Gaithersburg Community Museum

03/15/2023

It's Brain Awareness Week and for this week's Weekly Challenge we will be making brain hats and learning about the brain.

03/14/2023

Happy Pi Day! Let us know how you celebrated.

03/10/2023

Gaithersburg History Project: Black Women Changemakers

Anthony Cohen joined us to give the third talk in the Gaithersburg History Project: Black Gaithersburg series. He explored the lives of Black women before the Civil War into the present day.

03/10/2023

Gaithersburg History Project: Voices of Black Women

The third video in the Gaithersburg History Project: Black Gaithersburg explores the lives of Black women in Gaithersburg history.

03/09/2023

We had a wonderful night at Women in STEM at Casey Community Center. Many thanks to all the scientists who joined us:
• Dr. Greta Babakhanova, who gave the opening remarks, and her colleague Dr. Ileana Pazos from NIST
• We had quite a contingent from NCATS at NIH: Dr. Emily Davis, Dr. Sharie Haugabook, Dr. Cara Purdy, Isabella Jacobsen, Elena Hausmann, Dr. Haley Chatelaine and Savannah Shumaker
• Zainab Abbas from SciTech2U
• And Aerospace Engineer and Entrepreneur Sabrina Thompson

Plus we had wonderful volunteers from Community Bridges.

Thanks to everyone for giving their time and providing inspiration to our program participants.

03/08/2023

We're challenging this week's visitors to make a clock and practice telling time.

03/08/2023

Women's History Month | Gaithersburg, MD

Happy International Women's Day! Links to both of today's program registrations as well as many other things happening during March to celebrate the lives of women are on the City of Gaithersburg website.

The City celebrates & honors Women’s History Month with an art and poetry exhibit, storytime programs, discussions, and more. Celebrated annually during the month of March, Women's History Month highlights the contributions of women to events in history, culture & society.

03/07/2023

If you've enjoyed seeing the painted storm drains around Olde Towne and Bohrer Park, Here's your chance to contribute. If you have an idea and a drawing to capture it, make your submission by March 22.

03/02/2023

Today's Capitol Limited has the vintage car used by the Federal Railroad Administration.

03/02/2023

03/01/2023

Bright planets Venus and Jupiter at their closest

The weather has been unpredictable, but it looks like there might be a break on Saturday. Anyone interested in a last minute Skywatching evening?

Venus and Jupiter are the two brightest planets visible from Earth. And – throughout February 2023 – they’ve been easy to spot in the sunset direction during evening twilight. Indeed, dazzling Venus and bold Jupiter have crept closer together all month, with Venus shining as the brighter world...

02/22/2023

Due to unexpected staffing issues the Gaithersburg Community Museum will be closed today.

02/19/2023

From the Space Shuttle to Structural Engineering, NIST’s Tuskegee Airmen Left a Lasting Legacy in Service and Science

The Tuskegee Airmen, a group of nearly 1,000 aviators (and thousands more military and civilian support personnel), were the first Black service personnel in the U.S. Air Force (then known as the Army Air Corps) during World War II. Four of these men are now known to have continued their careers at NBS, though colleagues at the time didn’t know about their co-workers’ historic past.

Four of these men are now known to have continued their careers at NBS, though colleagues at the time didn’t know about their co-workers’ historic past.

02/16/2023

02/14/2023

Found on Baker’s list

In 1894, U.S. Representative George Washington Murray read a list of African American patent holders into the Congressional Record. Murray himself was on the list, which was compiled by patent examiner and civil rights activist Henry Baker.

Read about Henry Baker and George Washington Murray, two public servants and civil rights activists who ensured the history of Black innovation would not be forgotten

02/14/2023

Happy Valentine's Day!

02/14/2023

EarthSky | Dinner on Mars will transform food on Earth

Looks like NASA is planning on more than just potatoes to be grown on Mars.

Could we feed a city on Mars? This question is central to the future of space exploration and has serious repercussions on Earth, too. To date, a lot of thought has gone into how astronauts eat. However, we are only beginning to produce food in space.

02/13/2023

Lift Every Voice and Sing — James Weldon Johnson

OTD in 1900 “Lift Every Voice and Sing” is first performed. The students of the segregated Stanton School in Jacksonville, Florida, where James Weldon Johnson, the the lyricist, was the principal, gave the first ever performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” the song that would become known as the Black national anthem, as part of a celebration of President Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. Johnson's brother, J. Rosamund Johnson, was the composer.

