History of the Museum & Workshop

History of the Museum and Workshop

Timeline

[needs more!]

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  • 1976: The Eli Whitney Museum is established. At first, it operates out of the historic barn across Whitney Avenue.
  • 1979: The Heany Workshop closes and the EWMW moves into the workshop building along the Mill River.
  • 1979: Students from Eli Whitney Technical School build a replica of the Town Bridge over the Mill River on the EWMW property.
  • [date]: The EWMW starts offering experimental learning opportunities for children.
  • Early 1990s: The Museum stages annual special exhibitions on subjects related to industrial history, invention, and science and math teaching.
  • 1993: The Water Lab opens on the EWMW property, with support from the South Central Regional Water Authority, the National Science Foundation, and others.
  • 1995: The first Leonardo Challenge, supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

 

 

 

In 1976, the Eli Whitney Museum was founded as a non-profit dedicated to preserving the history and legacy of the Eli Whitney Armory. Today, the Museum and Workshop preserves and tells the story of the Armory site and carries on Eli Whitney’s legacy of hands-on innovation through its learning programs.

 

At first, the organization focused on preserving the site and telling its industrial history. For the first three years of its existence, it operated out of the historic barn across Whitney Avenue. After Heany Industries left the Armory site in 1979, the Museum expanded and began interpretation and Workshop programs in the former factory building.

 

In 1984, the Museum held its first exhibition, a history of the Armory Site. The exhibition’s associated publication, Window on the Works, is still an important resource about the history of the Armory. More exhibitions followed, with subjects like the Connecticut origins of the American factory, the inventions of Leonardo da Vinci, a local private collection of historic whistles, and the work of A.C. Gilbert.

 

In 1995, the Museum launched the Leonardo Challenge. This annual event invites local artists and craftspeople to create artworks on a theme inspired by the works and ideas of Leonardo da Vinci. The works are auctioned at a beloved, lively event to benefit the EWMW.

 

QUESTION: When did the workshop learning programs start??

 

[Archives to include:

  • Projects
  • Leonardo Challenge Artworks]
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[something to add: alumni profiles?]