Nevada State Museum

With Nevada’s 150th birthday celebration about to kick off, the Nevada State Museum in Carson City is offering interested volunteers a chance to make friends, learn history and become part of the party.

Tour guide training begins at the museum Tuesday, Sept. 17 at 9 a.m.
No experience is necessary but volunteers are asked to be available at least four hours per month and bring curiosity and enthusiasm for Nevada’s rich cultural and natural heritage.

Dear Outdoor Enthusiast, many of you are planning to be here next weekend, Sept. 14-15, for our NRA-Waterfowl Weekend.

If you haven’t put it on your calendar, you might want to add it based on what’s going on, highlighted below.
Lots of cool stuff for those interested in firearms safety and personal protection, waterfowl hunting seminars on a variety of topics, and several duck and goose calling contests plus kids’ activities and historical information.
Hope to see you here at Cabela’s next weekend.

Out of an abundance of caution, the trains will not run at the Nevada State Museum in Carson City for Labor Day weekend due to unhealthful air quality.

UPDATE: Out of an abundance of caution, the steam trains will not run at the Nevada State Museum in Carson City for Labor Day weekend due to unhealthful air quality, museum officials announced Thursday.

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Climb aboard and take a 30-minute train ride back in time this holiday weekend in Carson City, where the labor of the day was cast in hot iron grit and the Old West churned and turned the wheels of locomotive steam engines along the Virginia and Truckee Railroad line.

The Nevada Arts Council has hired Mary Works Covington of Carson City as its community arts development program coordinator. A native Nevadan, Covington grew up in Silver City and has traveled to every corner of the state. Well-versed in the history of Nevada, she has connections with a number of the state's arts and cultural organizations as a consultant, program specialist and artist.

UPDATE: Out of an abundance of caution, the trains will not run at the Nevada State Museum in Carson City for Labor Day weekend due to unhealthful air quality.

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Family fun is just around the bend as Labor Day approaches in the Reno-Tahoe territory.

Fred Holabird is a mining geologist, author and scholar who is an expert in the history of American mining, coins, the Comstock and West. Holabird is the guest speaker in Carson City at the Nevada State Museum’s Frances Humphrey Lecture Series from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 22.

Who doesn't like to collect money? Whether it is a rare Double Eagle $20 piece from the 1800s, an Indian Head Penny or a Nevada Day special medallion, the Carson City Mint Coin Show and Fair will help fill the hole in any coin collection.

Dozens of dealers will buy, sell, trade and offer their expertise with free appraisals during the two-day event Aug. 23 and 24, held this year at both the Nevada State Museum and the Carson Nugget.

CARSON CITY — For the second year, online voters picked the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park in Minden as one of six standout sites in the 2013 Nevada Treasures in the Discover Your Nevada contest, officials announced Monday.

The Nevada Northern Railway in Ely, the Star Hotel and Basque Restaurant in Elko, the Lost City Museum in Overton, the Nevada State Museum in Las Vegas and the Pahrump Valley winery were also picked, said Claudia Vecchio, Nevada Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs director.

Carson City will be featured on the C-SPAN network's two channels this weekend after their visit to the capital city earlier this month.

In addition to having feature stories sprinkled in throughout the weekend on the respective networks, both American History TV and Book TV, there will be a block of programming where all of the respective Carson City pieces for their networks will air, said C-SPAN spokeswoman Laura Finch.

After more than six years reviewing thousands of family letters and documents, diligent research and personal interviews about the Dangberg Home Ranch, author and photographer Conrad Buedel wrote a life story of the Carson Valley’s famous settlement. As guest speaker at the Nevada State Museum in Carson City on Thursday, July 25, Buedel will discuss his work “Lost Legacy of Carson Valley: The Rise and Fall of the H.F. Dangberg Ranching Empire.”

Carson City, NV – From the Carson Library and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Western Nevada, librarian-led summer programs and activities are over the halfway point and more than 1,500 community youth are participating. Summer reading pages for prizes, technology enrichments, video journalism and art clinics are among the most popular ways youth are spending time.

All seven Nevada State museums will offer free admission Saturday, July 20, to celebrate newly expanded schedules. Train rides at the railroad museum in Carson City and Boulder City will be half price.

Additional details for Nevada Museums Summer 2013:

• Public invited to Rediscover Your Nevada Museums

• The Division of Museums and History announces additional days and hours of service for the public at all seven museums in the system.

With a sneak peak at an exhibit honoring Western explorer John C. Fremont, the Nevada State Museum in Carson City will celebrate free admission day from 8:30 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, July 20.

A 1,000 ounce bar of silver mined from 4,000 tons of Nevada ore is a rarity by far, but visitors to the Nevada State Museum in Carson City can catch a glimpse of the spectacular ingot now on display in preparation for the state’s 150th birthday party.

Site of the historic U.S. Mint, the museum still operates the original Coin Press No. 1 on the last Friday of each month. When the bar is melted into 1000 1-ounce round medallions, the celebrated press will stamp commemorative editions, with the “CC” mint mark, honoring the state’s sesquicentennial which is Nevada Day, 2014.

