logo

Welcome to the Penn Museum blog. First launched in January 2009, the Museum blog now has over 800 posts covering a range of topics in the categories of Museum, Collection, Exhibitions, Research, and By Location. Here you’ll hear directly from our staff and Penn students about their work, research, experiences, and discoveries. To explore the Museum's other digital content, visit The Digital Penn Museum.


#ArchivesMonth

By: Eric Schnittke

Since the 1990s, the archives profession has used October as a rallying point for advocacy for the important work that archivists do. What was once a week honoring archives has now become a month and is now known as Archives Month (#ArchivesMonth). Whether assisting researchers, preserving documents, or relating a historical anecdote, archivists across the […]

Read the Blog Post


Sitio Conte in Real Time: January 26, 1940

By: Eric Schnittke

Tire trouble near Penonome. En route Panama to Cocle 1/26/40 Taken by S.K. Lothrop The Masons running a rapid in the Rio Grande de Cocle. 1/26/40 Taken by S.K. Lothrop

Read the Blog Post


Sitio Conte in Real Time: January 12, 1940: “Plastico”

By: Eric Schnittke

A part of every expedition, the crew for Sitio Conte began to collect supplies. Camps need to be stocked with all sorts of goods, from food and clothing to medical supplies and scientific materials. In collecting supplies, John Corning contacted the Technical Supply Company in Palo Alto, California in regards to Plastico Moulage materials.Plastico Moulage […]

Read the Blog Post


Sitio Conte in Real Time: January 8, 1940

By: Eric Schnittke

Everything is unsettled and hectic. The expedition has been arranged so suddenly.  – Mason to Merrill, January 8, 1940 The chaotic nature of planning a last minute archaeological expedition was dragging upon Mason, as his letter of the 8th of January to Bob Merrill indicates. In it, he officially hires Merrill as draftsman for the expedition, saying: […]

Read the Blog Post


Archives Photo of the Week: Old School Cool

By: Eric Schnittke

This image captures Frank S. Speck, the son of noted anthropologist Frank G. Speck, sketching while in Saint-Augustin, Côte-Nord, Quebec. The younger Speck is seen drawing while two observers look on.

Read the Blog Post


Archives Photo of the Week: Mustache.

By: Eric Schnittke

The Penn Museum Archives is home to the archival collections of the directors of the museum. As you might guess, we have quite the fondness for them. None are more dear to me than George Byron Gordon and for one reason: that glorious, magnificent, noble mustache. Director of the University of Pennsylvania Museum from 1910 […]

Read the Blog Post


Archives Photo of the Week: Mosquee Assan Pacha, fontane des Ablutions. Caire.

By: Eric Schnittke

 I came across this week’s photo by chance and was just mesmerized by it. Taken by Maison Bonfils, it depicts a fountain inside of the Sultan Hassan Mosque in Cairo, Egypt. The photograph was taken in the late 1800s and is an 8.75″ x 11″ albumen print. The fountain and mosque still exist today and […]

Read the Blog Post


Archives Photo of the Week: Unearthed from the Archives

By: Eric Schnittke

This Friday at 2PM, the Penn Museum Archives will open it’s doors to show off some of our treasures as part of a new program called “Unearthed from the Archives”. Each week, the archivists will choose a different item from the archives to present. We’re blessed with the gift of gab here in the archives […]

Read the Blog Post


Archives Photo of the Week: Penn Relays

By: Eric Schnittke

April 24th marks the start of the 2014 Penn Relays. For those unfamiliar, the Penn Relays is the oldest and largest track and field event in the United States. The event is held annually at Franklin Field, which is directly across from the Penn Museum. The archives is one of the wings closest to the field, […]

Read the Blog Post


Archives Photo of the Week: Baby

By: Eric Schnittke

I’ve recently returned back to the museum after having taken some time off for paternity leave (thanks to Tom Stanley for covering for me while I was gone). I’m back, but my baby is still on my mind. In honor of him, this week’s photo is of a Umatilla baby. The Umatilla people inhabited around […]

Read the Blog Post