fun we've decided to make this a regular event!

Thanks to all who participated and we look forward to doing it again soon!

Old Friends and New

2010-03-01T16:02:00.000-08:00

by Jessica Brody

A member of the museum stopped by to drop off the annual dues and left us with an unexpected gift! She had a couple things her husband was willing to part with: a commemorative ship's bell and an old spy glass. The ship's bell is probably a significant addition to the museum collections since it has the name of a ship on it, but I couldn't keep my eyes off the spy glass. It was so cool! I'd never seen one before and it looked right out of the Mary Poppin's movie.

I just happened to have one of the kids for the afterschool program nearby. I showed her the spy glass - she'd never seen one before either. I asked her to guess how old it was. "It doesn't look so old," she said. When I told her it was probably about 110 years old she refused to believe me.

We've been working hard the last couple weeks under extreme pressure to complete two grant proposals. These had to be completed on top of assembling a new display for Provo, preparing for Children's Program and Spring 2 Collection events, and hosting 7 cruise ships through the museum.

The grants are very exciting. The first was actually a submission of the second and final round of the British Library's Endangered Archives Project. This project would allow the museum to hire an archivist to seek out and preserve pre-1900 government records. The possibility of saving these documents is a very exciting prospect and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we are accepted!

The second proposal, submitted today, was a nomination to the American Association of State and Local History's Leader in History Award for Where is Simon, Sandy? The publication of Simon, Sandy and its proceeds have led to the promotion of Turks and Caicos culture and history to international audiences, the acquisition of donkey-related items, and it provides funding for the Children's Program. Certainly a project like this is worthy of recognition!

Looking at the spy-glass today reminded me of how rewarding all this work can be, not only did I get to see something new, but I got the opportunity to interpret that history for a Turk's Islander. The look on her face reminded me why we work so hard on these projects: to interpret and celebrate Turks and Caicos history!

New Behind the Scenes Tour

2010-02-26T15:37:00.000-08:00

We now offer a behind the scenes guided tour at the museum in Grand Turk. The tour is available through the website at www.tcmuseum.org. The tour has been developed for people who want a more detailed and longer experience at the museum. This may be divers who are really interested in seeing collections from shipwrecks around Grand Turk that are not on display. This may also be cruise ship tours who want an experience a little more personal and less crowded.

Yesterday we had our first guests on the tour. Ken and Debby came off the Carnival Liberty.

Jessica took them through the museum and the Molasses Reef Wreck. For the "behind the scenes" portion in the labs, someone was working on the Provo Island Wise exhibit case, so they got a full discussion of how museum exhibits are developed.

They had a great time. In fact Ken said that the tour was the "highlight of their cruise."

Renaissance Musician?

2010-02-25T20:03:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday we had a local musician's jam at the museum. Often during these events visitors will show up and sit in. On this particular night Wally Jarvis, a Renaissance musician from Michigan, came and played a 13th century wooden flute.

The evening was incredible. The Wet Lab and outside areas were full of people. The blend of island music and Medieval flute was particularly captivating. Truly remarkable. One of the best music events we have held at the museum.

We appreciate participation like this. It not only makes the museum a fun place to come to, but it makes our programs fun for us as well.

Finished Digging!

2010-02-19T20:20:00.001-08:00

By Rory McEathron

The surveying part of the archaeological project finished today. We covered another 15 holes (many of which we were forced to surface collect) and found a wide range of colorful ceramic fragments and broken bottles.

I learned today that it is possible to estimate the age of a bottle by measuring how deep the indentation on the bottom is. Present-day glass bottles usually have flat bottoms, but when bottles were made in the 19^th century they were blown on the end of a rod. The older bottles had very large indentations on the bottom where the rod was placed.

