Friday, January 17, 6 – 8 pm
A century ago, A.C. Gilbert, Yale, Shef. 1909, introduced the Erector Set, a steel construction set that would become an American icon. The Eli Whitney Museum will be hosting an open exhibition exploring that legacy during December and January, funded in part by CT at Work, a Connecticut Humanities initiative.
Tammy Pham, Pierson '15, was a Presidential Fellow at the Eli Whitney Museum last summer. She helped develop a workshop for children to master nuts, bolts, motors, and girders their grandfathers might have played with. Yes, it was principally grandfathers and great-grandfathers. A.C. Gilbert famously began his promotions: Hello Boys! Gilbert didn't invent the stereotype, but he didn't question it either. Mariel Goddu, Research Assistant/Lab Manager in the Department of Psychology, was also a former Presidential Fellow in the Museum's Summer program who loved building.
The Museum has asked Tammy and Mariel to host: Hello Girls!, an evening for mothers and daughters to take over these classic Gilbert toys and ask how to choose toys to open horizons. They will bring fellow students with their own stories of play that was important to their adventurous learning. Karen Lenahan's Small Kitchen, Big Taste will provide just desserts. (Karen also volunteers at the Community Foundation's Fund for Women and Girls.) A $10 contribution will support the Museum's Catherine Greene Fund, a scholarship project to encourage girls to experiment in their program choices.
