WHAT: Brown Bag Lecture Series
HOSTED BY: UNK Department of History
TITLE: “Everything That’s Curious is Grist for My Mill: A History of Jenner’s Park in Loup City, Nebraska”
TOPIC: Founded by two wealthy British immigrants, Jenner’s Park operated in Loup City until 1941, serving for four decades as a popular destination for entertainment and education for rural Nebraskans. The park housed many attractions, including exotic wildlife, Egyptian mummies and a museum building styled after the British Museum. It displayed artifacts from all over the world, including ancient cuneiform tablets, a suit of Chinese armor, Congolese spears and Polynesian shrunken heads. This presentation will tell the story behind the park, exploring how it serves as a fascinating microcosm of the colonialist museums popular in the early 20th century.
PRESENTERS: Will Stoutamire is an associate professor of history at UNK, where he coordinates the undergraduate public history minor and online master’s degree program in public history. His research focuses on the history of early museums and archeology in the U.S. West.
Logan Osmera of Big Springs is a senior at UNK majoring in history with minors in international relations and public history. He works at the G.W. Frank Museum of History and Culture on campus and is an active member of the History Club and Phi Alpha Theta honor society. Osmera plans to pursue a career in the public history field.
TIME: Noon
DATE: Wednesday, March 6
PLACE: Kearney Public Library, 2020 First Ave.
LIVESTREAM: Available on the Kearney Public Library YouTube channel
CONTACT: Nathan Tye, assistant history professor, 308.865.8860, tyen@unk.edu