Thank you Dick Campagni's Carson City Toyota-Scion, Cumulus Radio Magic 95.5 FM, Carson City and all the organizers and contributors who made this year's Fourth of July fireworks extravaganza at Mills Park in Carson City possible. The event was filled with great music, lights and amazing eye-candy.

Video below courtesy of Scott Schrantz at AroundCarson.com. The RSVP carnival at Mills Park continues through Saturday.

To help understand, appreciate, and protect Nevada’s rock art and archaeological sites,
Emily Middleton discusses early carved abstract rock art in the Northern Great Basin from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., Thursday, June 27 at the Nevada State Museum, in Carson City.

Rare coins by the thousands remain on display, for sale or trade today through 4 p.m. at the Carson Nugget at the annual Downtown Coin Club Show. This all-ages coin event brought more than 300 collectors and numismatics to the Nugget on Saturday.

Something very old is something really new at the Nevada State Museum. To celebrate Archeological Awareness and Historical Preservation Month in May, the Carson City museum’s Frances Humphrey lecture series hosts archaeologist Mark Giambastiani, who will share new Nevada discoveries of artifacts dating at least 10,000 years old. His presentation “Recent Rock Art and Archaeological Discoveries in Lincoln County” is from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 23.

More than a decade ago, a Western Nevada College physics professor’s dream, a desire by college students to learn about astronomy, and the Carson City community's willingness to help make dreams come true, all converged to create the Jack C. Davis Observatory.

Now, WNC and the observatory staff and volunteers have planned a stellar celebration from May 2-15 to commemorate 10 years of science and discovery in Nevada’s capital city.

The popular exhibit “Slot Machines: The Fey Collection” at the Nevada State Museum in Carson City will close May 1 to make way for the upcoming Nevada Sesquicentennial exhibit : Finding Fremont: Pathfinder of the West, opening in October. While the slots are off exhibit for two years, staff will conserve the collection and plan for a traveling exhibit that could go on tour.

I have been a business owner in Downtown Carson City for more than 12 years. I have spent more than $200,000.00 of my own money to rehab my building that was built in about 1870.

I have spent more than a million dollars to stock my business with what I believe are quality antiques. We have the largest and possibly best antique shop in Nevada. I have never asked for or received any City, State or Federal funds.

Downtown Carson City has some fine restaurants and venues including the Nevada State Museum, The State Capitol Building and interesting shops.

The fourth annual Downtown Coin Club Show will take place in the ballroom of the famous Carson Nugget Casino, 507 N. Carson St, Carson City, on Saturday and Sunday, May 18-19, 2013. The show runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

State Geologist James E. Faulds presents a thought-provoking question as the topic of the Nevada State Museum’s Frances Humphrey Lecture Series at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 28. In “Why is Nevada in Hot Water: Tectonic Controls on Geothermal Activity in the Great Basin,” Faulds focuses on how fault systems initiate and evolve through time.

Geothermal studies enhance understanding of what controls hot fluids in the earth’s crust and aid in exploration and discovery of energy resources. Scientists study geologic faults and stress conditions to determine where to drill.

From Mark Twain and Frank Sinatra to teamsters and tourism, the history of Lake Tahoe recorded in a new book by Michael J. Makley brings the region’s many dimensions to life. The noted local author is the featured speaker at the February Frances Humphrey lecture series from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 28 at the Nevada State Museum in Carson City, where he will explore the geology and natural history of Lake Tahoe and the people who shaped its history.

Ever wonder what people wore on their feet 13,000 years ago? A fascinating look at early prehistoric textiles in the Western Great Basin will be the theme of a Jan. 24 lecture presented by archaeologist Pat Barker beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Nevada State Museum in Carson City as part of its monthly Our Frances Humphrey Lecture Series.

Barker will discuss prehistoric textiles, showcasing sandals, mats, bags, basketry, and cordage from the collections of the Nevada State Museum. Learn how foot ware can inform us about how people lived in the past.

Family Fun Saturday in the Discovery Lab featuring bats: Night Flyers of the Skies will be Saturday, Feb. 9 1– 3:30 pm at the Nevada State Museum in Carson City.

Learn how Nevada bats help people by eating insects and use echolocation to find food. Discover three kinds of bats that live in Nevada. Make a bat craft in the classroom. Choose Discovery Lab or art project or both.

A Western saddle handcrafted by Reno residents in 1945 was sent as a special gift to Admiral William Halsey to mark the surrender of Japanese forces in World War II. The Halsey Saddle arrives Thursday from the U.S. Naval Academy Museum in Annapolis, MD, on a three-year loan. Gov. Brian Sandoval is scheduled to take delivery. The saddle that gained international attention during the war will be housed at the Nevada State Museum in Carson City in honor of the state’s 150th birthday coming up in 2014 and will tour the state.

Demonstration of Coin Press No. 1, by volunteer Ken Hopple in the Historic Carson City Mint building with sessions at 10:30 am – noon & 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.: Nevada State Museum, 600 N. Carson Street. $8 for adults and free for children 17 and under. For more information, contact Robert Nylen at 775-687-4810, ext. 239 or 245.

Behind the scene tours in Natural History will be presented by George Baumgardner, PhD, featuring "Plants and Animals of Nevada" from 10:00am and 1:30pm. Dec. 28 at the Nevada State Museum, 600 N. Carson Street. (775) 687-4810 x237.