Please Touch Museum

Title: Grace Kelly Doll

Year: 1956

Creator: Tristar International, Inc.

Collection: Please Touch Museum Toy Collection

Material: Plastic and fabric

This object is a doll made to look like actress Grace Kelly for her movie The Swan, in 1956. Grace Kelly was one of the biggest fashion icons of the 1940s and 1950s. This made her a real live Barbie doll.

This object could be important to several people. I think this object is important because it represents Grace Kelly, whom my middle name is after. Fans of hers, her family, movie collectors, and toy collectors would also find this object important. Kelly was a beloved actress and model who not only lived the American dream, but also exceeded it. In the same year that this doll was created Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier III of Monaco, making her a princess. Her story captivated the nation. During her married life Grace became a beloved leader, wife, and mother. This is why she is important to many people. She was not only an icon, but also a kind person. It is hard to say who wouldn’t be interested in this object. There may be some people who don’t know who Grace Kelly was. There may also be people who didn’t like her movies or thought she opportunistic.

Grace at her Wedding

The doll is displayed to show the large variety of toy dolls that are created to promote an actor, singer, or band. It was also displayed because Grace Kelly was from Philadelphia. The museum purchased this item for the exhibit. This object is displayed in a glass case among other dolls of famous people. Examples include; John Travolta and Michael Jackson. The case is very tall. My object is on one of the lower shelves. Next to the doll is a label with a star on it. The label text describes the object and who Grace Kelly was. The text seems to be written from the museum’s point of view. The text keeps in mind that children may try to read the label. Therefore, the text is direct, simple, and contains common vocabulary. The nearby dolls show the view the magnitude of stars that were had toy likenesses. There was a wide array of dolls from the past and present. It made it clear there were a lot of such toys and that they are still made today (there were some One Direction dolls)

The exhibit this object is in paints a very positive, but narrow picture. A different point of view might give a more detailed narrative. For example, anyone with a personal memory or association with Grace Kelly or her movies might give a more detailed account of the object’s background. Someone that saw The Swan may have a different narrative that would give detail of the movie and the character.

Fields of study and resources for this object might include; toy history, Barbie, film history, fashion, history of Monaco, and history of advertisements. Grace Kelly was in a Alfred Hitchcock film, that may be a resource as well.

To further develop and engage viewers with this object I would like to do a informal program. I think it would be neat to have other dolls that were made of Grace Kelly as well as items named after her for comparison. I think it would be interesting to the different facets of her life through dolls and fashion accessories. Keeping the children’s museum in mind this could work well with children. They could “dress up” like Grace Kelly and learn about what made her a famous fashion icon.

 

There will be an exhibition next week called From Philadelphia to Monaco: Grace Kelly Beyond the Icon at Michener Art Museum. Below is the last interview with Grace Kelly before she died in a car accident.

Wagner Free Institute of Science

Title: Hedgehog

Year: Unknown

Creator: Found in England

Collection: Wagner Free Institute of Science

Material: Organic

European Hedgehog

This object is a collected specimen of a ErinacusEuropeaeus or European Hedgehog. This particular hedgehog was collected in England. Hedgehogs are a favorite in English gardens for their cute appearance and insectivorous habits. It is unknown how this object was acquired, however, it seems it was collected on a scientific expedition. 

Hedgehog Skeleton

This object is important to several people. Hedgehogs are beloved animals in the wild and as domesticated pets. Pet owners and gardeners are the primary people that this object would be important to. Although this object is a collected specimen for scientific research it is still important to those people who prefer their hedgehogs to be alive. This object could also be important to people that want to study the hedgehogs relative, the shrew. People that are afraid of prickly animals may not be interested in this object. Also people that don’t like rodents may not be interested. Many people think that hedgehogs are rodents like hamsters.

This object is on display in a glass case in the center aisle of the museum. On the shelf there are shrews, moles, and a collared peccary. These are the taxonomic relatives of the hedgehog. The object itself is mounted on a varnished wood. The hedgehog has its quills standing up in a defensive mode. Just below the hedgehog is a domestic hog and a Saiga antelope. The objects on the shelf with the object show what animals are related to the hedgehog. Other than that there is no interpretation that adds to your understanding of the animal. If you weren’t aware of the way the museum is set up you wouldn’t even make the connections with the other animals surrounding the hedgehog. There is one label for the object that simply says, “Hedgehog, Erinacus Europeaeus.” No further information is given. This label reflects the scientific point of view of the time when the Wagner was founded. Taxonomic displays and labels were popular ways to present specimens.

Silvia after a nap

Although there isn’t any additional information given about the object there is a strong opposing point of view about the animal. Many people have hedgehogs as pets and would have a different view of the animal’s behavior. Considering my own pet hedgehog, (her name is Silvia) they aren’t like porcupines. Many people assume that hedgehog quills are very sharp and shoot out like porcupines. Hedgehog quills don’t come out and they are just like human fingernails. The object at the Wagner is shown with its quills up suggesting an aggressive animal. Most of the time hedgehogs only do with when they are scared. As a pet they are used to people and after a few weeks they will not be a pokey. Therefore, I think the pet owner point of view is very different. There is also the point of view of state governments. Many states have made it illegal to have a hedgehog as a pet. The reasoning is that the hedgehog threatens the native bird population. This is a big issue in Pennsylvania especially.  Hedgehogs don’t eat birds, but they can eat their eggs in the wild. However, domesticated hedgehogs only eat cat food and mealworms. Only wild hedgehogs eat bird eggs. There are no wild hedgehogs in America, only in Europe. So it is safe to say that there are many points of view when it comes to the topic of a hedgehog. 

