Museum News and Events Archive
February 23, 2010
Illinois Wildlife Photography Competition Winners
The Fulton and Mason County Arts Councils, in partnership with Dickson Mounds Museum recently hosted the Wildlife Photography Competition and Show. A total of 31 entries were received and were on display at Dickson Mounds Museum through March 1. Awards were given in the Amateur and Professional categories. There were no entries in the Youth category this year. Entries were judged by peoples choice voting through February 22.
A total of 147 ballots were cast and the winners were Professional Division, Jane Garrison Ward, Lewistown, Baby Cooper Hawk in Hiding; Amateur Division, James Keefe, Little York, IL, Bald Eagle. We congratulate these winners and thank all who participated in this years show
For more information about the Fulton County Arts Council contact Kelvin Sampson at (309) 645-7109, ksampson2@winco.net For more information about the Mason County Arts Council contact Nancy Glick at the Havana Public Library District (309) 543-4701 The Fulton and Mason County Arts Councils are partially funded by the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.
Wildlife Photography Contest Winners
January 27 , 2010
10th Annual Bald Eagle Day Festival - Art and Poetry Competition Awards Ceremony
An awards ceremony for students who participated in the 10th Annual Bald Eagle Day Festival - Art and Poetry Competition will be held at Dickson Mounds Museum on Saturday, February 6, 2010, 4 p.m. Students in grades 1 - 12 from Fulton and Mason County schools submitted 84 works of art and 34 poems. All entries will be featured at Dickson Mounds Museum through March 1. This contest was sponsored by the Fulton and Mason County Arts Councils, Mason County Library District, The Nature Conservancy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Dickson Mounds Museum. Click here to view winning entries.
January 20 , 2010
Harn Receives Unit Citation from State Police
The Illinois State Police Zone 4 Investigative Office presented a Department Unit Citation to Alan Harn (shown on the left) of the Illinois State Museum, a division of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
Harn is assistant curator of anthropology for the Dickson Mounds Museum, located in Lewistown.
In 2005, Harn was requested to assist with the Larry Bright serial murder investigation in the Peoria area. His expertise in excavation techniques and human osteology helped locate and identify skeletal remains recovered at the crime scenes as being human.
Harn’s background includes over 48 years of excavating archaeological sites and providing analyses of remains that are found. This type of anthropological examination has proven invaluable to law enforcement agencies, which frequently rely on his forensic expertise in criminal investigations. Harn is the author of nearly 80 publications, papers, and other scientific studies involving anthropology.
The Unit Citation that Harn received at the Zone 4 meeting reads in part: "Your contributions in this case were critical to the successful identification and arrest of the person responsible for the death of a least eight women. Your devotion to duty removed a dangerous killer from the streets."
September 29 , 2009
10th Annual Eagle Days Festival Art Competition Announcement
The 10th Annual Eagle Days Festival Art Competition sponsored by the Mason County Arts Council, Fulton County Arts Council, Dickson Mounds Museum, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Havana Public Library, Emiquon Audubon Society, and The Nature Conservancy is now open to all students in Grades 1-12 in Mason and Fulton Counties. Deadline for completed artwork will be January 13, 2010. Awards in each category will be given during a special presentation at Dickson Mounds Museum on February 6, 2010, at 4 p.m. Winning artwork will be on display at Dickson Mounds Museum. Click here for more information.
February 18 , 2009
9th Annual Bald Eagle Day Festival - Art and Poetry Competition Awards Ceremony
An awards ceremony for students who participated in the 8th Annual Bald Eagle Day Festival - Art and Poetry Competition, was held at Dickson Mounds Museum on Saturday, February 7, 2009. Students in grades 1 - 12 from Mason and Fulton County schools submitted 86 works of art and 12 poems. All entries will be featured at Dickson Mounds Museum through March 1. This contest was sponsored by the Mason and Fulton County Arts Councils, Mason County Library District, The Nature Conservancy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Dickson Mounds Museum. Click here to view winning entries.
October 6 , 2008
9th Annual Eagle Days Festival Art Competition Announcement
The 9th Annual Eagle Days Festival Art Competition sponsored by the Mason County Arts Council, Fulton County Arts Council, Dickson Mounds Museum, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Havana Public Library, Emiquon Audubon Society, and The Nature Conservancy is now open to all students in Grades 1-12 in Mason and Fulton Counties. Deadline for completed artwork will be January 12, 2009. Awards in each category will be given during a special presentation at Dickson Mounds Museum on February 7, 2009, at 4 p.m. Winning artwork will be on display at Dickson Mounds Museum.