We were also greeted today by a Yellow-Crowned Night Heron at one of our holes. These birds, which stand about two feet tall, are basically fearless and do not fly away unless closely approached. After watching the bird for nearly five minutes, it flew into the dense scrub and disappeared. I always find the incredible variety of creatures God has created amazing...I was astounded again today and I hope that I will continue to be! Artifact cleaning tomorrow!

Talking Taino Event Great Sucess

2010-02-19T19:23:00.000-08:00

by Jessica Brody

This Friday's event with Betsy Carlson, author of Talking Taino, was a great success. Betsy signed copies of her book and she and her team of archeologists revealed the artifacts uncovered at this week's dig on GT-4, the 4th Lucayan site discovered off Cork Tree Beach, Grand Turk. We learned how the island people used small conch shells to break the foot off of larger conch shells releasing the meat. Talk about using what nature gave you!

Also on the site were bits of 1800 and 1900 pottery which may be evidence of Cork Tree Plantation. Rory told stories about how much easier it was to distinguish the familar china patterns from the tiny Lucayan beads. People were astounded by how very careful you had to be not to mistake the pre-historic artifacts with rocks!

The night wrapped up with some acoustic music accompaniment from Allesio. Thanks to all who attended and helped make the night a success!

The Excavation: Day 4

2010-02-18T19:07:00.001-08:00

By Rory McEathron

Our archaeological dig led us to 19^th-century remnants of an old building behind Corktree Beach today. The building, which the Museum Director believes was originally known as Corktree Plantation, is today simply a pile of burned and broken rocks—however, the ruins are littered with broken ceramic fragments.

Most of the shards are blue and white, while others are various shades of red, green and brown. These fragments, which date from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s, are easy to see on the screen. When compared to the dark brown beads and bone fragments that we’ve been finding, these vivid shards seem to jump from the ground.

We also began using a laser range finder today. Instead of pacing out every distance, we simply press a button and the exact distance is projected onto the tiny screen. I always find the new technology incredible...how can a tiny device have so much processing power? I guess that’s why I’m not a computer programmer! Day five tomorrow—all the holes should be finished by the end of the day!

Another Day, Another...Digging?

2010-02-17T17:00:00.000-08:00

By Rory McEathron

The archaeological excavation continued today, mindless of the overcast weather--which I thoroughly enjoyed. The whole group worked incredibly hard today, digging 22 new holes (most of which had nothing of substance in them) and covering almost two acres.

Had it been hot and sunny like yesterday, I think that we may have had casualties—I am exhausted anyway. The ground we’re covering is covered with hundreds of thorn-bushes, and I think that seeds could actually be planted in the dirt-filled gouges in my legs and arms. We’re definitely making good progress though.

Debbie and I talked for close to half an hour about Hollywood archaeology today while we were working. Why can’t real archaeology be like we see in Indiana Jones? I mean, he walks onto a site and finds the priceless treasure in his first hole! So far, out of 56 holes, the most interesting thing that we’ve found is…a tiny piece of pottery? I’m really having fun with it —it’s hard work but I’m learning a lot and getting to spend time with people I’d never have a chance to otherwise. Day four tomorrow!

The Excavation Continues!

2010-02-16T17:21:00.000-08:00

By Rory McEathron

We (the Museum Director, two American professionals, and I) continued with the excavation of archaeological site GT-4 today. The project, which I code-named Operation Queen Conch, is starting to move along more rapidly. Over 30 holes have been dug and innumerable conch fragments and bone pieces discovered.

Neal and I worked together again today, which I really enjoyed. As we worked, our topics of conversation changed again and again—from TV shows to baseball (my favorite sport) to snorkeling—and I think that we both learned a lot about each other today.

At the same time, the dig became much more exciting as we began finding Lucayan artifacts. The artifacts—which range from shell beads to fish vertebrae—date to around 800 A.D. and are usually buried around 40 centimeters deep. We started using a finer screen to catch more artifacts and it quickly paid off, as we found several bead fragments and a few complete beads. It was the beginning of what would turn out to be a day of many holes and even more artifacts. I’m learning a lot and am definitely enjoying this experience!

