Here is a brief overview of some of the events the museum has hosted since we opened September 23, 2010.
History of Surveying Events
Lincoln's Birthday Bash
As the Home of Lincoln, the entire town celebrates his birth. At the museum we focus on his surveying career.
Surveyor in Residence
During National Surveyor's Week, Kimberly Buchheit became the first Surveyor in Residence. She donated her time and expertise to the museum. As the museum moves forward, it will host other Surveyors in Residence.
Boy Scouts
Throughout the years and anytime, the museum hosts Boy Scouts. During the 2012 Pilgrimage, Scouts were shown the evolution of surveying and how to survey on the lawn of the Old State Capitol.
From time to time, the museum will host troops looking to get their merit badge.
Black History Month
To celebrate Black History Month, the museum hosted a day of presentations on African-American surveyors.
Science on a Sphere Events
World Hydrography Day
June 21st is World Hydrography Day. To honor hydrographers the museum gives a presentation on how the waterways have been mapped.
Water Crisis
Water. H20. Plentiful? One of our most popular playlists examines water around the world and how we all struggle with too much or too little of it, not to speak of all the diseases, all the hours and money spent collecting it and the changing quality of water.
Earth Day & SJ-R
The Sphere teaches how precious Mother Earth is and the conservation. Teaming up with a SJ-R contest, students who made pictures about conserving Earth got to see there Earth on the Sphere's Earth.
Lincoln Farewell Address
To celebrate the 150th of Lincoln's Farewell Address, SJ-R and other venues tried to set the world record for the most people simultaneously reading, in this case, Lincoln's Farewell Address.
Girl Scouts 100th Anniversary
What did you celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Girl Scouts? We showed the 1918 Golden Eaglet movie on the Sphere.
Make Your Own Map for the Sphere
Students can make their own maps for the Sphere. Payson Elementary and Iles Elementary were the forerunners of this.
Decorate the Sphere for the Holidays
Every Holiday and Christmas season, we allow children (and adults) to decorate pictures, ornaments, etc and put them on the Sphere. There are plenty of other activities like pictures with Santa and the Holiday Walks.
Halloween
Robert Morris University created a scary playlist for Halloween. In conjunction with the Old State Capitol Farmer's Market, children came to be terrified by the Sphere.
Museum's Special Events
First Night
To usher in 2012, the museum hosted a few of the many events that the Springfield Arts Council spread around town. Here is their logo on the screen.
Fundraiser
To raise money, the museum has hosted numerous fundraisers. To support us.
Filming
Dean Williams and the Central Illinois Film Commission donated over $20,000 worth of time, equipment and expertise to the museum. They filmed the entire museum. Tell them thanks by watching their final product.
Lincoln Fundraiser
150 years after the fact, the museum recreated the party held to celebrate Lincoln's election to the presidency. Tara McClellan McAndrew wrote the play and various actors played real historic characters.
Holiday Walks 2010-2011
Every holiday season, Downtown Springfield hosts the Holiday Walks. One year we had the trains and children's activities. One year we hosted the National Guard.
Springfield Area Arts Council hosts the Art on My Own Time exhibit every two years. The exhibit allows artists who are inconvenienced by full time jobs to display their work.
The Springfield-African American Museum hosted the Illinois Minorities in Government for a presentation on the 1908 Race Riots.
Doc Helm Exhibit
The Springfield African-American's first exhibit was in our reception room. The exhibit was of Doc Helm photographs, a leading Illinois photographer who was African-American.
ISHS Workshop: Fundraising for Small Musesums: In Good Times and Bad"
Small museum professionals were treated with a presentation on how to fundraise. The workshop was hosted by the Illinois State Historical Society.
National Museum of Surveying, Home of NOAA's Science on a Sphere
521 E Washington, Springfield, Illinois 62701 217.523.3130