Lift Every Voice and Sing Song History   James Weldon Johnson and his brother J. Rosamond Johnson, who wrote the lyrics and music to Lift Every Voice and Sing “A group of young men in Jacksonville, Florida, arranged to celebrate Lincoln's birthday in 1900. My brother, J. Rosamond Johnson, and I d...

02/10/2023

Please join us this weekend for a drop-in program exploring the art of Alma Thomas. Alma Thomas was a Black American artist from Washington, D.C. who is now regarded as a major American artist of the 20th century. For more information: https://gburg.md/DropInActivity

02/09/2023

Oh no! The train's derailed! Until we can get it fixed, the model train in the Budd Car is out of service.

02/09/2023

Occasionally museum staff are asked to do outreach programs on local history. When we do we get these wonderful thank yous, like this one from the third grade at St. Martins, we are delighted. The note came with an individual note from each student. We can't share them all, but here is one from Lizzy which we liked - "I learned so much like how Gaithersburg is shaped like a big doughnut! I loved it so much I told my dad (I only tell my dad the best periods of the day.)"

02/08/2023

OTD in 1873 the Metropolitan Branch of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad track construction was completed at Gaithersburg. The line between Gaithersburg and Washington, D.C. didn't open until May of that year.

Photo: Gaithersburg Train Station and Freight House ca. 1890. Collections GCM.

02/08/2023

Stop by the museum to do our while also making a Valentine card for that special someone.

02/02/2023

What's Up - February 2023

What to look for in the night sky. If the weather cooperates, we may consider an astronomy night towards the end of February to see Venus and Jupiter. Let us know if you're interested.

What are some skywatching highlights in February 2023? See Jupiter and Venus appear nearer each night, as they head for a close conjunction at the start of March. Use bright stars Capella and Elnath to identify the constellation Auriga, and then find your way to two distant star clusters using Siriu...

02/01/2023

Stop by the museum to celebrate Groundhog Day by making a groundhog craft for this week's Weekly Challenge.

01/27/2023

NASA Day of Remembrance

Today is NASA's Day of Remembrance remembering those astronauts who lost their lives in the line of duty.

Day of Remembrance: Remembering NASA's Heroes, Each January NASA pauses to honor members of the NASA family who lost their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery, including the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia.

01/26/2023

The museum has a growing Lost, but not Found box. If you've been here recently, or maybe not so recently, and you're wondering what happened to your child's (fiil in the blank), we encourage you to come by and check. You never know... we might have what you've been looking for.

01/25/2023

It's National Handwriting Week so our is to practice your handwriting like this museum visitor.

01/22/2023

Join us Tuesday for Storytime Station. We will be looking at how New Years is celebrated around the world. Call or email to make a reservation: 301-258-6160 or [email protected]. For more information go to https://gburg.md/StoryTimeStation

01/22/2023

The rabbits are in a bit of a cuddle puddle today. Stop by before 3.30 to meet them and do a fun rabbit craft.

01/21/2023

The Museum's Lunar New Year Program is in full swing. Stop by today or tomorrow to meet the rabbits, make your red envelope, and other fun rabbit crafts.

01/21/2023

Year of the Rabbit: Fortune and Personality – Chinese Zodiac

It's the Year of the Rabbit and this weekend the museum has real rabbits as well as fun rabbit crafts to help celebrate the Lunar Year. The activities are scheduled from 11:30-3:30 Saturday and Sunday.

The Rabbit is the fourth of all zodiac animals. Learn why Rabbits are earnest with everything they do; they just ask that others treat them the same way.

01/21/2023

We are very excited to be welcoming Montgomery County 4-H Rabbit Club into the caboose for this weekend's Lunar New Year Program. The caboose will not be a train play space this weekend because of this. For more information go to https://fb.me/e/24PuaV4AX

01/20/2023

This week's honors the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King by asking visitors to share their dreams for the future.

01/18/2023

Gaithersburg History Project - Black Gaithersburg: Antebellum History

We will explore the lives of free & enslaved Black people in Gaithersburg in the antebellum period before the Civil War with historian Anthony Cohen. This program is part of the City's Gaithersburg History Project.