The Beginning Of The Excavation

2010-02-15T19:12:00.000-08:00

By Rory McEathron

Monday marked the beginning of an archaeological dig that I am getting the chance to assist with. The site is known as GT-4 (GT standing for Grand Turk) and is based around a site located the west side of the island. I am working alongside the Museum’s Director and two professional archaeologists from the United States, and the excavation will run for the week’s entirety.

The archaeologists work by digging test pits every 25 meters. We dig a pit that’s approximately 70 centimeters deep—a little over two feet—and then pouring the material through a screen. The sand and dirt fall through, while shells, rocks and pottery bits are left exposed. By tracking numbers of artifacts (potsherds, beads, etc.), they can figure out where the main site was located.

I quickly learned that archaeology is nothing like Hollywood makes it out to be. As amazing as this may seem, every shovelful doesn’t turn up a gold nugget or tiny valuable stone statue. Over six hours of work and 15 holes, we found two pottery fragments and one whole bead. However, I am really looking forward to working and learning for the rest of the week!

Busy Busy! - Jessica

2010-02-15T09:32:00.000-08:00

Last week was insanely busy! Here's a sampling of what kept us busy:

The Fort St. George artifact cleaning continued by Dr. Keith.
Rory alternated taking pictures of the artifacts for cataloging and giving his stellar tours.
On Thursday the swimming activities were canceled due to rough seas increasing our expected visitor count by 50%!
Look out for the newest Astrolab Newsletter in the Times of the Island. We just sent in our materials for the articles and already have a proof from the editor - it's going to be another great issue!
Our trustee meeting was this week and included the annual report for 2009 and outlined goals for the coming months.
We hosted a private party this week after hours. It was great fun showing off the Turks and Caicos history to our host's guests. Dr. Keith guided people through the museum and showed off his most recent work in the laboratory. Dinner was accompanied by light music and set a lovely tone for the social event. Among the distinguished guests was His Excellency the Governor and his wife. What a treat!

Today starts another busy week at the museum. Aliatt brought her class to visit us today and the archeological dig on GT-4 started today too. Rory will tell you more about that later, until then I'm going off to hear some of the stories first hand!

After School Program Update

2010-02-08T17:41:00.000-08:00

The after school program is going strong. Everyday there are more students using our newly purchased labtops and preparing their reports. Today I took a step back for a moment to marvel at the success of the program. There was a line for the computers today.
We knew the Museum was popular, but it seems we are the hot ticket on the Grand Turk after school activities most wanted list.

Sugar Does What?!

2010-02-03T12:22:00.000-08:00

Thank you to everyone who attended last night’s first event of the Spring 2 Collections series. It was incredibly successful. Everyone who attended seemed to enjoy socializing over wine and cheese and then listening to Dr. Donald Keith’s terrific talk on the conservation of artifacts. Who knew that sugar could be used to save a waterlogged wheel?

After the discussion, Alessio’s band took to the floor and played for two hours while our guests chatted and listened. It was a very enjoyable evening and we look forward to the next event on March 2nd.

Spring 2 Collections Begins Today

2010-02-02T11:15:00.000-08:00

We are starting a new series tonight called Spring 2 Collections at the museum.

The focus of our first event is on artifacts found at Fort George, which are in the process of being conserved. They will be on display in the Museum Science Building tonight from 6:30 - 9:00pm.

Just after three long days of work, previously hidden clues have been revealed on many of the artifacts. Still this afternoon there are "small finds" soaking in cleaning solution. Tonight's event will allow our members and guests to view conservation in progress while Dr. Keith talks about the artifacts and hypothesizes about the secrets they may reveal.

Thank you to those who have RSVP'ed for tonight. Those who have not are still welcome! Wine and cheese will be served as we explore the secrets of the Fort George artifacts.

And if you stick around after 9:00 you can hear some great music.

