Quiz:  On October 11, 1890, after officially organizing the National Society, the first work the ladies undertook was a commitment to raising funds for a monument to George Washington’s mother, Mary.  What was the second work undertaken that day?
 
Answer:  They passed a resolution to preserve Revolutionary War documents and “relics.”

What better way to promote the Society’s goals of patriotism, education, and historic preservation than by a museum dedicated to American history and heritage?  And the Founders were serious in their commitment:  just a week later at a continued organizational meeting, they passed a further resolution to build a fire-proof building to protect the anticipated historic collection.

The museum has grown into an impressive collection of more than 30,000 Colonial, Revolutionary, and Federal period objects and decorative arts from pre-industrial America.  It earned its first coveted accreditation from the American Association of Museums in 1973, and it has been regularly reaccredited ever since then.  So the museum is well established, but we all know that women’s work is never done.  The museum also sponsors wonderful educational programs, including seminars and special tours for adults and families.  It also has Colonial and quilt camps for school age children during the summer.  That’s all kinds of patriotism, education, and historic preservation in action.

If you are in Washington DC, you can visit the museum in person, but for California Daughters that is a long way away to travel.  You can still get the museum experience closer to home, though.  On the DAR website (http://www.dar.org/museum/) you can find links to detailed descriptions and pictures of both current and past exhibits.  There also are virtual tours of both the museum exhibit halls and the period rooms.

Museum Correspondent Docents will bring to your chapter, prepared presentations about interesting museum topics and collections.  There are programs on such diverse topics as historic toys, clocks, bridal traditions, and quilts.  We now have 18 Correspondent Docents located all over California who can come to your meeting to share these museum programs.

The museum also offers you great shopping opportunities.  There is the Museum Gift Shop at the museum, and you can shop online, too, using the DAR website. The museum also makes available its traveling Museum Trunk – a rolling suitcase filled with items available from the Gift Shop.  Think of it as a living catalogue where you can examine the items up close, see the sparkle in the jewelry, page through the books, listen to the CDs, and check out the details and the colors of the cross stitch and craft kits. The museum trunks regularly display favorites such as the lovely replica Dolley Madison earrings, but new items are frequently added as well.  The Museum Trunk in Fall 2013 contains some new Colonial-period music CDs, some new patriotic pins designed with colorful crystals, and a fun collection of T-shirts in both youth and adult sizes.

There are many ways you can support our museum besides shopping in the store or through the museum trunk.  You can donate money directly into the Friends of the DAR Museum and earn a Friends pin.  The museum also has an Adopt-an-Object Program where individuals or groups donate money to restore and preserve specific museum items.  The Give-a-Book Program is the museum staff’s wish list of reference materials they can use in collecting, preserving, and displaying the museum’s treasures.  When you are thinking about how to allocate your DAR dollars, please keep the Museum in mind for the benefits it offers now and will continue to provide into the future.

Judith Harless, State Chair
DAR Museum Outreach Committee
Jmr37@earthlink.net