February 2 , 2008
8th Annual Bald Eagle Day Festival - Art and Poetry Competition Awards Ceremony
An awards ceremony for students who participated in the 8th Annual Bald Eagle Day Festival - Art and Poetry Competition, was held at Dickson Mounds Museum on Saturday, February 2, 2008 at 4:00 p.m. Students in grades 1 - 12 from Mason and Fulton County schools submitted 172 works of art and 76 poems. All entries will be featured at Dickson Mounds Museum through February 17. This contest was sponsored by the Mason and Fulton County Arts Councils, Mason County Library District, The Nature Conservancy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Dickson Mounds Museum. Click here to view winning entries.
December 18, 2007
Entries Sought for Illinois Winter Wildlife Photography Show
The Mason County Arts Council in partnership with the Fulton County Arts Council is seeking entries for the Illinois Winter Wildlife Photography Show. Everyone is invited to enter their favorite photo of Illinois winter wildlife. Participants will be required to submit $2 per entry.
There will be three categories: Youth (17 and under), Amateur and Professional. Winning entries will be judged by People’s Choice while on display at Dickson Mounds Museum during the Eagle Day Festival to be held this year on February 2, 2008. All entries will remain on display through February 17, 2008. Click here for more information.
December 14 , 2007
8th Annual Eagle Days Festival Art Competition Announcement
The 8th Annual Eagle Days Festival Art Competition sponsored by the Mason County Arts Council, Fulton County Arts Council, Dickson Mounds Museum, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Havana Public Library, Emiquon Audubon Society, and The Nature Conservancy is now open to all students in Grades 1-12 in Mason and Fulton Counties. Deadline for completed artwork will be January 18, 2008. Awards in each category will be given during a special presentation at Dickson Mounds Museum on February 2, 2008, at 4 p.m. Winning artwork will be on display at Dickson Mounds Museum.
September 23 , 2007
Archaeology Awareness Month Lecture at Dickson Mounds
At Dickson Mounds Museum on Sunday, September 23, 2007 at 2:00 p.m., museum archaeologist Alan Harn will present an illustrated lecture titled "Igniting the Torch: Amateurs, Adventure, and the Advancement of American Archaeology," to celebrate Illinois Archaeology Awareness Month.
Dr. Don Dickson's 1927 excavation of a portion of Dickson Mounds and its in-place display to the public was quickly followed by his uncle Marion and Ernest Dickson's excavation and display of archaeological remains found in log tombs at the nearby Ogden Mounds. Soon Robert Gooden opened a similar display a few miles upriver near Maples Mill. These combined excavations created an archaeological firestorm thrusting this formerly secluded location into the international spotlight. As an expanding group of lay people began to delve into Illinois' past, Dickson Mounds-like excavations were undertaken near Peoria and Washburn, and similar large-scale amateur excavations of Native American burial sites were opened in Florida, Kentucky, and Kansas.
Drawn by the early excavations in the Spoon River area, the University of Chicago established near Dickson Mounds the first school in archaeological field technique undertaken in the eastern United States. Many important archaeological procedures that still guide scientific investigations today would be developed there in the early 1930s, and a number of the early University of Chicago field school students would go on to become eminent in American and world archaeology. Initiated by amateur archaeologists in a legacy passed on to the scientific community, these early explorations into the past established Fulton County, Illinois, as the Birthplace of American archaeology.
This lecture will present rarely seen images from Dickson Mounds-like excavations across the continent in a lecture that pays tribute to the role of the amateur in the development of American archaeology.
January 28 , 2007
7th Annual Bald Eagle Days Festival - Art and Poetry Competition Awards Ceremony
An awards ceremony for students who participated in the 7th Annual Bald Eagle Days Festival - Art and Poetry Competition, was held at Dickson Mounds Museum on Sunday, January 28, 2007 at 2:00 p.m. Students in grades 1 - 12 from Mason and Fulton County schools submitted 74 works of art and 47 poems. All award-winning entries will be featured at The Perch in Havana during the Havana Bald Eagle Days Festival on February 3. This contest was sponsored by the Mason and Fulton County Arts Councils, Mason County Library District, The Nature Conservancy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Dickson Mounds Museum. Click here to view winning entries.
September 28, 2006
7th Annual Eagle Days Festival Art Competition Announcement
The 7th Annual Eagle Days Festival Art Competition sponsored by the Mason County Arts Council, Fulton County Arts Council, Dickson Mounds Museum, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Havana Public Library and The Nature Conservancy is now open to all students in Grades 1-12 in Mason and Fulton Counties. Deadline for completed artwork will be December 20, 2006. Awards in each category will be given during a special presentation at Dickson Mounds Museum on January 28, 2007, at 2 p.m. Winning artwork will be on display at Dickson Mounds Museum. Click here for more information.
