CURIOUS?

Sanford Museum Association
The Sanford Museum Association is an organization of volunteers who contribute
time and money to enrich the offerings of the Sanford Museum and Planetarium.Working in cooperation with museum staff, the association hosts exhibits, lectures,
and demonstrations, sponsors programs of research, and purchases museum
equipment and library books. The association also sponsors several programs each year.

To find out about becoming a Sanford Museum Association member, E-mail us at
sanfordmuseum@sanfordmuseum.org

Sanford Museum Association Programs for 2025 include:

January 5, 2:00 PM 

Jennifer Barritt 

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency: Our Mission and Casework

Description: The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) is an organization within the Department of Defense working to recover and identify American servicemembers from past conflicts around the world. The DPAA utilizes multiple lines of evidence to identify unknown individuals from the various battles or locations of interest that the laboratory is focused on. Join former Cherokee resident and current SNA International contractor supporting the DPAA mission, Jennifer Barritt, to learn more about this agency and its mission.

February 9, 2:00 PM 

Denny Allen  

Salvage Metal Sculptures

I have always made sculptures of all kinds in my farm shop. I made my first large sculpture after seeing an elephant at Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha made of car bumpers. Now retired from farming, I have time to do more!

March 9, 2:00 PM  

Scott Samuelson 

AI and the Human Future
This presentation focuses on the big moral and political issues surrounding artificial intelligence. What exactly is AI? Can it make our lives and our communities better, or is it going to take all our jobs and kill us off? Can AI respect privacy, or is privacy a thing of the past? Who is responsible when AI screws up? Can AI be moral?   What does the future of humanity hold as we move through this technological revolution? Neither pro-AI nor anti-AI, this presentation is intended to get people thinking more deeply about the central issues raised by the new technology and how they might relate to it in their own lives. 

April 6, 2:00 PM

Nebraska’s Premier Brass Quintet  

A Touch of Brass

“A Touch of Brass”, one of Nebraska’s premier Brass Quintet’s has been entertaining audiences since 1984. They perform a wide variety of music from Bach to the Big Bands, the Beatles and beyond. The group includes five talented musicians from northeast Nebraska and southeast South Dakota. *Held at the Cherokee Community Center

August 12, 9:30 PM

Perseid Meteor Shower  

Stiles River Farm and Woodland Preserve

The Sanford Museum Association invites you to come join us for a night under a sky filled with meteors. The Perseids is one of the best meteor showers to observe, producing up to 60 meteors an hour.

This year we will be meeting at the Stiles River Farm and Woodland Preserve south of Cherokee. We will have maps available. It should be a great location to see meteors! 

If it is clear we will be there! 

September 14, 2:00 PM

Darko Lokmic 

The Beauty and History of Stained Glass Windows

Darko has been working to preserve and restore stained glass windows for 25 years all over the United States. His company has been around for 40 years working on stained glass windows in churches and residential homes. Come and learn about the history of stained glass windows,  the symbolism in their design, and purpose as an art form today. 

October 12, 2:00 PM 

Bacilia Beisswenger

Hondurus 

Bacilia Beisswenger is a native of Honduras and a resident of Cherokee. She belongs to the Garifuna ethnic group. The Garifuna people have a mixture of African and Caribbean roots. Although they have long been marginalized in Honduras, they feel much pride in their cultural heritage. 

Bacilia will talk about some of the efforts to improve life for the people of Santa Rosa de Aguán, her home village. One such effort is the “Mustard Seed” tutoring program, which Bacilia began in 2021. Sixty boys and girls with learning difficulties participate in this program after school twice each week.

November 9, 2:00 PM 

Jeff Stein 

Iowans You Should Know: Stories from the Iowa Almanac

Broadcaster, historian and author, Jeff Stein, tells the stories of the famous and not-so-famous. From elected officials who prevented presidential impeachment, to record-setting athletes…from famous firsts to displays of strength and grace under pressure…these biographical stories are as inspirational as they are informative. Stories are culled from Stein’s daily “Iowa Almanac” radio segments, which air on 30 stations across Iowa.

**Humanities Iowa Program

To find out about becoming a Sanford Museum Association member, E-mail us at
sanfordmuseum@sanfordmuseum.org