Hicksville Gregory Museum

08/30/2026

Amongst the thousands of exotic butterflies on exhibit. Gardiner Gregory collection.

08/16/2026

Circa 1930, some notable Hicksville residents. Picture donated by Bob Koenig.

07/30/2026

JUST 1 DOLLAR OR TWO

As many Hicksville Residents are already aware of, Hicksville's "Hidden Gem" is going it's first year without proper funding since the 1970's and is now at risk of closing forever. The Hicksville School district removed us completely from the annual budget and bringing an abrupt end to an otherwise beneficial long term relationship. Hicksville residents had year long unlimited free admission as part of the agreement with the Hicksville school district. That being any Hicksville resident could visit and receive our full tours without paying a cent in admission. Now with the loss of this funding not only does our museum have to start charging Hicksville residents admission for the first time in about half a century, but we have to ask Hicksville residents to help us raise money to remain open into next year. In order to cover the costs of our educational services to about this time next year, we need to raise roughly $90,000. This will give the museum enough time to negotiate new sources of funding as well as grants. Please. Help Save the Hicksville Gregory Museum.

We aren't asking much, if every Hicksville resident donated just a dollar or two, this would buy us the time we need. Please share this link with your neighbors and donate a dollar or two:

https://www.paypal.com/donate?campaign_id=TTH5RFKLD2HEW

07/25/2026

Come see our new ancient Egyptian exhibit.

07/23/2026

And this is going on. Preservation in general is under threat.

The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) is proposing to dramatically overhaul the regulations governing the implementation of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. While it was understood that there has been a move afoot to revise the regulations, by all accounts the sp

07/18/2026

Interesting story.

Jo Nagai was eight years old when he noticed something strange. His hand-raised swallowtail butterflies seemed to recognise him. Wild ones didn't. He wanted to know why.

So he wrote to a Georgetown University entomologist. She wrote back.

What followed was one of the most remarkable scientific collaborations in recent memory - between a second-grader in Kobe, Japan and Dr. Martha Weiss, who had previously proven that moths can retain memories through the complete cellular breakdown of metamorphosis.

Jo proposed replicating her study on butterflies. Using equipment he designed himself, he trained caterpillars to associate a mild vibration with the scent of lavender. Then he waited for metamorphosis — the process that completely dismantles and rebuilds an insect's brain from scratch.

When the adult butterflies emerged, 70 percent still avoided the lavender scent. Their memories had survived a process that should have erased them entirely.

Then came the discovery nobody expected.

When Jo bred those butterflies, their offspring — who had never experienced the vibration — also avoided lavender. So did the generation after that. A learned memory had been passed down biologically, without any direct experience, across two generations.

Jo documented everything in a 33-page paper. He presented it at the International Congress of Entomology at age ten, alongside Dr. Weiss.

The implications reach far beyond butterflies. If learned experiences can be encoded and inherited, it changes how we think about genetics, memory, trauma, and what parents pass to their children without ever meaning to.

07/18/2026

NEW ON EXHIBIT AT THE HICKSVILLE GREGORY MUSEUM.
1. Ancient Egyptian sarcophagus head section/mask from Late Kingdom, 11,00-800 B.C.
2. 10,000 year-old Clovis spear points from Simpson County, Kentucky.
3. Revolutionary War memorabilia collection including maps, flags, books, commemorative chess pieces, a copy of the Declaration of Independence, and framed portrait of George Washington.
4. 19x17 Schmidt box with synoptic collection featuring major insect groups.
5. Map of North America in the late Cretaceous Period showing outline of U.S states and Canadian provinces, ancient inland seaway that covered much of the continent, and the sites of major dinosaur finds.
6. Pre-Columbian Mayan flute shaped like an armadillo.
7. Greco-Egyptian stone tablet from the Roman Egypt period. (2nd Century AD)

07/17/2026

Good evening, with the chance of rain for Saturday at 90% and Sunday is 40%, it looks like we will be changing the rummage sale to Sunday. See you then!

07/09/2026