Silvia as a baby

Silvia

Fields of study for this object may include animal science, gardening, insects, animal behavior, pet care, and environmental science. To engage visitors with the object further I would love to do a program where they could actually see and touch the live animal and compare it to the specimen. (Hedgehogs have a very soft furry belly!) This would be an exciting activity that would add context to the object. It would also allow people to understand the different types of hedgehog as well as their importance to the environment. 

American Philosophical Society

Title: Cork Balls in Motion

Year: Unknown

Cork Balls in Motion

Material: Paper

Creator: Cornelius Varley

Collection: American Philosphical Society

This object is a hand colored drawing of two cork balls propelled in the air by jets of water. The drawing is depicting “Bernoulli’s Principle.” The increase of water speed around the surface of the cork creates a region of reduced pressure that holds the balls in the jets of water.

This object is important for people interested in science and art. The drawing depicts a scientific principle, but it is also an artisit drawing. Varley created a very accuarte drawing which is important to those who study it. It is also important to those groups of people because it shows the view the mindset of Varley when he was observing this. Those who aren’t interested in science or find scientific concepts to be complicated might not be interested in this object. Since this particular drawng depicts a scientific principle it might be intimidating subject matter. 

Daniel Bernoulli

This object is on display as part of an exhibition showing the art and science of Cornelius Varley’s drawings. It was acquired from a private collection. This particular object is on display because it demonstrates a scientific principle in action. It is a different example of Varley’s drawings compared to the majority of the others exhibited. The object is displayed towards the end of the exhibit on a side wall as a stand alone piece. In the surrounding area there are other drawings of algae and inventions. These other drawings add to your understanding of how Varley viewed what he was studying. It also allows the visitor to compare what details Varley chose to include in one drawing and not in another. The label text is written very simply. It just describes the object and explains the Bernoulli Principle. The wording is easy for every visitor to understand and is free of scientific jargon.

The opposing  point of view of an artist or art critic might tell a different narrative about the object. The details of Varley’s drawings and his artist renderings may be described differently by someone with an art background instead of a science one. Other fields of study and resources about this object might include: Bernoulli, Laws of Motion, drawing, painting, and experiments with water.

To engage viewers with thist object I would do a science demonstration that would re-create what Varley saw when he was drawing. While the demonstration was being done I would have the visitors draw their own rendering of the cork balls.

This would show visitors the science behind the image and allow them to experience the drawing. This way art and science would cross as they did in Varley’s work. 

The Rosenbach

Title: Charles II Manuscript restoring the English Theatre

Year: 1642?

Material: Partchment

Creator: King Charles II

Collection: Rosenbach Museum and Library Manuscript Collection

This is a similar document to the one at the Rosenbach.

This object is a document in which King Charles II of England declares the theater to be reopened following the Cromwell Regime.This manuscript also allowed women to act in theater plays.

This object is important to several groups of people. From a historical perspective this object is important to historians as a whole. This document was the first to allow women in the theatre. This forever changed this business and that led to today’s movie industry. This document also changed the roles of women in society. This document is also important to historians that study England and royalty. Charles II was the first King to restore the monarchy after the English Civil War. This document is also important to the current royal family. Charles II had not legitimate children and 12 illegitimate children. His brother took the thrown after his death. Princess Diana is a descendent of one of Charles’s illegitimate children. William, the Duke of Cambridge, will be the first direct descendent of Charles II to be King. 

This object is on display in the hall of the Rosenbach’s house. The document is hanging on the wall above a wooden chest that also belonged to Charles II. There is no label for this object, however the docent presented the information about the object is a story- like fashion. Only the important and interesting information about the object was described. The docent mentioned the importance of the document and told us about the story behind the wooden chest.  This object is on display because it represents a large portion of the Rosenbach brother’s collection habits. They tended to collect many things associated with England and the monarchy. The object was acquired by one of the brothers at auction in the 20^th century.

Charles II

The majority of the surrounding objects do not relate to the document because of the historic house setting. However, the wooden chest right below the document does contribute the your understanding of Charles II as a man. On our tour we were told that a mistress might have used the chest. The ornate nature of the chest also suggests that Charles was very wealthy. Upon further research these ideas were confirmed. Charles II had eight confirmed mistresses with six more as a possibility. Charles was also allotted 1.2 million pounds (today that would be close to $147 million today).

Fields of study and resources that might add to your understanding of this object include restoration history, English Civil War, restoration comedy, royal history, British history, and Puritan history.

This object may not be interesting to those who feel they are not connected to the subject matter. Some people may feel that a document for a British king isn’t relevant or important to them today. This could especially be true for those not interested in the monarchy or the theatre.

People that may have heard about Charles being a partier may have a different point of view about the document. Some may fell that he allowed women to act in the theater because the most popular actress, Nell Gwyn was his mistress. 

Other experiences that might engage viewers with this object would be an adults only program that included a performance of a restoration comedy. That would show visitors the popular types of theatre productions that were a result of the document. Another program idea would be an investigation of the parts of the document. Since it is a royal decree there would be a lot of information to discuss.