If you aren't on the email list and would like to be, send us a note!

Fort George Continues

2010-01-30T18:10:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, Museum Trustee Dr. Donald Keith arrived on island. Almost as soon as he was picked up from the airport, he started situating himself in the conservation labs. He'll be staying on island for 3 weeks to continue the conservation of the artifacts donated from Fort George. Hopefully, in that time, we'll see a number of artifacts cleaned, conserved, and the clues to their valuable history will be analyzed. The information will add to the story of life on Fort George and the society and culture of the TCI.

Dr. Keith, who is an expert at underwater artifact conservation and was one of the marine archaeologists that excavated the famous Molasses Reef Wreck with Ships of Discovery, and was one of the original founders of National Museum itself. He was also an integral part of the excavation of the HMS Endymion off the coast of Salt Cay.

Tours, Tours, Tours

2010-01-25T18:34:00.000-08:00

By Rory McEathron

It’s been a great week here at the Museum, which I’ve spent preparing new guided tours for the opening of the cruise season in April. The new tours include a shipwreck snorkeling tour, a military tour, and several different behind-the-scenes tours of the museum. The shipwreck snorkeling tour includes half an hour of snorkeling in the wrecking yard in front of the museum before traveling up to the north end of the island to view the lighthouse. The military tour will focus on the Naval Facility on the north end of the island, while the behind-the-scenes tours will allow visitors to learn about the conservation of artifacts and the preparation of exhibits. These tours, which will be offered solely off the Museum’s website, are going to be the best things to hit the Turks and Caicos since the Molasses Reef Shipwreck!

Back Again!

2010-01-22T13:42:00.000-08:00

by Jessica Brody

During my last visit to the museum, we applied for a Pine Cay Association grant to resume the after school program. It seemed that every afternoon brought students to our door asking if the program had restarted yet and how long would it be until it did? Just a few weeks after my departure in October, our application was accepted and now we can finally answer “we’re open!” when we hear the knocks on the door. I’ve returned for 6 months to help run the program and continue some of the projects that Tiffany and I started in our visit last fall.

So far the after school program is getting a good response. One of our regular visitors contributes to the Children’s Club Blog and wrote an entry on the positive attention he received from his teachers after he properly cited the sources he used for his homework. You can view it here: http://tcmuseumchildrensclub.blogspot.com/2010/01/tuesdays-with-tuvol.html

I’m also working on picking up the archives project where Tiffany left off. She ordered a shipment of supplies before she left island, and once that arrives we can store the records properly. Then I’ll continue to add the records to the database so we can find what we need every time! It’s an exciting prospect from someone who values organization and usable systems.

We’d also started the slide digitization project last time I was on island. In my absence, Aliatt has completed more than half the scanning! We’re planning great things for that collection so I’m eager to continue scanning images and prepare them for future viewings.

It has been easy to slip back into the swing of things here: I retained all the tour information and facts I’d thought I’d forgotten resurfaced with ease, driving on the “other” side of the road feels natural again, and I’ve found snorkel equipment that fits me. With the basics in place, I’m ready for another great (and productive!) visit to the National Museum.

The Trials of Files

2010-01-14T12:12:00.000-08:00

We are finally finishing the re-filing project that began after the hurricane now more than a year ago. Aliatte has been spending her holiday break from the Grand Turk Community College transferring miles of files into our new cabinets that arrived with the AC equipment in November.

Last year we had an order of file cabinets come with our shipment of replacement supplies following the hurricane. These cabinets, however, were the wrong size. Our second order put us into the file business and we are almost back in order. At least alphabetically!

New Intern Arrives At Museum

2010-01-08T14:02:00.000-08:00

Our new intern Rory arrived this week. Rory has deferred admission from Davidson College for a year and lives in Vermont with his parents and four younger siblings. He has been shadowing our tour guides for the last few days, as well as learning about the famed Molasses Reef Wreck. Today he successfully led the last two tours off the Carnival Glory. He proceeded to jokingly declare himself "The #1 Tour Guide on the island," to heated debate from the museum's other guides. Rory will be with the Museum for the next two months.