April 22, 2006
Museum Director Receives Award
Archaeology enthusiasts from across the state gathered for the Annual Meeting of the Illinois Association for the Advancement of Archaeology, held at Dickson Mounds Museum. Eighty-eight conference participants attended a variety of informative sessions presented by museum staff on topics such as: recent archaeological investigations of bison remains found along the Illinois River; excavations at New Philadelphia - a19th Century community developed by freed slave Frank McWhorter; an archaeological history of the Morton Site (located on the Nature Conservancy's Emiquon Preserve; an overview of Havana Middle Woodland Indian Culture; and historical reflections on the Legacy of Dickson Mounds Museum.
In a surprise, special presentation, Dr. Michael Wiant, Director of Dickson Mounds Museum was presented with the 2006 IAAA Distinguished Professional Service Award. Wiant received a B.S. and M.S. at Illinois State University before coming under the influence of Northwestern University's prolific Center for American Archaeology program at Kampsville, Illinois. At Kampsville he directed a major, multi-year excavation at the Koster and Napoleon Hollow sites. Following his tenure in the Lower Illinois River Valley, Wiant became Chairperson of the Anthropology Section and Director of the Contract Archaeology Program at the Illinois State Museum in Springfield. In 2003, the staff of the Dickson Mounds Branch of the Illinois State Museum, welcomed their long-time colleague as the museum's new Director.
April 23, 2006
River Valley Partners Celebrate Wetlands - Past and Present
In recognition of Earth Day, Dickson Mounds Museum and area partners from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife- Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge and the Nature Conservancy's Emiquon Preserve offered a day of special tours examining the geological and cultural history of the Illinois and Spoon River Valley landscape, currently undergoing wetland restoration. Sixty five people participated on the interpreted driving tour. Presentations on archaeological history were provided by archaeologists, Dr. Michael Wiant, Alan Harn, and Kelvin Sampson of Dickson Mounds. Illinois River Refuges Manager, Matt Sprenger, and Doug Blodgett of the Nature Conservancy discussed their goals for wetland restoration as well as the process and challenges of doing such work. The program was held in conjunction with national Earth Day observances, as well as National Wetlands Month.
February 1 , 2006
6th Annual Bald Eagle Days Festival - Art and Poetry Competition Awards Ceremony
An awards ceremony for students who participated in the 6th Annual Bald Eagle Days Festival - Art and Poetry Competition, was held at Dickson Mounds Museum on Sunday, January 29, 2006 at 2:00 p.m. Students in grades 1 - 12 from Mason and Fulton County schools submitted 289 works of art and 200 poems. Art and poetry entries are on display at Dickson Mounds through Saturday, Februrary 28. All award-winning entries will be featured at the David Allen Badger Art Gallery in Havana during the Havana Bald Eagle Days Festival on February 4. In April the winning entrys will be displayed at the Astoria Outdoor Expo. This contest was sponsored by the Mason and Fulton County Arts Councils, Mason County Library District, The Nature Conservancy and Dickson Mounds Museum. Click here to view winning entries.
October 11, 2005
6th Annual Eagle Days Festival Art Competition Announcement
The 6th Annual Eagle Days Festival Art Competition sponsored by the Mason County Arts Council, Fulton County Arts Council, Dickson Mounds Museum, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Havana Public Library and The Nature Conservancy is now open to all students in Grades 1-12 in Mason and Fulton Counties. Deadline for completed artwork will be January 12, 2006. Awards in each category will be given during a special presentation at Dickson Mounds Museum on January 29, 2006, at 2PM. Winning artwork will be on display in public libraries in Mason and Fulton Counties through mid-February.
February 2, 2005
5th Annual Bald Eagle Days Festival - Art and Poetry Competition Awards Ceremony
An awards ceremony for students who participated in the 5th Annual Bald Eagle Days Festival - Art and Poetry Competition, was held at Dickson Mounds Museum on Sunday, January 30, 2005 at 2:00 p.m. Students in grades 1 - 12 from Mason and Fulton County schools submitted 169 works of art and 15 poems. Art and poetry entries are on display at Dickson Mounds through Saturday, Februrary 5. All award-winning entries will be featured at the David Allen Badger Art Gallery in Havana. Following this, student works will travel to various Fulton and Mason County libraries for additional public viewing. This contest was sponsored by the Mason and Fulton County Arts Councils, Mason County Library District, The Nature Conservancy and Dickson Mounds Museum. Click here to view winning entries.
