While the last couple of weeks has been a trying time of uncertainty and worry, in lieu of the Carona (Covid-19) Virus, the Albany Institue of History and Art has been working hard to adjust and find new ways to help support the community.

Although their offices are closed, the Curatorial and Library teams are hard at work researching for upcoming exhibitions and writing blog posts on their collections. Art can be therapeutic and making connections, even virtually can be very healing. Check out these threads on social media that are helping keep people entertained during these times: #MuseumFromHome and #MuseumMomentofZen.

The Education Department is adapting art projects for families to get creative in the comforts of their home and changing lesson plans for teaches so that their collections and exhibitions continue to educate students on Ancient Egypt and STEAM topics.

The museum has begun to collect digital materials so viewers like you can explore the museum remotely. These resources can be found on the homepage of the museum’s website: www.albanyinstitute.org. Be sure to stay tuned as the museum will be updating materials and making announcements through its website, social media site, and via email.

The museum will be offering educational resources in the form of lesson plans. Whether you are a teacher or new-to-teaching parent, explore the Hudson River School STEAM: Art & The Environment resource available for FREE on their website.

You can even take a virtual tour of the interior of the museum from the comfort of your home. Start your “visit” here.

Are you a fan of coloring? The museum is offering customized coloring sheets featuring objects from our collection and used for our recent #ColorOurCollections event. Download and print your sheets here.

You can also listen to this exhibition tour and review it online. March is Women’s History Month. WAMC reporter Jesse King visited our exhibition Telling Her Story: New Acquisitions presented by Bank of America and spoke with curator Diane Shewchuk about how she selected objects to showcase. Listen to the story here.

For the safety of visitors, staff, researchers, and volunteers, the galleries, café, shop, and research library will be closed through April 30, 2020. All programs and events during that time period will be canceled or postponed.

