Subject: [Tweeters] Fw: Newsletter Item - Washington State History Museum
Date: Aug 3 17:05:55 2005
From: Dianna Moore - dlmoor2 at coastaccess.com


Hey Tweets...I have been asked to pass the following along to Tweeters.

In partnership with Tahoma Audubon, Seattle Audubon and Audubon Washington;

"Killer Hats: Birds on the Brink"
At the Washington State History Museum
August 20 through December 11, 2005

What do feathered hats have to do with environmentalists? A century ago,
millions of birds were killed to decorate hats. A crusade against these
"killer hats" created Audubon societies, the first modern conservation
movement, and bird-protection laws that are still enforced today. Opulent
artifacts from WSHS collections help tell this surprising story.
This exhibit of colorful three-dimensional objects explores the power of
fashion, the power of protest, early feminism, and the origin of
environmental-protection laws. It's an unusual take on the environmental
movement.

Socially prominent women in the 1890s demanded that women stop wearing the
feathers of dead birds in their hats. They joined concerned scientists in
forming Audubon societies and pressing for legislation protecting wild
birds from hunters. These efforts made the first modern conservation
movement. Audubon Society chapters formed in Washington State, and the
state's passed the first bird-protection act in 1903.

The exhibit carries the story of environmentalism down to the present,
noting how bird-protection efforts preserved the bald eagle from the
1940s, helped create the Endangered Species Act in the 1970s, and continue
today with federal prosecutions of bird-killers. The exhibit notes that
this year is the 100th anniversary of the founding of the National Audubon
Society.

Objects include rare feathered hats, capes, fans, and other articles of
fashion; a milliner's shop from the early 20th century, and fashion
prints. Also in the exhibit are reproductions of 12 original paintings of
birds by John James Audubon. These dynamic images were the basis for the
engravings in Audubon's classic Birds of America (1826-1838), and are
shown at the original "double elephant folio" size, courtesy of the
New-York Historical Society.

The exhibit is designed to be friendly to children and their families, as
well as adults.

Organized by the Washington State History Museum, "Killer Hats: Birds on
the Brink" opens at the Washington State History Museum, 1911 Pacific
Avenue, Tacoma, on Saturday, August 20, 2005, and runs through December 11.



forwarded by Dianna Moore
Ocean Shores, Wa.
dlmoor2 at coastaccess.com