If you happen to be by, please request his #1 tour!

Welcome to the New Year

2010-01-02T07:38:00.000-08:00

The new year has started. We have had five ship calls this New Years weekend. Our Historic Houses and Museum tours have been full.

Thanks to the storms off the U.S. coast we have had unbelievable choppy seas for three days. New Years day was flat and calm. Everyone was on the water. Today, it is choppy again.

But like I told visitors a couple days ago...it is never raining inside the museum.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T13:50:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to all....

We had three ships in port in Grand Turk today with over 80 people through the museum on tours and museum visits. A very interesting group as well: a retired Italian journalist, a retired conservative protestant minister, a retired anthropologist, and a retired couple who had met on a previous cruise to Alaska...all provided lively conversation as they were very interested in specifics about the museum and life on Grand Turk. I have always wondered who takes a cruise over Christmas week. Retired people!

We had a great day, though with limited staff because of the holidays we worked hard. Now we are off to celebrate our Christmas...and to all a good night.

Busy Day at the Guinep House

2009-12-24T11:57:00.000-08:00

Christmas week is a busy week on Grand Turk. There are nine ships in this week.

Yesterday, was a trial day. We had four ship tours through the building. Two tours were here at the same time! It also rained all day. We were determined that everyone who came to the museum would think that this was the best stop on their cruise. Lina carried the day and I think that the hundred plus visitors who came through the museum had a great time.

U.S. Navy Seabee on our shores again

2009-12-15T14:15:00.000-08:00

Bob and Janet stopped by the museum on our Historic Homes and Museum tour yesterday. Robert had been stationed on Grand Turk during the summer of 1959 with the SeaBees along with 300 other young men of MCB7 who came to build North Base.

After their scheduled tour, we took an unscheduled tour up to the base and looked around. When Bob was here, they were just building the water catchment and first barracks, so it looks very different today. But he had many stories as the memories returned.

For the museum his visit could not have been more timely. We were just talking about where one would begin research on the construction of the bases...evidently with the U.S. Navy Seabees. Thank you very much and we hope you enjoyed your tour.

Liked it so much we became a member!

2009-12-11T14:26:00.000-08:00

This week Ken and Francie stopped the museum . They enjoyed themselves so much that they became $100 members. Ken had worked on the salvage of a salt schooner recovered off of Martha's Vineyard in the early 1990s. Evidently, the captain had died while loading salt in Grand Turk and the crew tried to get the vessel home, unsuccessfully.

Donations such as this are very important to the museum. One of the things we are working on right now is trying to match a matching grant of $10,000 toward the development of museum programs on Providenciales. We have an ongoing campaign at the end of this year to raise $1000 memberships to meet the match. we are half way there. If you have not become a member - please do so quick!

Britian's Favorite Cruising Holiday

2009-12-10T14:28:00.000-08:00

P&O Cruises make Grand Turk a port of call on several ships. In the last week the Ventura and the Artemis have been on Grand Turk. The latest ship we had in is from Barbados. Brits fly in from London, get on board, and spend 14 days in the sun, which does not shine in England November through March.

The National Museum has received over 100 visitors from these two ships. The British are very interested in the colonial history of the islands and also about our fabulous weather here!

The Museum Now Takes Cache

2009-12-09T12:59:00.000-08:00

This week, Bob Pratt and several "cruising cashers" came to the museum off of the Carnival Liberty. They were on a special cruise where they are completing a series of geocaching activities throughout the Bahamas. They also left a cache here. So now if you are ever geocaching near Grand Turk please stop by the Geocaching USA website and find our information. And Thank you very much to Bob for the nice write up!

