Carson City museum offers family programs, historical lectures in January

The Nevada State Museum, Carson City offers a slate of in-person and online programs in January, ranging from online family projects to historical lectures.

The offerings fall under four programs: Family Fun Saturday and the Francis Humphrey Lecture Series, both occurring online, as well as Coin Press No. 1 demonstrations and Curator’s Corner programming, both available in-person at the museum.

Events include:

• Coin Press No. 1 demonstrations — Jan. 2, 8, 15, 22 and 29

Historical Coin Press No. 1 operates from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Saturday in January. Medallions imprinted with the image of a health care worker — the Nevada Health Care Heroes medallion — will be stamped; interested people can purchase a .999 fine silver planchet and watch as it is minted. Cost is $100, and a portion of the proceeds will go to the COVID-19 Relief Fund, administered by the Community Foundation of Western Nevada.

Coin Press No. 1, was the first coin press to operate at the Carson City Mint. A former U.S. Branch Mint, the Carson City Mint was in operation from 1870 to 1893. Today, the old mint building is incorporated into the museum.

• Curator’s Corner — Jan. 6 and Jan. 20

Museum curators give short, repeating presentations from 1 to 3 p.m. on the first and third Wednesdays of the month for visitors passing through the museum’s demonstration gallery. Washoe baskets will be presented Jan. 6 by Anna Camp, the museum’s curator of anthropology. On Jan. 20, visitors can learn about historical garments from Jan Loverin, the museum’s curator of clothing and textiles.

• Family Fun Saturday — Jan. 9

Mina Stafford, the museum’s curator of education, will present the online craft program Sensational Sagebrush at 10 a.m. on Zoom and Facebook Live. Stafford will demonstrate how to make a sagebrush ocean diorama. Contact Stafford at mstafford@nevadaculture.org to get the Zoom link and to pick up supplies for the craft project.

• Frances Humphrey Lecture Series — Jan. 28

“Hair, Makeup, and Me,” an online lecture about the ritual of applying makeup and its meanings, will happen at 6:30 p.m. on Zoom. Jan Loverin, the museum’s curator of clothing and textiles, will speak. Register here for the program.

The museum, 600 N. Carson St. in Carson City, is open at 25% capacity from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

Admission is $8, free for children ages 17 and younger. Visitors must wear face coverings and practice social distancing.

For more, visit CarsonNVMuseum.org.