November 4 , 2004
Dickson Mounds Museum to Offer Bus Trip to Chicago Art Institute Exhibition on December 11, 2004
Life, death and renewal in the ancient Native American world are the focus of Hero, Hawk and Open Hand: American Indian Art of the Ancient Midwest and South, a new exhibition of American Indian art featured at the Art Institute of Chicago. Dickson Mounds Museum offers a one-day bus trip to Chicago to view the exhibition, on Saturday, December 11, 2004. The cost of the trip is $85.00, which includes bus fare, gratuities, a continental breakfast and an evening meal. Click here for details and registration form.
November 4 , 2004
5th Annual Eagle Days Festival Art Competition Announcement
The 5th Annual Eagle Days Festival Art Competition sponsored by the Mason County Arts Council, Fulton County Arts Council, Dickson Mounds Museum, Havana Public Library and The Nature Conservancy is now open to all students in Grades 1-12 in Mason and Fulton Counties. Deadline for completed artwork will be January 19, 2005. Awards in each category will be given during a special presentation at Dickson Mounds Museum on January 30, 2005, at 2PM. Winning artwork will be exhibited in Havana during the annual Eagle Days Festival on February 5, 2005.
October 27, 2004
Dickson Mounds Acquires Important Artifact
During the Mississippian period, ceremonial maces were elite objects, reserved for those who wielded the highest authority. Accordingly, these maces are rare; only five have been found in Illinois. And now, thanks to a donation from the Virginia Jarrell Burke trust, Dickson Mounds Museum has one of these objects for its exhibit on Mississippian Culture. Click here for details.
March 8, 2004
A River's Course Program Series
A River's Course: Life on the Illinois River With the opening of Daniel Overturf's photographs of life on the Illinois River, Dickson Mounds Museum launches a series of programs under the banner of "A River's Course: Life on the Illinois River." The title has a double meaning. First, we explore life along the river as it flows to the Mississippi River. Second, the programs offered over the next three years constitute an informal course of study on the Illinois River and its history. The subtitle "Life on the Illinois River" follows Mark Twain's masterpiece about the Mississippi River. To participate in this course, all you need is curiosity. From archaeology to zoology, with many stops along the way, we'll explore life on the Illinois River through the eyes of artists, scientists, historians, musicians, and theatre. We'll also develop a series of exhibits that explore a variety of subjects from duck hunting to river transportation that serve as a centerpiece to a series of programs. Of course, we're also interesting in the transformation of the Illinois River floodplain just outside our door, and we'll offer programs that explore the wetlands restoration now underway through the efforts of The Nature Conservancy and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Emiquon project draws our attention to the river, its history, and most important, its future. Join us as we explore the extraordinary nature of the Illinois River and its people.
February, 2004
New Educator Joins DMM Staff
The Dickson Mounds Museum professional staff has expanded to include Erika Nunamaker, who has been hired as an Educator. Her work at the museum will include interpreting the museum to tour groups, presenting educational programming to school groups, and assisting with the creation of new educational programming. In addition, Erika's background in history will be tapped to help fulfill DMM's expanded mission of preserving and interpreting regional history. Erika received a Bachelor's degree in history and English from Illinois Wesleyan University in 2001 and a Master's degree from the Winterthur Program in Early American Culture at the University in Delaware in 2003. She has worked at a variety of museums, including the David Davis Mansion State Historic Site in Bloomington, IL; the McLean County Museum of History in Bloomington, IL; the Cuneo Museum and Gardens in Vernon Hills, IL; the Winterthur Museum in Winterthur, DE; and the Lincoln College Museum in Lincoln, IL. Her research interests include 19th century social and cultural history, American material culture, local history, and the study of Abraham Lincoln. Erika and her husband, Derek, live in Lincoln, IL with their parrot, Captain Feathers.
January 29 & 30, 2004
Students Get Up Close & Personal with Raptorial Birds
Approximately 871 elementary school children from Lewistown Elementary and Havana New Central School participated in educational programming at Dickson Mounds Museum, focusing on the wintering eagles and other raptorial birds to be found in the Illinois River Valley. Click here for details.
January 25, 2004
Eagle Days Art Contest Display and Awards Reception
Students in grades K-12 from Mason and Fulton Counties displayed their entries for the Eagle Days Art Contest, held in conjunction with Havana's Bald Eagle Day Celebration. Awards were presented in a special presentation in Dickson Mounds' auditorium at 1:00 p.m., with a reception following. Click here to view the winning entrys.