See Turks and Caicos National Museum at GeocachingUSA.com

Museum Day a Great Success

2009-12-03T07:45:00.000-08:00

The National Museum would like to thank everyone who came out to the Museum Day presentation last night. Museum Day is the annual celebration of the founding of the museum in 1991. It was a great evening and we heard from at least one person that it was the "best event" they had ever attended here.

On Sunday, the original day that we were doing the adult program, it rained so hard that we had to postpone the program until Tuesday. But it turned out great.

I would like to especially thank Alessio for putting together a few musicians to jam afterward, and to Mitch for bringing the "rock." The band playing had fun and I think the people who staid around really enjoyed themselves.

VIV Tour

2009-11-24T14:28:00.001-08:00

Some Very Interested Visitors stopped by the museum on Friday off of the Emerald Princess

Will and his fiancee, Joanne, came by the museum for a behind the scene tour. Will works with non-for-profits in the Los Angeles area and had come across the museum website while searching for things to do on their cruise. He contacted the museum to say he was very interested in what we were doing and wanted a closer look. Lucky for them, we were just completing the research on the Ft George buttons and they were intrigued by the clues that could be seen under the microscope. Will pointed out that he thinks the belt wrapping the RI in the Royal Irish button is a heraldry symbol used by infantry. It is possibly the symbol for brotherhood. Something new to research.

Button, Button, Who's Got the Button

2009-11-20T07:04:00.000-08:00

We just finished the Winter issue of the Astrolabe. The whole issue will feature information about the Ft. George archaeological survey we have just completed. One of the articles will be about buttons found on Ft. George.

This week we have been researching the regimental buttons. These are the pewter buttons worn on the "redcoat" of the British army during the 1790s. Each regiment had their own buttons.

One particular button we found, actually four buttons we found, is marked in the center with R.I.

We spent four days searching on the internet to find a similar button that would indicate what regiment this button belonged to. We thought it might be the Royal Irish, the 18th of Foot, who were stationed in Jamaica from 1807-1817. After searching through hundreds of websites, Tiffany finally found this button which was for sale by a private collector.

Finally, this was the proof we were looking for. The R.I. on this button with the 18 is just like our R.I> and the only other button we have seen with these letters. The button we have must be from the 18th of Foot, Royal Irish Regiment. They must have been on garrison duty at Ft. St. George while they were stationed in Jamaica. But that requires a little more research.

Ft George Presentation

2009-11-11T20:07:00.000-08:00

Link to Ft George Project

Dr Donald Keith gave a presentation about the results of the Ft George Project at the museum on Wednesday evening. The presentation was to staff of the Governor's office and staff of the DECR. We showed several of the artifacts related to the fort and gave a presentation about erosion that is taking its toll on the remaining areas of the fort. The presentation was well attended and the information was well received. This week has been very busy as we have been trying to share the results of the project with as many people as possible.

New Air Conditioners

2009-11-05T08:35:00.001-08:00

www.tcmuseum.org

The new air conditioners have arrived and are being installed here by Paul and Alvin from Climatech. All the air conditioners will be replaced in the next four weeks. Our AC has been operating very poorly since the September hurricanes.

The new air conditioners are more efficient and will be controled by humidity as well as temperature. They will provide better cooling of the Guinep House and will provide a better invironment for storage in the Science Building. They will also cost less to operate and will save on the rising costs of electricity.

Volunteering at Ft George

2009-10-26T12:23:00.001-07:00

I have been volunteering on the Fort George archaeological survey with the National Museum. I am writing this blog on day five of the survey from the comfort of my hotel suite in Provo. The other team members are slaving away in the hot sun while my wife and I had to take a day off and recuperate. Reality is slowly setting in. Not that the work is particularly arduous, in fact, it is incredibly interesting as we are learning new things almost by the minute. But it is especially gratifying and rewarding from an inner sense and perspective.

During the weeks leading up to the exploration I had high hopes of discovering an artillery uniform button that might help pinpoint the timeline as to when the British troops occupied the fort. While other evidence provides some degree of the timeline, I thought the discovery of a button might nail it down more precisely.

I can’t imagine what it must have been like to be stationed here a hundred years ago. Your choice would be between being in the open blazing sun in full military dress or moving into the jungle for shade where a million mosquitoes would eat you alive. Not my idea of spending time in a beautiful Caribbean island. But for the next two weeks anyway this willbe our home away from Provo. Yikes, what have we done?

There are nine of us on this project and Elizabeth and I are the only wanna-be’s in the group. Everyone else has been here or been there and done that-many, many times. Thankfully everyone is so patient in explaining every step of what we are doing and why. I feel like a little kid always asking questions and always greeting answers with more questions.

On the third day of the project, and our first surveying the water, I was able to see very clearly the five cannons submerged in 4 feet of water (low tide). Now this is getting exciting! I imagined troops standing behind the cannons loading them and firing them at the enemy out on the reef. If I were a button that's where I'd fall off - right behind a cannon. Not surprisingly one of the more common items we were finding on land and in the water were pieces of shot, bits of iron and other metal fragments consistent with what would be expected to find in an old fort. So when my detector beeped again behind one of the partially buried cannons it was nothing special. It was just another chunk of shot which I replaced in the hole I had dug.

For some unexplained reason I happened to look in my sand scoop which was empty and caught between the two screens I spied what I thought was a nickel. It was about the right size but appeared a bit curved and devoid of any writing. Closer examination told me I had found my button! Dr. Neal Hitch told me that a few of these buttons had been found previously but only on land. The ocean took its toll on this button and a bit of the detail has been worn off from being submerged for some 200 years. That afternoon back at Pine Cay, Neal and I found a British website with over 100 British regimental uniform buttons on display. The new button matched one perfectly although not in as good a condition and it is dated 1795. Neal pointed out that we don't know what that means exactly: was the button made in 1795 only? Was the first appearance of the button in 1795 and was it made for 100 years for instance? More answers more questions…

The Most Fun I've ever Had by Jessica Brody

2009-10-24T14:18:00.000-07:00

“This has been the most fun I’ve ever had.” That is what I told the director as we drove to the airport.

“But you didn’t go to Gibbs Cay. And you didn’t do the bike tour. What have you been doing that was fun?” he joked.

I have been working, of course, that’s what I came here for. I just didn’t know it would be so much fun.

I didn’t know anything about the Caribbean or maritime history before I landed on Grand Turk. I’d never wondered where escaping American loyalists might go after the American Revolution or how important salt production was to the British Empire. Now I can go home and impress my friends and family with everything I learned at the National Museum.

Of course, I didn’t come down just to learn, that was an extra bonus. The project I came to work on was the organization of the libraries and archives collections. These projects are now well underway. My colleague Tiffany and I have cataloged 50% of the library books and prepared the archives collections for accessioning into the database (which Tiffany will continue). With the help the museum’s regular staff we have also digitized 60% of a slide collection that was donated around the time I arrived.

So, yes, we’ve done a lot of work, but I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. Working with the museum staff has been fabulous. Sharing what I’ve learned about the TCI with the visitors from the cruise ships was so much fun. Living on the island of Grand Turk was unforgettable, and encouraging the museum’s young friends was so rewarding.

Simply put: my TCI experience has been the most fun I’ve ever had.

Ft. George Survey

2009-10-23T06:05:00.000-07:00

The Archaeological Exploration of Ft. George and Grouper Cays starts today.

Dr. Keith, Dr. Carrell, and Dr. Davis all arrived to Providenciales last night. Getting into Provo is always a challenge, I think. Getting into Provo at night is worse. Dr. Carrell's bags did not arrive. We loaded several cases of equipment and took a night time boat ride to Pine Cay.

Dr. Davis, Robert, Andrea, and Will and myself are drinking coffee this morning looking over at Ft. George Cay. Within the hour we will begin the initial equipment assessment, pulling everything we have brought over out of the several boxes that are here. It is very hot, rainy, and the mosquitoes are already biting.

This sounds like every other archaeological survey I have ever been a part of!

Eliza Simons Primary School

2009-10-21T10:44:00.000-07:00

Today, we have had a full day of cruise ship visitors, a couple divers, and then at two the six grade classes from Eliza Simmons Primary School came for a field trip.

The museum has been full all day. This is at a time when we are down a temporary staff member as Jessica has completed her volunteer work in the archives and has returned to Boston. She had been covering the guided cruise ship tours as well.

Lina came in this morning to guide the first tour. The Aliatte came in between classes at the college to give the children's tour. Aliatte has become of the key staff leaders of the children's program and though she is now well into her second year of a teaching certificate, she still comes into work at the museum often to assist with both tours and children's club planning.

Big Tuesday

2009-10-21T10:11:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was a very big day this week. Dr. Donald Keith flew in to Grand Turk with just enough time to pack field survey supplies from the conservation labs and then fly right out the next day. The Fort George Archaeological Field Survey on Ft. George Cay begins this week and the archaeological field crew is scheduled to fly into Provo on Thursday.

Also on Tuesday the technicians from Climatech came to begin the replacement of all of the Air Conditioning units in both the science building and the Guinep House.

And Jessica finished her seven weeks of volunteering in the museum archives and flew back to Boston yesterday.

Very Important Visitors

2009-10-21T08:33:00.000-07:00

Janet Cole Hawxhurst and her family visited Grand Turk on the Holland America Eurodam on Monday. Janet is a long serving museum specialist in the State of Ohio.

She was on the Eurodam with several family members, but her family chose to spend the day at the museum. They received a tour of the island and a special VIP tour of the Molasses Reef exhibit. They were also able to get out to one of our amazing northwest beaches, which most cruise ship visitors never see.

A six hour port visit seems like a lot of time, but it goes very fast. We took a little time for conversation and a light lunch of freshly grilled lobster salad wraps, and it was just a few minutes after we arrived back at the cruise port that the first all aboard signal was heard from the ship.

We had a great day. As always, I hope that Grand Turk will be remembered as the best stop on their cruise.

Community College Visit

2009-10-09T12:57:00.000-07:00

Today, the first year Social Sciences class from the Turks and Caicos Community College visited. The staff gave them an overview of the history of the Turks and Caicos and then they received a private tour, usually reserved for cruise ship excursions. The class was amazed at the size of the sheet anchor from the Molasses Reef Wreck. There was also a lively discussion of whether it was called the sheet anchor or the "sheep" anchor. The staff quickly set them straight.

After touring the museum, the staff brought the students back to the labs and offices for a close look at the work of the museum. Pieces of Lucayan pottery and documents from the 1800's illicited a choir of "ooo's". One student found a number of her family names on a record from nearby Salt Cay.

We also showed them the resources in the library and many of the students said they would be returning to complete research projects. We look forward to seeing them again.

Coin Enthusiast

2009-10-07T07:36:00.000-07:00

Today the Carnival Destiny brought us unique patrons: numismatists. People who collect coins.

New to the collection of the National Museum is the Spiller coin. This is the oldest Western artifact ever found on the Turks and Caicos Islands, and it has just been returned to the museum in last few months.

The director took this small group of people back to the conservation lab to view the rare coin on a special unscheduled behind the scenes tour. Tour member John Bailey (the enthusastic numismatist of present day, not the silversmith and swordmakers from 1780's New York) was thrilled to see the coin and gave an impromtu lecture on the manufcture of coins in the 14th century. "It's definitly before 1590," he said confidently. The uneven edge of the coin points to it's hammer and anvil manufacture.

The museum has dated the coin from between 1542 and 1558. The detour to see the coin made for an exciting and interesting morning.